Beyond Beef; The Exotics; Cooking Strich (ostrich) La Ti Recipe
Yield: 1 servingsRecipe by luhu.jp
Ingredients:
Ostrich,
Formatted by Manny Rothstein,
Directions:
BYLINE: CHARLES PERRY
The two big facts about ostrich meat are that its a red meat (it
doesnt taste like poultry at all) and its 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. Its 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. Its 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 youre cooking,
because theres 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 dont think it braises well; dry heat works better. If youre
going to braise it, youve 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 its (braised) tender, it will
kind of fall apart. But you dont have to cook it that way. Its
tender by nature.
"You can use it anywhere youd do a piece of beef or duck. Its 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
Source from luhu.jp
The two big facts about ostrich meat are that its a red meat (it
doesnt taste like poultry at all) and its 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. Its 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. Its 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 youre cooking,
because theres 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 dont think it braises well; dry heat works better. If youre
going to braise it, youve 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 its (braised) tender, it will
kind of fall apart. But you dont have to cook it that way. Its
tender by nature.
"You can use it anywhere youd do a piece of beef or duck. Its 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
Source from luhu.jp