Emu, Duck, Ostrich

The place I’ve ordered emu and duck from (no ostrich yet) is Amaroo Hills.

The meat isn’t inexpensive. I have no idea what beef costs in stores these days. We buy meat directly from a Mennonite farmer and have for over two years and, I’ve never bought emu, duck or ostrich other than what I’ve bought from Amaroo.

The beauty of these meats is that it works for those who either cannot eat beef, pork, venison or lamb (any mammal meat or products). If whatever the doctor is concerned about in my bloodwork improves after one month of not eating any of those meats, then I’ll be back on the no beef and pork diet and these meats will be the occasional treat for me. If the numbers the doctor is concerned about don’t improve after a month of not eating the suspected triggers, I’ll go back to eating beef and pork and probably not order more of this meat because (1) I know it’s a bit more expensive and (2) Vince won’t eat it. Last night I fixed the emu fan filet thinking he might eat it. He would not. I thought it was delicious and was pretty sure if I was given a piece of that and a piece of beef filet, I would not have been able to tell the difference. Today we’re having sandwiches. I’ll have pastrami on rye and he’ll have turkey. I asked him to try it . . if he truly doesn’t like it, fine. Nope. So, if I’m going to have to stay off beef and pork, there may have to be a “discussion” about how we’re going to handle two separate meats at most meals. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

For the emu, I marinated it and cut it into about 1-1/2″ “steaks”. I seared them in a skillet with a little olive oil and cooked them til the center reached 150 degrees, which is recommended for rare. There’s very little (maybe none) fat so it will dry out and be tough if overcooked. I used a little plant based butter, added garlic and chopped fresh basil and served that over the meat. I’d definitely eat it again. There were four steaks and I ate one so I’ll probably be eating it all week.

I will say that their shipping is amazing. For my orders, they’ve had ice packs in the bottom of the box, with dry ice on top of the meat and the two orders I’ve received were frozen SOLID when they arrived. I believe they ship from North or South Carolina – somewhere halfway across the country from me. I probably wouldn’t order in the summer but I’m sure if they’re shipping, they have a plan that works.

I’ve tasted the pastrami and you would never know it isn’t beef.

For Christmas, I’m cooking a ham for everyone else. I’ll have the smoked duck breast.

That’s about all I know to tell you about it. If there are questions, please ask.