Friday, November 30, 2012

Why Ostriches are Red Meat


Today I’m going to have an educational post on this blog. Years ago, when I was in Paris with a group from my church, Ethel and I stopped by a restaurant that advertised ostrich and kangaroo. They claimed to be out of kangaroo that night, and when I asked what it tasted like, they told me, “Like eland.” I assume that would be red meat… Ethel and I both got the ostrich, and it was the most delicious red meat ever. 

Just now I was telling Toque McToque how at another restaurant in Paris I accidentally ordered veal instead of scallops (well, what would you think “escallops” means?), so who knew if it was horse instead of ostrich? After all, aren’t birds usually white meat? She sent me this article that explains what makes meat white versus red. It has to do with the type of muscle: slow-twitch muscles for extended activities are red meat, while fast-twitch muscles for bursts of activity are white meat, with the dark meat being muscles that are used more. This is why chickens have white meat in their breasts but dark meat in their drumsticks, since they run around but don’t fly much. So ostriches have red meat because they do a lot of sustained activity, running all over the savannah.

Famous Hat

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Too bliddy cool for words. I think that's why most peeps don't like "Hunted Duck" or "Hunted Goose". And now I — a hunter, an eater of Hunted Duck and Hunted Goose and actually Hunted Anything -- finally understand the reluctance of peeps to eat dark meat. (Fucking racists!)