So last night I did the cooking for once. I know, shock horror!
For my rare appearance in the kitchen, I decided to take a foray into Iceland’s new range of speciality meat and game. It wasn’t all that long ago that you’d get excited when you saw an ostrich burger on sale at a food fair because it was so rare, but it seems now these different meats are becoming as normal as chicken and beef.
Lucky for me, Iceland’s adverts weren’t an exaggeration and Lichfield’s store had a whole freezer dedicated to its new offerings – ostrich burgers, ostrich fillet, buffalo burgers, crocodile burgers, venison meatballs, burgers and sausages, and kangaroo burgers and meatballs.
I settled on ostrich fillets and some kangaroo meatballs and hoped even I could manage to cook them without ruining them.
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Ostrich fillet looks similar to venison – steak-like but finer and leaner. It actually has less fat in grams per serving than chicken or turkey, and is packed with iron so is a good choice. I cooked it like a steak or a venison fillet, rubbed with a bit of oil (Mr M says always oil the meat, not the pan) then quickly fried in a pan. As you know, we both have our meat rare so I literally sealed each side and served it up. The meatballs were simple too, another quick fry off in the pan.
I served it up with readymade carrot and swede mash, and peas. Weeknights are not the time for long, convoluted cooking processes I feel.
The ostrich was less gamey than venison, but tender, tasty and lean. The meatballs were richer and would go well in a tomato sauce served up with pasta. The whole meal was simple, relatively healthy and easy to do. Plus it was pretty affordable thanks to Iceland prices Think we’ll be returning to this freezer for more midweek meals, as well as stocking up for summer barbecues.
What’s the strangest meat you’ve ever eaten and what did you think of it?
