I have just returned from Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula with Boo-Boo bear's carcass in tow. I have heard that black bear fat is good for cooking. Any one have a recipe on how to render the fat ? I CAN'T throw ANYTHING out, well, it's probably genetic !!!

I’ve never rendered bear fat but I guess you would render it like any other animal fat. Cut it up and place in a pot on the stove and melt it down to a clear liquid then strain the liquid into containers. Don’t let the heat get too high.

I have read and been told that bear fat makes the best pastry, and bisquets.

Some of my old hunting books talk about how the oldtimers wanted to kill at least one bear in the fall before hibernation to get the fat.

A lady that ran the Motel in Elk City asked me to bring her the bear fat off of my bear if I killed one.

So I did, I carefully "cut" all the fat off the skin and the meat and kept it on ice till I could get it down the mountain for her.

She was very happy...

As a side note, bear meat is very good to eat.

Congradulations on the bear. We hunted in Newberry the first five days and all the bear were nocturnal due to the guides running them with dogs since July.

Where'd you get yours?

Yes, I'm a bear fat renderer. I've done bear & beaver, not to joke but beaver oil is my favorite. 1st try to get the fat separated to sort out any meat particles.

Then you melt down the fat, preferably outside. Once liquid you strain out any particles as you pour it into a glass jar. It will cool into a lard type state. The purer the fat the whiter the finished product. I enjoyed making it more than using it. I gave some to a guy in AR, & the other to a lady in MI. The MI lady raved over it. I lined her up with some fat this Fall and now she will have to make her own. She used it for cooking and put it on her for some reason. I think I'll pass on that.

I really like the beaver oil, made basically the same way. I looks like light oil when finished & stays in that state. It works great as a leather conditioner. The key is to put only clean fat into the pot or the oil will be dark. I may be on a U.P. bear hunt next Fall,still building up points.

I havent had black bear but I had brown bear a few years ago. I really didnt care for it, seemed to greasy to me. I hear that BB is better to eat.

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