Emu Tenderloin - Sous Vide

The emu, found in Australia, is the second largest bird, after the ostrich, and is flightless, like the ostrich. We saw some at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center outside Dallas and got to watch and feed them from our car. I fell in love with them. 

Emu at Fossil Rim.

Emu poking its head in our car window. 

Despite my interest in unusual meats for years, I'd never eaten emu meat until I recently tried emu salami. I was intrigued by the dark color of the salami and decided I needed to buy a good cut of emu meat to see if it really was that dark. So I got some emu tenderloins from Exotic Meat Market. Anshu Pathak, the proprietor, raises emus, but he is not currently harvesting the meat from his own emus, he's still building up his mob (yes, a group of emu is called a "mob"). 

Raw emu tenderloins.

The emu tenderloin is a thick strip of meat cut from between the emu's breasts. When the emu is alive the tenderloin does not get much of a workout and so the tenderloin is particularly tender. And like the salami, it is very dark. 

rub with love Triple Garlic, a gift from a friend, was a terrific marinade and went well with the emu.

The first site that comes up when googling "cooking emu", which I looked up after the fact, recommends  cooking emu meat to between 150 and 160 degrees F (66 to 71 C). That seems way too high to me. The picture of the cooked meat that site shows is a light pink. I cooked the tenderloins sous vide at a temperature of 53 degrees C for just a little under four hours. I coated the meat with olive oil, salt and pepper and added rub with love Triple Garlic Teriyaki Sauce, three pieces of pickled ginger and a spoon full of minced garlic. 

The tenderloins after cooking in the sous vide.

Frying the tenderloins in butter.

The fried tenderloin.

After removing the tenderloins from the sous vide bag, I fried them for a short period of time on each side in a hot skillet with butter. I loved the fried outer flavor and the inside was still very rare, which I liked. I think Judy would have preferred hers cooked to a higher temperature. 

Nice red center.

I really liked it. If I cook it again, and I would like to, I might soak it in a combined brine and marinade for an hour or so, which would loosen the meat up just a bit. 

Piece with extra marinade and garlic.