You head to “Bear Camp” on Friday evening and hang out with the guys playing cards and telling tall tales of past hunts. You rise and shine early on Saturday morning. After a hearty breakfast, you all head out to put on a drive or two in the roughest and most rugged territory you can find in hopes of finding a bear that is resting up after a night of filling his belly with acorns or nearby field corn. On the second drive, a big old male bear comes lumbering your way, and you down it with a single well-placed shot! And then you wonder, “Now what?”

Since the Pennsylvania 4-day regular firearm season for bears starts this Saturday, November 23rd, you might want to consider your options if you are fortunate enough to have success this season. Taking a black bear in Pennsylvania is not a common occurrence, and a successful hunter has a number of things that can be done to commemorate the event.
Taxidermy work:

Generally speaking, most folks think of having a rug made from the hide of their first bear. The good news is that there are several really good taxidermists in our area, and over the next few days, you might want to contact them to talk about pricing and turnaround time to have the work done. Usually, a rug is priced on the length of the hide, with a per-foot charge applied. A second popular option is a shoulder mount. Remember that your bear’s skull is not used in a rug or shoulder mount, so you might consider having it cleaned for display on a shelf in your trophy area. Perhaps the best result for the skull is to take it to someone who has beetles and does a great job of cleaning the skull for eventual display.
The meat:

Some folks mistakenly believe that bear meat is not very pleasant to eat! I beg to differ, having found that properly prepared bear meat is excellent. In fact, I know of a nearby hunting club that has an annual game dinner where three types of game meat are offered — wild turkey, deer, and bear — for the main meal. Believe it or not, the bear meat is the first to go! So, how is it prepared?

Using roasts selected from the hindquarters, the meat is trimmed off any fat and then placed on a rack, which is slow-roasted until well done. Only salt and pepper are applied before placing it in the oven, where the slow cooking allows any remaining fat to drip away from the meat. The roast is then thinly sliced across the grain and presented for consumption. This way, the meat has a slightly sweet and somewhat nutty flavor.

Over the years, I have taken some bear meat to a local processor and had breakfast sausage made. Time and time again, whenever I have presented it to someone to try for the first time, they are pleasantly surprised at how great it tastes. To be honest, the end result of any sausage is totally dependent upon the ingredients used in its making and the amount of smoking that is done. It is truly my favorite breakfast sausage, and it is an excellent use of bear meat.

Just like venison burgers, ground bear meat or bear burger has a multitude of uses. In fact, any way that you can think of to use hamburger is a way to substitute the bear burger — thus allowing you to be able to consume organic, free-range meat that does not include all of the FDA-approved chemicals and processing additives that you get in store-bought meats.

A very flavorful meal is a bear burger with oyster mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms can be found in the wild, are relatively easy to identify, and come in two varieties — the summer oyster mushroom and the winter oyster mushroom. Winter oyster mushrooms are a bit firmer and a bit more flavorful than the summer variety, but either is a good addition to a bear burger. A second use of the bear burger is making a meatloaf. Combine 3/4 ground bear meat with 1/4 ground beef, and then add your other usual ingredients to make a very tasty meatloaf.
Don’t forget the fat:

Bear fat has a variety of very different used. Steve Rinella, the popular TV personality from “The Meateater” show, will tell you that bear fat is his very first choice for use in frying just about anything. Rendered bear fat can also be applied to leather to soften and preserve it!