Ostrich Meat Preparation Tips

Ostrich is a red poultry with a texture and appearance very much like that of beef and venison. Ostrich meat should be bright to dark red in colour. Only minced meat may exhibit "marbling" when "silver" has been included in the mince. (Silver is a thin membrane that covers each muscle). The silver is removed from the muscles used for fillet and roast but is left on the muscles used as mince or sausage. This is done mostly for the visual effect. It is what we expect to see and think of as normal.

Defrosted ostrich may be safely stored in the fridge for 2-3 days.
(This may vary due to the temperature inside your fridge.)

Charts and recipes are great as a guide to help you store and prepare healthy and tasty food but... by using your own good common sense, knowledge of which foods, herbs, and spices go well together and your own personal taste, your time in the kitchen should be a big success!

Remember, because of the deep red colour of ostrich, the finished cooked ostrich will still have a pink color that we would consider "not done" if it were beef! As I was learning to cook with ostrich, I found it to be much easier to use a meat thermometer to check to see if the meat is cooked all the way instead of relying on the way it looks. After a while you will find that you don't use the thermometer as much and will be more confident in your own judgment of how ostrich looks when it is done! Maximum internal temperatures should be 160-165 degrees and should always have a resting period prior to serving of approximately 8-10 minutes to finish the cooking process.