Norwegian chef creates burgers from hunted bear meat for food festival in Trondheim

A bear shot after attacking and killing sheep in Innlandet, Norway, is now being used to make hamburgers. The meat has undergone a maturation process at a farm slaughterhouse in Løten municipality for two weeks. The bear burgers will be served at a food festival in Trondheim later this year.

Jan Steinar Marken, the butcher and chef preparing the meat, emphasizes the importance of not wasting food, even when it comes from a hunted bear. Celebrity chef Arne Brimi notes that a true hamburger should be made from beef, but a bear burger deserves a proper hamburger bun.

The brown bear is a critically endangered predator in Norway and is only hunted if it poses a threat to grazing animals or humans. Marken believes it’s important to use the meat when a bear has been hunted. The bear was shot after it had killed and attacked some sheep in Innlandet in June this year. The meat has now been matured to be used for human consumption.

The bear meat has a sharper smell than other types and the bear’s tenderloin has a small tendon, a characteristic not found in other animals, according to Marken. The recipe for the bear burgers includes milk, water, spices, onion, potato flour, and crowberry liqueur to give the bear meat a frosty taste.

Brimi would choose a different recipe for the bear burgers, using almost no spices, only salt, to preserve the taste of bear. He adds that a bear burger deserves a proper hamburger bun and that a store-bought bun would ruin an opportunity to taste something special.

The brown bear is the largest predatory mammal in mainland Norway, with males weighing between 100 to 325 kg. The species is mainly found in the border areas with Sweden, in South and Central Norway, and in Finnmark, and thrives best in coniferous forest areas.