Ostrich meat is a “red meat” similar in colour and taste to beef. The meat from an Ostrich comes from the leg, thigh, and back. An Ostrich has NO breast meat like the chicken and turkey.
Even though Ostrich meat tastes like beef, the Ostrich does not have fat marbling in the meat like beef. Ostriches have fat, but it collects outside the muscles and is easily removed during processing. Therefore, the cuts of meat are very lean with very low fat content.
Not all ostrich meat is the same. The quality of ostrich meat is influenced by similar factors that influence the quality of meat from all species.
Ostrich Meat is a red meat with the characteristics of poultry meat and low in fat. Ostrich meat can be used as steak for frying, or any of your favorite dishes as a substitute for any red or white meat.
Ostrich Meat has a very low fat content and for this reason, it is best to cook over a high heat to seal the meat, then reduce heat and cook as a Beef Steak according to the cut.
The fillet is wonderful just cooked on its own to appreciate the full natural flavour. The great thing about fillet is that it can be cooked to your taste, and can even be eaten raw (as Carpaccio) so a little pink in the middle is ideal and will maximise your enjoyment of this product.
Over cooking to very well done will ruin the steak and convert it to leather in the same way overcooking to very well done will do for any meat! Ostrich Steaks are excellent with your favourite marinade, with cranberry jelly or redcurrant sauce being particularly good.
Cooking times will always depend on the thickness of the steak, but as a guide: Fry for approx. 3 minutes per side – check during cooking with a knife by cutting open slightly. If grilling under a gentle heat, cook for approx. 6 minutes each side and check with a knife as per above.
Fry in a little light oil, dripping or butter or grill under a low heat according to personal choice. Ensure the burger is cooked all the way through but try not to overcook , particularly if using a grill as they will ‘dry out’. The meat needs to be just brown.
Cooking times: Fry for approx. 6 – 8 minutes each side and check during cooking by slightly opening the burger with a knife or cook until the burger can be broken on one side with tongs. Again the actual cooking time will depend on thickness of the burger.
The larger leg muscles are excellent for roasting as the weekend joint or even a mid-week treat, cold or hot! We recommend a roasting bag to contain the juices and prevent the meat from drying out. Centralize the meat in the roasting bag, do not pierce the bag, place on a tray in the preheated oven and cook as the instructions below.
Cooking times: Cook at a temperature approx. 150°C for 45 minutes per kg + 20 minutes. Reduce cooking temperature by approx. 20°C if using a fan-assisted oven. Check the product is cooked to your satisfaction as you would with any other joint.
Other ideas for ostrich meat include cubes for Goulash, mince for Bolognaise, stir-fry for Chinese and anyway for your favorite Indian recipes!
The feathers of an Ostrich ensure the unique characteristics of Ostrich Leather.
The size and character of these follicles will vary with stage of development, genetics and method of rearing. The weight and thickness of the skin will also be determined by method of production and age of slaughter.
Anything that can be made in leather can be made in Ostrich; it is limited only by the imagination of the designers. Ostrich leather provides designers with unique opportunities unavailable in other leather sources.
Ostrich feathers were responsible for the birth of farmed Ostrich and saved the specie, as Ostrich were on the point of extinction just for their feathers. The domestication of Ostrich started to satisfy the demand for feathers. The domestication of Ostrich stopped the hunting of ostrich threatened with extinction.
Drawings and carvings indicate the Ancient Egyptians and Romans used Ostrich feathers for formal dress. There are many different types of feathers based on where they are on the bird, such as tail, wings or body and the age of the bird, chick or mature bird.
Sex also determines the color of the feathers as mature males have black feathers and mature hens feather’s are grey.
The wonderful oil of ostrich comes from rendering their fat. There is anecdotal evidence of the benefits of their wonderful oil in providing relief from certain skin irritations and other discomforts such as:
The small egg is called the test egg (which is the first egg a female will lay). This egg is not fertile, because it has no yolk. The female will break this egg with her breast bone, and eat the egg for calcium.
The deformed egg is formed due to a lack of calcium, or if the bird was disturbed during the laying process, or if she had an unbalanced diet.
The ostrich egg is oval with a glossy, porcelain-like shell, pitted with hundreds of pores. The eggs vary in shape, size, weight, and shell structure and shell porosity. The average size egg is 13cm x 16cm and the weight ranges between 1.1 and 1.9kg. The shell is about 2-4mm thick, and is able to bear a weight of 120kg.
At the farm, we provide a fun and interesting learning experience for kids & adults of all ages. On your educational tour you can view ostrich chicks at one day old, feed the yearlings and say hello to our blue-neck or Somali ostriches and the Maasai adult ostriches.
Our tour guides are right there to answer all of your questions and make sure you know everything there is to know about ostriches.
Ostrich Meat is a red meat with the characteristics of poultry meat and low in fat. Ostrich meat can be used as steak for frying, or any of your favorite dishes as a substitute for any red or white meat.
