Smoking A Whole Ostrich
We have always heard of smoking a brisket, ribs, smoking a whole chicken and even a whole lamb. But smoking a whole Ostrich is something new for us all.
Its hard yet exciting to smoke a whole ostrich. We have heard of an ostrich steak but smoking a Whole Ostrich is something on a new level.
This is a big bird which weighs almost 105 kilos as a whole. After cleaned up: all feathers taken off, cleaned from inside, this bird weighs around 55 kilos.
What Is The Ostrich Meat?
Ostrich meat is “red meat” similar in color and taste to beef. However, it is lower in fat grams per serving compared to chicken and turkey and much lower in fat and cholesterol than beef. Most of all the meat from an ostrich comes from the leg, thigh and back. An ostrich has no breast meat like the chicken and turkey.
Even though ostrich meat tastes like beef, the ostrich does not have fat marbling in the meat like beef. Ostriches have fat, but it collects outside the muscles and is easily removed during processing. Therefore, the cuts of meat are very lean with very low fat content. It is ideal for weight watchers who love red meat.
All in all you can say that it’s a combination of great taste and nutrition.
Cooking Ostrich Meat
Ostrich is a healthy and tasty substitute for any red or white meat. It absorbs seasoning and marinates rapidly. Since ostrich meat is so lean, you need to be careful not to overcook it. The recommended preparation of this red meat is medium or medium rare.
How To Get Whole Ostrich Smoki’n
There will be 5 steps to this smoking. Some will be really easy but mostly will be harder than to imagine:
1. Cleaning up all the feathers and in side
2. Brining the ostrich
3. The Rub
4. The smoke
5. The braise
Cleaning All The Feathers And Inside
This step sounds easy, but cleaning the feather of a big bird is not easy.
First, clean all the feathers from outside of the big bird.
Then like a chicken cut it from the bottom side to take out all the waste from inside, so it looks like a hollow bird. Give this heavy bird a good wash from inside out.
Brining The Ostrich
For this step you have to get a real big container in which the bird fits in and can be brined. It’s not a chicken or a turkey that it will need only 1-2 hours for brine but will be requiring almost a day and a half. or can say 24-27 hours for this process to get a juicier bird at the end.
It will require almost 80 liters of water with salt, pepper, sugar and garlic for brining this ostrich. Then the hard part comes in, taking out this heavy bird and laying it on a big wide counter top.
The Rub
Before rubbing, it has to be made sure that the surface of the ostrich is smooth and feather free. For that BBQ Flame Lighter can be used to burn off any remaining hair and bits of feather. It is time taking and hard to do.
The neck and the wings will be chopped off by Handcrafted Cleaver to give it a smooth and easy cut. So that they can be used for the ju gravy and ostrich buffalo wings later on.
Rub the ostrich liberally with a blend of seasoning (garlic, herb, basil, oregano, thyme ) and Great Chicken BBQ Rub on all sides to cover it properly.
The Smoke; Smoldering in Cherry wood
Once the ostrich is clean, brined and rubbed now it is time to smoke it. Move your whole ostrich to the smoker and smolder it in cherry wood for 2 hours on 105 degrees or 220 Fahrenheit. It will give it a nice sweet flavor when it will be done.
Add the ostrich neck with the whole ostrich while smoking so that when the ju is made it has that sweet hint of cherry flavor.
Mean while make your buffalo ostrich wings. First poach the wings until they are cooked all the way through, then deep fry them for 15 minutes. Smear the buffalo sauce and garnish it and dig in. It would be enough for 5 people.
The Braise; Cooking in the Smoker
Take out the ostrich from the smoker, its color would have changed to yellowish purple by then. Now prepare it for the slow braise. Place the bird on grill tray and on top of your baking tray to catch all the juices while braising. Pour 9 liters of beef stock on the smoked ostrich and let the juice drip in the tray below. Add around 5 pounds of onion and 7 pounds of carrot into the drip tray and some inside the bird too.
Add in 3 liters of water, Great Chicken BBQ Rub and thyme .The ostrich neck contains a lot of collagen which is perfect for the ju gravy, score it and add it to the drip tray too.
Then wrap the whole bird with tin foil which will then be ready for its final overnight 16 hours braise in the smoker on 105 degrees or 220 Fahrenheit.
Very carefully take out the ostrich, make sure not to tilt it because the tray at the bottom contains the very hot juices and no one would like to spill it on them.
Take the foil off, cut out a piece from the smoked ostrich, dunk it in the ju and enjoy. The meat will taste almost like beef and a hint of turkey but deliciously light.
Ju Gravy
Prepare the ju gravy by taking only the liquid from the drip pan, then skim the fat from it.In a pan prepare a roux by adding oil, onions, flour and ostrich broth to thicken the ju gravy.
Serve
Cut out 200 grams of ostrich into chunks mix it with ju gravy. Serve it with mashed potatoes with ju gravy, gravy on the side, pink coleslaw and corn bread.
Smoking a whole ostrich might seem difficult but by reading this all process you might manage all the equipment you need. Who know’s you might give it a try some day.