Beyond beef; the exotics; cooking 'strich (ostrich) la ti

1 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
Ostrich
Formatted by Manny Rothstein

Directions

BYLINE: CHARLES PERRY

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." Source: The Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1995 Submitted By MANNY ROTHSTEIN On 12-31-95

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