Theodore Roosevelt himself likened the flesh of young American black bears to that of pork, and not as coarse or flavorless as the meat of grizzly bears.Roosevelt, Theodore. Hunting Trips of a Ranchman: Hunting Trips on the Prairie and in the Mountains, Adamant Media Corporation, The most favored cuts of the American black bear's meat are concentrated in the legs and loins. Meat from the neck, front legs and shoulders is usually ground into minced meat or used for stews and casseroles. Keeping the fat on tends to give the meat a strong flavor. As American black bears can have trichinellosis, cooking temperatures need to be high in order to kill the parasites.Smith, Richard P. (2007). Black Bear Hunting, Stackpole Books,
