Page 6, Racine Reporter, September 27, 1996

Africa’s Best Kept Secret

By Michael Pugh

The ostrich (Struthio camelus), the largest of all living birds, can be found throughout Africa and in zoos around the world. Surprisingly, it can also be found inside of a sesame seed bun at a restaurant near you.

If you haven’t already heard, ostrich meat is rapidly growing in popularity throughout the United States and abroad. And for excellent reasons, too. Ostrich is a super-lean, super-healthy alternative to every other kind of meat. It is more than 97% fat free, and it is lower in calories and cholesterol than boneless, skinless turkey.

The first ostriches were brought into Wisconsin in 1989 by Dan Christman, a Racine native. Today his son Tim Christman is one of Wisconsin’s approximately100 ostrich farmers and the main distributor for the greater Racine/Milwaukee area. One hundred farms in Wisconsin may seem like a lot, but most states have many more. And business is growing. At this year’s state fair Christman sold over 700 pounds of ostrich.

Still, the ostrich market is minuscule compared to the beef market. "There are 500,00 birds in the United States, including breeding stock," said Christman, "If every single one of those birds were processed and put on the market, it would still make up less than 1% of the beef market."

In many ways ostrich farming is more efficient than beef farming. The incubation period for ostrich eggs is 42 days; once the eggs are hatched it takes 12 to 15 months for the bird to reach full maturity. Best of all, an ostrich has an average of 60 offspring a year. Beef cattle, in comparison, take nine months to gestate, have a single calf per year, and require 20 months to reach maturity. And, since ostriches don’t graze, the land is never harmed and the animals don’t need to be rotated from pasture to pasture. It is no coincidence that many of today’s ostrich farmers were former beef farmers.

Nutritionally, there’s no contest between ostrich and beef. Ostrich is 3% fat, while beef is 30%; that ratio is virtually the same in terms of calories and cholesterol.

Furthermore, every ostrich cut is more tender than the best beef cut. And there’s more to ostrich than just the meat. Ostrich leather is the softest, most pliable, and strongest leather in the world. Other hides are judged for quality against ostrich hide. Also, ostrich eggs are good to eat, usually in the form of an omelette; each egg is the equivalent of 21 normal eggs. And because ostrich meat is so lean, the bones are superior for making stock.

The only downside to ostrich meat is price. Ostrich is approximately four times as costly as beef. Once ostrich becomes a more accepted and widely used product, prices should decrease drastically. But the price will always remain higher than beef due to the comparatively small market, and the meat’s superior quality.

Racine has been relatively slow to pick up on the ostrich trend, but thanks to pioneers like The Charcoal Grill and Swingers, this could all be changing.

The Charcoal Grill has served ostrich burgers since last December. Sales have been good; at first the burgers were offered as Wednesday night specials, but they soon became a standard on the menu. Customer reaction has been favorable. "People like it very much," says Ken Kujawa, manager of The Charcoal Grill, 3839 Douglas Ave., "We have many people who come in specifically for our ostrich burgers, and we always have repeat customers." But not all people are as daring: "Some people are initially put off the "ostrich" aspect of it. It’s something that sounds strange and exotic and they just don’t know what to think. When that happens I offer them a sample. And I haven’t heard anything negative yet."

Tommy Patrick, the owner/manager of Swingers, 2322 Lathrop Ave., has had the same sort of reaction from customers. "It surprises some people," he said, "Most people are expecting a white meat, like chicken or turkey, and they’re surprised to discover that it’s so similar in appearance to beef." Swingers has sold ostrich since last February and sales have continued to climb. "At first our broiled ostrich burgers drew people in because of their novelty appeal," said Patrick, "But more and more people are coming back because of their nutritional value."

As a faithful reporter and a fairly health conscious fellow, I decided to try an ostrich burger myself. The verdict? It tasted a bit like a hamburger, but more like a ground steak burger - very tasty, lean but rich, and surprisingly tender. I was impressed. I’ll definitely order it again. I’d probably do so even if I didn’t like it, though, simply because I get a charge out of eating such a big, goofy looking bird.