smoked bear ideas

[Bob's BBQ]

A friend gave me a couple of black bear roasts (about 2-4 lbs each) to smoke. Any ideas on technique, finish cook temp, or wood type? I was thinking about wet brining one to remove gamey taste, and dry brining one just to see if there would be any difference. I was also planning to treat the cook like a smoked chuck roast, but am not sure if this is the right way to handle bear. Any help would be appreciated.

[CurlingDog]

* tags thread for follow up later. *

I hope to be in a similiar situation as you this fall Bob's BBQ a friend got his bear permit. ... god will'n and the creek don't rise.

[Bob's BBQ]

Good Luck with the hunt!

[Gator Lau]

I like bear meat. To me it resembles roast beef.
depending upon the cut and age of said bear, I would smoke exactly like any wild hog roast, but I would make sure to inject it with a fatty liquid. Beef broth with added rendered beef fat is my choice. Unless it is an plod old bear, if should smoke up deliciously. Invite me over and I'll tell you how well you did.😬

[Bob's BBQ]

Thanks Gator - It will going on the smoker shortly. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Bob's BBQ]

Well for the first time it went O.K. Raw they smelled very fresh and a little sweeter than beef, so I didn't do any wet brining. I smoked them like I would do a chuck roast. Did one with BBBR and one with Pit Barrel Beef and Game. I dry brined the one over night then added the BBBR. The other got the Pit Barrel rub overnight. 5 1/2 hours on the PBC to 200 degrees. Didn't wrap them, didn't inject them. 2 hours in the cooler. They looked just like little briskets. Tasted a lot like beef to me. I liked the pit barrel one a little better. Had the texture and chew of brisket. My buddy thought they were very good.

[martybartram]

sorry to be late to the party on this but glad it was a successful cook. Steve Rinella's site http://www.themeateater.com/section/recipe/ is my go to for all game recipes. He does awesome shows and video on dressing and cooking wild game. I did not see anyone mention finishing temperature. What internal temperature did you smoke them to?

[Bob's BBQ]

Finished at 200 degrees. I did read that bear can carry trichinosis so I treated it like pork from that regard. It wasn't dry and tasted good, but would be open to try a lower finishing temp next time. Thanks for the link - I'll check it out.

[martybartram]

Cool. I figured you knew but wanted to check for safety's sake!

[LangInGibsonia]

Hank Shaw at honest-food.net is another great resource.

[Gator Lau]

Nice!