Never having had experience with ostrich in the kitchen, I read up a bit. Similar to beef in taste but significantly healthier; tough if overcooked, best in the rare to medium-rare range; extremely resilient and easy to raise, so usually ‘natural’ by default. This stuff sounds like a winner; time to fire it up!

A little salt and pepper is really all that is necessary to season the meat. Grab a pan, throw in a splash of olive oil to coat the bottom and get some heat under it. Standard, no? A couple of minutes on each side sealed the meat (which browned beautifully). Transfer the meat to a moderate oven for a few minutes to finish it off. I won’t offer you cooking times because I have no idea how thick a cut you’ll find, nor how red a meat you can handle. That said, my inch and a quarter thick steaks were just about right after about 7 minutes in the oven. That was just enough time to throw some red wine (I had a decent $5 bottle of Zinfandel), rosemary, pepper, garlic and a wee pinch of sugar into the pan for deglazing and reduction. A fast hand and a wooden spoon got the pan scrapings into the wine, which was then reduced to about 1/3 of its original volume. Together with the meat and a side of greens, I had an amazing 10 minute meal (and the deglazing of the pan cut a couple of minutes off of my cleanup time!).

The sale had a couple more days to it and I now have a freezer full of ostrich and a wicked new addiction.

He always emphasized the need for a wooden salad bowl in which to prepare the dressing; I have abandoned that for practical purposes, but certainly appreciate the intent. I typically prepare it in a coffee mug with a fork and a tiny little whisk.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Dijon mustard
Garlic cloves
Sugar
Salt & Pepper

I am not a big fan of measurements. I understand that certain scientific endeavors, such as baking bread, require precise formulas. You will please understand that I avoid any such endeavors. I prefer the artsy, auteurist side of food; the side in which you taste your way to the finish line, adding another pinch here or another splash there. That said, I’ll try to ballpark things in the hopes that I give a good starting point which might also serve as a decent finish.

People’s opinions vary when it comes to oil:vinegar ratios. Some call for 1:1; others prefer 2:1. I would say that if you start at 2:1, you can taste your way to personal preference; I am somewhere in that grey area and I end up tasting my way there every time. For half a cup of dressing, I might use a teaspoon each of mustard and sugar and two cloves of garlic. Salt and pepper are, in this as in most every other recipie, completely and utterly ‘to taste.’

My garlic habits are a bit rigid (and stem from my father), but I do believe that they make a difference. To wit the garlic must be crushed by fork and only in the container in which the dressing is being mixed. My rationale for the fork is that the crushing releases the juices and flavor but keeps the clove in one piece so as to infuse with the flavor of the garlic but avoid overkill. As for the location of the crushing, if the juices are to be released, they shouldn’t be released onto a counter-top or cutting board, but into the other ingredients. In simpler terms: drop the cloves into the cup and use a fork to squish them against its side.

Beyond this, I’m relatively flexible. Whisk it all up then it sit. The longer you allow the dressing to sit, the more the flavors will mingle and intensify. Whisk it again, toss with your greenery and serve it up, keeping those cloves off of people’s plates.