[Windwalker]

My Grandmother said that it would get rid of head lice.

[Rattle'em up]

Quote:       Originally Posted by Elkhound

Bear fat makes great water proofing on boots and I have not done it but lots of people use it to make lard for baking...supposed to be incredible

I have used it on my hunting boots and heard it was excellent for making pie crust. If you think about it lard comes from hogs and the two are related.

[Bravo]

Quote:       Originally Posted by Rattle'em up

I have used it on my hunting boots and heard it was excellent for making pie crust. If you think about it lard comes from hogs and the two are related.

Bears and Pigs aren't really related, lol... I would say that bears are as related to pigs as they are deer or sheep.

[killer]

Must be the trichinosis problem with the meat that causes me to think they're related. Always fully cook bear meat and pork guys. They sure remind me of pigs, and they taste mighty good like a pig.

YouTube - Black Bear 2006

Quote:       Originally Posted by ArkansasHunter

Can you Pop Pop Corn with Bear fat ?

Hmmmmm...yes but not certain about the flavor if any one might have from it.

I have been using it on leather and it certainly softens it up.



99% pure bear fat oil

[SwedeSteve]

You can mix it with snow, add blueberries and......oh wait a minute, thats seal oil.

[Rambo]

My Grandmother put it on my sunburn. She didn't cook with it as far as I can remember.

[Joe Brainard]

My Ma used deer tallow to make soap, but to get it to turn out she mixed it with pork lard. She told me in the old days they'd use bear lard instead.

[Girlgun]

Just found this thread while looking for bear fat info. Killer, did you skim off the hard stuff on top when you rendered it? I have a fridge full of the stuff now and I am trying to figure out what to do w/ it. I make soap, sometimes w/ lard and sometimes w/ sheep milk and coconut oil. I am wondering if I should try a batch w/ bear fat.
I haven't touched it yet, so I need to figure out how to render it.

[andrew cochran]

If anybody's got extra I'll buy it from ya.

[AllAlaskan]

Quote:       Originally Posted by Bravo

Bears and Pigs aren't really related, lol... I would say that bears are as related to pigs as they are deer or sheep.

Actually it is proven that bears are closer related to pigs than any other animal in the animal kingdom.

[killer]

Quote:       Originally Posted by Girlgun

Just found this thread while looking for bear fat info. Killer, did you skim off the hard stuff on top when you rendered it? I have a fridge full of the stuff now and I am trying to figure out what to do w/ it. I make soap, sometimes w/ lard and sometimes w/ sheep milk and coconut oil. I am wondering if I should try a batch w/ bear fat. I haven't touched it yet, so I need to figure out how to render it.

I don't recall getting any hard stuff on top when I rendered it. I got some crispy chunks which would not render down and I tossed. Someone said your suppose to boil it to sterilize it but I didn't...in fact I wondered if I had overcooked it due to the brown color.

A year or more ago someone emailed me about using the fat to make paint. He was experimenting with natural items indians would have have had access to. I mailed him some fat and he made some paint with it and painted some gourds with it.

[killer]

Quote:       Originally Posted by andrew cochran

If anybody's got extra I'll buy it from ya.

What do you do with the stuff?

I missed my bear this year so alas...it will be another winter without bear meat in the freezer.

[AllAlaskan]

I got to talking with a guy at work and when he found out I would shoot a bear he flipped out lol then when he found out I would actually eat it it blew his mind, he thought that bear hunting was only for sport. Then when that was said he wanted to know what it tasted like lol him and a few other guys couldnt believe you could eat bear.

[deerhuntertyler]

bear fat as well as white tail deer fat works magic on cuts and gashes on your body, it also works wonders on leather boots, well thats all i know

[andrew cochran]

Quote:       Originally Posted by killer

What do you do with the stuff? I missed my bear this year so alas...it will be another winter without bear meat in the freezer.

I've got so many uses for the stuff I couldnt could em all.

[rhizosphere]

I read a article long ago in,I believe, field and stream in the 50's about spring bear hunting. The author said spring bear's fat was the best for pastries and was sold to chiefs in NY Resteraunts. I never have hunted bear and wonder how much fat they have when they come out of hibernation????

[rbratche]

I'm a healer for my Shawnee people and use a lot of bear grease in my traditional healing practice and recently lost my last source of bear grease, I deleted the damn email addy Any one here willing to sell it! I would be most appreciative and so would my Shawnee people!

Thanks

Bob "Wolfman" Bratcher

[QuietWolf]

This has been one of the best I have ever seen for information on Bear fat and Oil.
I know with all the shipping problems it is hard to get now days. But really hope someone out here can help me find a place to get either Bear grease or Oil for my Native American crafts...if it does not give you my e-mail then here it is tiyospaye@gmail.com

Thanks for all the great replies here, you are all great
Harold

[rondog]

Well, I ain't no bear, but I've got a lot of fat y'all are welcome to....if you can figure out how to get it off me....

[chicoelder]

Howdy Troy 2000 and Killer.
I sort of jumped in from outer space when I had googled "Bear Fat" and it landed me here. I was gigling as I read some of the comments by you non-Native Americans.....
We Native Americans have been using Bear Grease for as long as our narrative history can go back.
In the first instance the Bear is a sacred animal and totem for us. We do hunt the black bear, for food, as we do deer, moose, elk, and so many others. Traditionally we use every bit of the animal as is possible, to honour the animal as well as to respect our teachings about never wasting.
The bear is sacred. As a totem, it is the Spirit who brings us the gift of Blackness--the one who helps us to face our anguish, our anger and sadness, sufferings and death and helps us to accept and learn the lessons which come with those experiences, thereby helping us to become more compassionate human beings. We learn to accept the blackness in our lives as much as the whiteness which we experience. As much as there is birth and life in our lives, there is also death and re-birth. As much as we enjoy the day, we must also embrace the night.
That brings us back to the Bear itself. We eat the meat, we use the hide for blankets, rugs, etc. We use the skull on the altar of our sacred lodges, Teeth and Claws become alumets on necklaces and other jewellery to bring us peace and calm in times of adversity--as when we go off to war.
At the time of the hunt, when we first open the bear, we collect the bear fat with reverence and store it plastic (grocery) bags in the fridge or freezer, until we have the time to "render" it into grease. Different tribes and even different people within a tribe have "secrets" for how to best render the grease, and I am not at liberty on this forum to say how it was taught to me. Suffice it to say, that the rendering process is sacred, and the result is a beautiful white smooth grease which is solid when refrigerated. At room temperature or when taken in the hand, it quickly melts into a clear liquid. There is no residue or graininess or discoloration in the grease I make nor in the grease of any of the elders who are part of my entourage. Grease with residue or discoloration or with sediment in the bottom of the bottle is imperfect grease, and a knowlegable elder would scoff at such a product. The pure grease will last a very long time and will be almost odourless....especially if when we finish using it we put it back in the refrigerator. Poor grease will go rancid over time and will take on an unpleasant odour. It is not unusual for one of us to dip a teaspoon into the bottle and eat a mouthful.
Bear Grease has medicinal uses when applied to the skin and to the hair. In a combination with other herbs the bear grease serves as a base for a poultice or for simply applying the "medicine". As the bear grease is sacred to us,we apply it to other sacred objects such as the drum, our beaters and shakers etc. In our community we do NOT sell Bear Grease. Since it is sacred and a gift from Bear we share it freely. After making a batch of Bear Grease, I will normally take bottles around to the Elders in my community or to others who need the medicine. When I run out of it myself, others in my community will give me some of theirs as they know I use it.
We use it freely on the skin and in the hair. On the skin it helps to keep the skin soft and lubricated--some might say it helps for getting a nice tan (lol), without burning (but maybe that has to do more with the type of skin we have...hahaha). We believe that it helps to penetrate the skin and get to the joints to hellp with the lubrication in the joints--that is also one reason we take a teaspoon of it from time to time. In the hair it works wonders, keeping the hair lubricated and healthy. When there is an outbreak of lice we use the bear grease in the hair, and then comb the hair with those fine tooth combs, and out come the varmints. By the way, coconut oil also works well for this.
I hope this gives you a better appreciation for Bear Grease and Bear Fat and of course our sacred Bear--"Moen"