An impromptu grilling session was set for Sunday. Laura’s neighbor gifted her 3 black bear sausages and a nice package of ground venison. It didn’t take her too long to figure out who might enjoy such a treat, tee hee. So, her, my sister and her husband Meathead met for a little tasting.
Given it’s January, making outdoor cooking/eating dates is dicey at best. But as 2pm rolled around, the thermometer read 69 degrees. Not too cold, eh? Since I wasn’t convinced 3 sausages and ground venison would be enough, I picked up a beef tri-tip roast and some brats. And as they arrived, they displayed some home-made potato salad (my sister is a master at this dish), Meathead’s No Cookie Ingredients cornbread (cornbread master of all-time), and hotlinks. Lordy.
The bear links uncooked looked pinkish and like any other brat, only a little leaner. Once grilled over mesquite and hickory chips they were ready. I was a little apprehensive about it, the last time I was offered bear, I chose the panther instead. It was the way it looked in the canning jar that was the deciding factor, not the taste or texture. Bud’s Meats of Penngrove California made the sausage from the animal. Cheese & jalapeno were added to the mix and I have to say, I liked it a lot. We pretty much decided that if you didn’t know it was bear, you’d think it was a regular brat. And while I dearly love the chile pepper, it would have been nice to taste it first without it.
The venison was light on the meat flavor, low fat naturally, and so fresh tasting. Of course the other items were teeerific, but the bear & venison were the stars and nearly the sole reason to have an impromptu meeting of the meaty minds. I would have invited others, but I didn’t want to share the bear. Know what I mean, Vern?
Please visit my flickr page, Bear Sausage & Venison Patties for a few pictures from the day.
xo, Biggles
MeatHenge
"If it ain't pork, it ain't sausage"
Guess I’d rather eat a bear than the alternative.
Tummy rumble; must be lunch time.
Bigs, you’re bustin’ my itty bittys with those pics. Oh boy!
I just don’t know why, but I have never been into the game meats, this coming from a hunter’s daughter. The rest of the grilled treats sound delightful. One can understand though, why you kept the rarer treats to a small crowd!
I really love you, Biggles — only you would just “throw in” a tri-tip in case folks should be hungry. I think I might be timid about the bear sausages, but I sho could have handled that venison and tri-tip.
Bears are relatives of pigs and meat from bruins is close in flavor and texture if they were taken in the spring.
Growing up I knew a woman who demanded that her family hunt spring bear for the meat and lard. Best pie crust EVER came from bear lard.
Yummmmmm. I’m hungry right now thinking of festivities past. That bear was really tasty and didn’t taste much different than any other sausage I’ve had. I dEErly love venison and, well, the company as usual was dreamy.
i like bears nice