Instructions

1. Trim any hanging pieces of cartilage from the bear roast, along with any surface fat. Bear meat has a thick layer of hard fat covering it, similar in texture and color to beef tallow. If you find any the butcher missed, shave it off with a sharp knife without digging into the meat.

2. Marinate the bear roast in buttermilk for 1 to 2 hours. Buttermilk's cultures and acidity combats bear's gaminess and helps loosen the protein fibers.

3. Rinse the buttermilk from the bear meat and pat it dry. Season the roast to taste and set it aside.

4. Cut and add the vegetables you want to cook with the bear roast to the Crock-Pot. Add a can of stew tomatoes to help with tenderness and offsetting the gamey taste, if desired.

5. Place the bear roast on top of the vegetables and add 1 or 2 cups of stock or water. Crock-Pots have tight seals that prevents moisture loss, so the steam condensed on the inside of the lid and drops back down onto the bear meat during cooking.

6. Cover the Crock-Pot with the lid and plug it in. The power light will flash.

7. Set the cook time for 6 hours if you have a bear roast that weighs 3 pounds or less, and 8 hours if you have a larger bear roast.

8. Use the inactive cooking time to prep any sauces or sides you want to serve with the roast.

9. Take the cover off the Crock-Pot when the Warm light illuminates. The Crock-Pot will stay in Warm mode until you unplug it.

10. Take the roast out of the Crock-Pot and cut it across the grain, if necessary. After 6 or 8 hours, the roast should essentially fall apart without any cutting needed. Serve the roast as soon as possible.