Julia Altshuler wrote:

> I noticed ground ostrich and ground buffalo in the meat department of my
> supermarket today. Maybe they've been there all along, and I never saw
> them. I didn't buy them today, but I'm tempted to give them a try. Is
> there anything special I should know about cooking them? Do I start
> with plain burgers and develop recipes from there? Are there any
> special flavor combinations that I should be aware of?

Ostrich is very fussy. It's extremely lean and will be dry as sawdust
if you cook it more than med-rare. Flavor is pretty good, if a bit
more subtle than beef but way more definite than poultry. I'd be
cautious about ground ostrich given how little you can cook it. The
best situation would be to buy hunks of it, sear the outside (and
slice off or not) and grind that. Bacteria.

Buffalo is also rather lean, but not as much as the ostrich. I'd add a
relatively neutral fat to both before cooking. Beef suet or some
uncooked pork fat. It'll make the meats more forgiving in the cooking
and provide a better sense of moisture.

Pastorio