It’s what’s for dinner in my kitchen tonight, anyway. Bubbling away on my stove right now is a pot of meat sauce, shortly to be liberally spooned over pasta and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. I’ve had emu burgers in restaurants before, but this is my first cooking experience with the birdy. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Ground emu browns up much like hamburger, but with almost no grease - so little that I didn’t even bother to drain it, and I normally drain hamburger fairly intensely, with hot water and a collander.
The true test - my 12 year old daughter, who hates anything new but loves spaghetti sauce.
LOL, Dire Wolf, you’re going to make me hijack my own thread! I heard Emo Philips on the radio last Friday. That man is odd.
Anyhow, the emu actually went over quite well. We told little Katt what she’d just eaten after the fact, and she was okay with it. Hope so, as she had two helpings
The taste is really good. It’s a touch drier than regular hamburger, as the fat content is so low, but after being cooked in pasta sauce, the dryness is gone. The only drawback is the price - it’s about double the price of hamburger. We bought that right at the emu farm, about 15 miles from our house. I’ll have to shop around and see if it’s cheaper elsewhere, but that seems unlikely.
Well, I’m glad Katt was ok with it. I don’t know if I could eat emu, but my friends can’t get me to try venison, either. Must be a mental thing.
There’s an emu farm about 15 miles from my house, too, and I thought it was the strangest sight when I first saw these freaky ostrich-looking things running around. I’m told they can be pretty mean, too.
And you’re right - I just don’t get Emo Phillips’ humor. Maybe he would be better off in a stew!
I can’t eat anything cute, including venison. Eat BAMBI? :eek: Can’t eat rabbit, either. But emus are ugly and nasty critters. When my sister was about 4, we were at a petting zoo that had one. It attacked her jacket’s hood strings, which scared the heck out of her. I guess that did it for me
Now’s there’s a food rule for you. If it’s ugly, it’s okay to eat it. Hmmm… the possibilities on that one!
Our neighbors in the Ozarks had emus as pets… they were payment from a patient who didn’t have enough money to foot his doctor’s bill (the one neighbor being a doctor…)
As for venison, I accidentally ate it one time. One of those cases where ignorance was bliss…mmm…and tasty bliss it was. Sorry, Kim I freaked out at first, but it was a lot better than the hog jowl that accompanied it. Relative circumstances, I suppose.
Although I’ve never had emu, I have has an ostrich burger. And let me tell you, it was scrum-didley-umptious! I love venison as well, but is harder to ocme by in my area, because it’s assumed that if you want venison, you get your rifle and kill the damn thing yourself. But there are numerous ostrich and emu farms near me. My friend’s parents actually own two ostriches, and my former English teacher farms emus on the side. Mmmm…emu…
My 16 year old, (who ALWAYS would try anything once) loves it. I’d love to be able to cook some at home vs. dining out for big bucks (the only place locally we can get it and the only item on the menu that has it is an appetizer platter designed for like a family of 4, and has emu, rattlesnake, boar, venison, and buffalo I think - yes, he love is all and eats the whole thing by himself - he’s 6/1 and weighs about 160)…
My dad has apparently decided to raise crazy animals in his retirement years; he obtained an emu this summer, for which he traded three peacocks (including one albino) plus some other consideration.
Haven’t been home since it was butchered, so I have no idea what emu tastes like just yet. Dad tells me it produced about 80 pounds of good meat.
Have you tried an online search yet? I’m in Canada, southwestern Ontario to be more specific, and there are a few emu farms in the area. Several local grocery stores and restaurants also carry it.
Problem comes in when people find that emu ranching isn’t as profitable as they thought it would be. So the dumbnuts turn the emus loose in the rural countryside. We get at least 1 call a week about ‘big, huge ostriches’ running around (a couple of ostriches have been let loose, but not near the number of emus). I pity the people at Animal Control and the police departments, since they usually end up dealing with them.
Big and ill-tempered birds with the brains of a brick, and now another imported species feeding and breeding and threatening local wildlife. But I concede they are tasty.
[At least no one has tried raising cassowaries - now that is one frighteningly strong and nasty bird!!]
a restaurant near Williamston MI (about 15 miles southwest of Lansing) called “rooftop inn” has a reindeer farm as well. shall I call and make reservations for you?
**KimKat ** thanks, will try to see if it’s doable…!
I can attest to the foul temper of the emus. Once in a while they manage to kick through the neighbors fence. You have to make sure there are no pets or children outside for them to kick, rake with their claws, peck or bite. You have to try to herd them back to the pasture and still maintain your own safety zone. I would rather deal with a bull anytime.
may have to do that KimKatt I’m about 2 hours from D-troit (smack dab in the middle of the state around Lansing). -look at your right palm, hit the middle of your hand (not counting your fingers) that’s about where I live.
Just this morning while chatting with my SO, he casually mentions that the Rooftop Restaurant (and Reindeer Farm) is closing it’s doors. the property has been sold, the guy who owned it has chosen to simply raise Reindeer and drop out of the restaurant buz…
I freaked out at first, but it was a lot better than the hog jowl that accompanied it. Relative circumstances, I suppose.
:eek: