(Photo courtesy of Adam Berkelmans)
April 04, 2025
By Adam Berkelmans
Print Recipe
I guarantee you’ll be licking your plate like the proverbial bear with its head in a honeypot after eating these crepes.
Confit is the perfect application for bear meat; bears produce a lot of renderable fat which can be used for confit, and the meat itself, when cooked in this fashion, has zero chance of carrying trichinella. It also tastes absolutely amazing!
You can make any crepe recipe for the confit to tuck into, but I found the buckwheat crepes have enough extra flavor and heartiness to stand up to the rich bear meat.
Serves: 8Prep Time: 1 hourCook Time: 3-5 hours
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Ingredients for the Bear Meat Confit and Crepes:
2 lbs bear stew meat, cubed Kosher salt 4 sprigs fresh thyme 1 lb bear fat 1 cup buckwheat flour 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 large egg 1 1/2 cups milk 1 cup water 5 thyme sprigs 1 cup creme fraiche (or mascarpone, or thick sour cream) Liquid honey Flaky salt (like Maldon, optional) (Photo courtesy of Adam Berkelmans) Directions:
(For the Confit) Preheat oven to 225°F.Add bear meat to an oven-proof dish where it fits quite snugly. Season the meat generously with salt. Melt the bear fat and pour over the meat, ensuring that the fat rises above the meat (top off with pork lard, duck fat, or butter if you don’t have enough). Put the dish in the oven and cook for about 3-5 hours, or until bear meat is ready to fall apart when pressed with a fork. Let cool (ensuring that bear meat is sitting below the fat), then transfer the entire dish to the refrigerator. Let sit overnight or up to 1 week. When ready to cook, gently heat the dish up so that the fat melts and the meat is accessible. Pour 2 tablespoons or so of the liquid fat into a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bear meat and mash with a fork, breaking it up into large, uneven shreds. Add the 5 thyme sprigs and cook for 5 minutes, or until the meat is very browned and crispy. Remove from heat. (For the Crepes) In a large bowl, whisk together the flours and salt. Add the egg, milk, and water and mix well.Add a teaspoon or so of the bear fat to a non-stick pan over medium heat, and swirl it around the pan. Add a 1/2 cup of the crepe batter and swirl it around the pan, forming a thin, round crepe. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the bottom is lightly browned and the top is dry. Release the crepe by shaking or prying it with a spatula and transfer it to a plate. Repeat until the batter is gone. To serve, add two tablespoons of creme fraiche and an 1/8th of the bear meat to a crepe. Drizzle over a teaspoon or so of honey and sprinkle with flaky salt. Serve rolled, folded galette style, or piled on a flat crepe. Enjoy!
