Is ostrich meat a healthier alternative to beef—and better for the environment?
Yes and yes. These enormous, flightless African birds are raised on farms around the world for their meat, eggs, feathers, and hides. Ostrich meat is classified as poultry and is nutritionally similar to other poultry, though it’s more like beef in color, texture, and taste. As with beef, ostrich gets its red color from myoglobin, a protein in muscle that turns red when exposed to oxygen. But unlike beef, which can be high in intramuscular fat (that is, marbling), the fat in ostrich is mostly outside the muscle and much of it can be easily removed. Ostrich meat is also lower in saturated fat than beef.
Depending on the cut, a 3.5-ounce portion of ostrich meat, uncooked, has about 2 to 3 grams of total fat (about 1 gram saturated) and 110 to 125 calories, similar to skinless poultry breast. By comparison, three of the leanest cuts of beef have 4 to 5 grams of total fat (about 1 to 2 grams saturated) and about 130 calories in 3.5 ounces, while some fattier beef cuts, even when trimmed of visible fat, have at least 6 to 11 grams of total fat (2 to 4 grams saturated) and more than 140 calories.
Ground ostrich meat has about 9 grams of total fat (2 grams saturated) and 165 calories in 3.5 ounces, uncooked, compared to 15 grams of total fat (6 grams saturated) and 250 calories in 85 percent lean ground beef.
Ostrich meat is also a more sustainable and environmentally friendly choice than beef. Farm-raised ostriches require little land, and like all nonruminant herbivores (plant eaters), they produce much less methane, a greenhouse gas, than cows and other ruminant animals. Such gases are major contributors to climate change, and methane emissions from livestock represent a significant percentage of total greenhouse gases.
In addition, about three times more feed—and a lot more water—is needed to produce a pound of beef than a pound of ostrich meat. And when it’s time for slaughter, a 250-pound ostrich yields about 130 pounds of meat (52 percent of total weight) compared to about 490 pounds from a 1,200-pound steer (41 percent of total weight). Antibiotics are not typically used in farm-raised ostriches. Hormones are never given.
You can find ostrich meat at some farmers’ markets and in some grocery stores, available as steaks, ground meat, stew meat, and patties; it’s also sold online and offered at some restaurants. With demand higher than supply (there are a limited number of ostrich farms in the U.S.), the meat is quite expensive and variable in price—steaks range anywhere from $30 to $60 per pound, while ground and stew meat costs about $20 per pound. Ostrich jerky is also available (watch the sodium).
Because of its low fat content, ostrich meat can quickly go from juicy to leathery if cooked too long. It’s recommended to sear the steaks at high temperature and then turn down the heat to finish them off. Larger cuts, like a leg, can be cooked in a roasting bag to keep in the juices. Sous vide, which involves vacuum sealing the meat and submerging it in a hot water bath for several hours or longer, can be a good way to prepare ostrich. The meat can also be cubed or sliced for stews and stir-fries. Ground ostrich meat can be used for burgers, spaghetti sauce, chili, and just about any other recipe that calls for ground beef.
By the way, despite popular belief, ostriches do not hide their heads in the sand. Rather, they dig holes in the dirt for nests and use their heads to turn the eggs—and from a distance, this can look like they are burying their heads. The eggs, which are available seasonally, are the largest of any living bird. About 4 inches long and weighing 4 pounds, the average ostrich egg yields the equivalent of two dozen chicken eggs in volume.
