BEYOND BEEF : THE EXOTICS : Cover Story : Cooking ‘Strich

The two big facts about ostrich meat are that it’s a red meat (it doesn’t taste like poultry at all) and it’s absolutely lean. This obviously makes it attractive for a dieter, but the absence of fat means you have to be careful in cooking it.

“You can overcook ostrich as easy as anything,” says ostrich rancher Susan Arries, who has a California state-approved slaughterhouse in Santa Ynez. “Fortunately you can safely cook it medium. It’s like any good red meat.”

At the moment, due to the fact that ostrich is little known and not in great demand, nearly all ostrich meat available to the public is frozen. This makes it all the more important to be careful in cooking ostrich. “Frozen meat tastes the same as fresh,” says Arries, “but it loses moisture as it thaws.”

Randall Warder, chef de cuisine of the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, is enthusiastic about ostrich. “It tastes virtually like beef,” he says, “with a venison-y background. It’s not very gamy, though. The biggest problem with it right now is inconsistency in the meat, because nobody feedlots them to the same specs.

“You have to be a little more delicate with it when you’re cooking, because there’s no moisture in it but water, so it gets tough if you overcook it. I just cook it medium, leave a fair bit of pink in it.

“I don’t think it braises well; dry heat works better. If you’re going to braise it, you’ve got to take it to the point of well done and then go beyond that to get it tender again. It has a kind of stringy texture to it, so by the time it’s (braised) tender, it will kind of fall apart. But you don’t have to cook it that way. It’s tender by nature.

“You can use it anywhere you’d do a piece of beef or duck. It’s so versatile--it takes the heavy flavors and big red wines, or lighter flavors and flavorful whites.

“Because of the little hint of a game flavor, any of the berries are good with it, like blackberries, huckleberries, black raspberries, currants, cranberries. I love chipotle with it. It goes well with the hearty, earthy flavors of chile peppers.”

Ginger Knight of Teixeira Ranch (pronounced teh-SHARE-a) recommends frying or grilling ostrich and making a sauce flavored with brandy, cream, garlic or paprika. “Here at the ranch we have barbecued burgers and steaks and make stew and stroganoff,” she says.

“You can marinate it,” she adds, “but bear in mind that the meat is porous and will absorb lots of flavor.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

MINUTE OSTRICH STEAKS

2 cloves garlic 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 8 (2 1/2- to 3-ounce) ostrich minute steaks, or ostrich fillet sliced into 8 steaks 1/2 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter 2 tablespoons butter or oil *

MUSTARD CREAM SAUCE

2 tablespoons brandy 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons whippingcream This recipe comes from “Teixeira Ostrich Cookbook,” published by Teixeira Foods Inc.

*

STEAKS

Crush garlic and mix with pepper. Pat into steaks. Heat butter in skillet. Add steaks and quickly fry steaks 1 1/2 minutes per side. Serve with Mustard Cream Sauce.

MUSTARD CREAM SAUCE

Add brandy to pan after frying ostrich steaks. Ignite brandy and when flames have died down, add mustard, salt and cream. Stir together well. Heat but do not allow to boil.

Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

129 calories; 703 mg sodium; 61 mg cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 14 grams protein; 0.01 gram fiber.

*

OSTRICH CHILI-CORN TAMALE

10 ancho chiles, peeled and seeded, or 10 tablespoons ground ancho 1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 tablespoons ground coriander 1/2 tablespoon ground oregano 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 tablespoons oil 1 cup diced onion 2 tablespoons minced garlic 3 pounds ground ostrich 1 corn tortilla, torn up 1 (12-ounce) bottle dark beer 1 1/2 cups chicken stock Salt Lime juice 1 1/2 cups corn puree, cooked 8 corn husks, tied on each end

Yes, ostrich tamales. The recipe is from Randall Warder of the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas. At the restaurant Warder serves this with pan-roasted ostrich fillets and a smoked shrimp enchilada with a Thai sauce.

Soak chiles in bowl of hot water to cover until soft. Place chiles and 2 tablespoons soaking liquid from chiles in blender or food processor. Puree 1 minute. (If using ground chiles, simply mix with 2 tablespoons water.) Add cumin, coriander, oregano and cinnamon and continue pureeing until smooth.

Heat oil in saucepan until very hot. Add chile puree and fry 1 minute. Add onion, garlic, ostrich and torn tortilla. Stir well to combine. Add beer and stock, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 2 hours.

Remove stew from heat and season to taste with salt and lime juice. Spread 1 1/2 tablespoons corn puree on each corn husk “boat.” Top with stew and serve.

Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

298 calories; 291 mg sodium; 110 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 38 grams protein; 1.10 grams fiber.

*

BARBECUED OSTRICH

2 teaspoons salt Black pepper 2 teaspoons dry mustard 6 (2 1/2- to 3-ounce) ostrich fillet steaks 1 clove garlic, chopped 1/2 cup vinegar or lemon juice 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 2 teaspoons sugar 1/2 cup oil

This comes from the “Ostrich Cookbook,” an anonymous stenciled recipe collection of South African origin, sold through DB Enterprises, P.O. Box 306, Elk City, Okla. 73658.

Mix salt, pepper to taste and mustard in bowl. Rub mixture into steaks. Place meat in dish. Mix garlic, vinegar, lemon zest, sugar and oil in separate bowl. Pour over meat and let marinate 4 hours, turning every hour.

Grill steaks to desired doneness on barbecue or stove-top grill, basting with sauce.

Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

246 calories; 824 mg sodium; 46 mg cholesterol; 21 grams fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 15 grams protein; 0.08 gram fiber.

*

ROMAN OSTRICH SAUCE

1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint, or 1/2 tablespoon dried mint 1 teaspoon ground cumin, briefly toasted in skillet 1 teaspoon celery seeds 3 to 4 seeded dates, minced 1/4 cup honey 1/2 cup wine vinegar 3/4 cup cream Sherry 1 tablespoon nuoc mam or other Southeast Asian fish sauce 1 tablespoon oil 1 tablespoon cornstarch

In the AD 4th-Century Roman cookbook of Apicius, there are two recipes for sauce to serve with ostrich. One is a honey-mustard vinaigrette with pepper, herbs (lovage, thyme) and liquamen, which was a fish sauce like the Vietnamese nuoc mam. This is the other one, which comes out like a wacky sort of barbecue sauce.

Mix pepper, mint, cumin, celery seeds, dates, honey, vinegar, Sherry, fish sauce and oil in saucepan. Bring to boil. Remove 1 tablespoon sauce to cup, cool slightly, then add cornstarch and stir to dissolve. Stir into sauce and bring to boil until thickened. Serve with cooked ostrich.

Makes about 2 cups sauce.

Each tablespoon contains about:

28 calories; 22 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.03 gram fiber.