Temperature and time to get Ostrich medium rare

I’ve a 1.2 kg Osrich filet and I wan’t to cook it to medium rare. Does anybody have some experiance at which temperatrure and how long I’ve to cook it?

Nice greatings from Germany,

Wendelin

Based on what I’ve been able to find the temperatures used for ostrich should be the same as those used for beef. So for medium rare you’d cook to 131F / 55C.
I’d guess that you’d want to cook it until “pasteurization” has been reached so I’d probably cook it as long as I’d cook chicken at that temp to play it safe (the thicker it is the longer the cook).

Best of luck! I wish I had personal experience with ostrich to ensure this advice is correct, but from what I’ve seen so far it should be good.

Ostrich is very similar to emu. You need to cook them at a slightly higher temperature than beef. 160 ºF (71 ºC) is a good temp to start with.

Some info about ostrich: https://www.northforkbison.com/ostrich-meat/

And emu: Emu Meat: Cooking Tips, Recipes, and Guidelines

Can’t help since I can’t remember the last time Costco had ostrich in the poultry aisle! :wink:

Good luck, though!

@michihenning that 160 F temp is way higher than the temps I’ve found used for ostrich on my searches…is it based on actual experience? (Because if it is I need to shut up! :slight_smile: )

What I’ve found was as follows
125F here… https://conorbofin.com/2016/02/16/egyptian-style-ostrich-sous-vide-and-the-five-stages-of-the-cooking-process/
129F here… https://www.chefsteps.com/forum/posts/ostrich-preparation-for-sous-vide
131F (for medium-rare) here… Steak Temperature Chart for Sous-Vide – Stefan's Gourmet Blog
129F to 136F here… http://therationalkitchen.com/sous-vide-time-temperature-table-proteins/

Just want to make sure!

I’ve done emu with a meat thermometer (but not sous vide). That worked out fine at 160. I’ve not done ostrich yet. It’s possible that the link I posted contains garbage info. Looks like the ones you found all want lower temps, so it might be best to go with the majority vote. If it’s too raw, that’s probably still better than it being overcooked…

I haven’t tasted ostrich it years (had it at a local event called “Bite of Seattle”) but when I did I remember it being much like rare beef.

@Wendelin please let us know how you decide to proceed, and let us know how things turn out!

Many thanks for your replays. I’ll try it at Easter and come back with the result.

Hello,

I cooked the 1.2 kg Ostrich filet for three hours at 127 °F / 53 °C, fried it for 1.5 minutes on both side and it was perfect medium-rare. Very delicious!

Many thanks for your suggestions and help!

Excellent! Very nice to hear it worked out so well!

I’m glad I found this thread, I just bought an ostrich fan filet and wasn’t sure if I should treat it the same as beef. Although I plan to cut mine into steaks and cook them individually. I’ve heard it’s also great as carpaccio so I may save a little for that.