Something New & Awesome: Ostrich Steak with Mushroom Butter Sauce and Collard Greens

 

Raise your hand if you've had ostrich before.

Yesterday we went to the local farmer's market and attempted to buy our groceries for the week. Given that the only thing on offer is what's in season, we didn't have a plan about what to make, we just wanted to pick up what looked good. We grabbed a bunch of fresh vegetables, some mushrooms, turkey sausage, a roasting chicken, and some herbs. We were hoping to get some steak, but unfortunately by the time we arrived the steak guy had left. That's when we came across Roaming Acres Farm and their ostrich steaks.

New meat? I'm intrigued...

We've seen this outfit before but have always been a little hesitant to explore. We asked what the meat tasted like and why we should eat it. The answer - it's a red meat that tastes similar to steak but is extremely lean. With virtually no fat, the meat has less calories and fat and a higher protein count than chicken, pork, steak, or virtually any other meat. We opted for an 8 oz steak to split just to try it out, handed over our $10, and made sure to understand the preparation instructions. Then we headed home.

Hey guys! Welcome home!

The fresh mushrooms seemed like a perfect complement for a steak and we wanted to use our fresh collard greens before they went bad. And, having just had the delicious collard greens at Brooklyn's Smoke Joint the day before, we were eager to see if we could recreate the experience. So we formed the meal in our mind: ostrich steak with mushroom butter sauce with a side of collard greens.

Making the Dish
What You'll Need
For the Ostrich and Mushroom
1 - 2 8 oz ostrich steaks (or other red meat steaks)
salt and pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
4 oz cremini mushrooms
1/4 cup sherry cooking wine
3 tbsp butter

For the Collard Greens
1 bunch collard greens
2 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1-2 cups chicken broth
2 cloves sliced garlic
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar


Start off by getting the greens going, since they will take the longest to cook. In fact, it seems like the longer you cook them, the better they taste. Into a large pan, add some thinly sliced garlic and a tablespoon or so of olive oil, and start to simmer until the garlic just starts to turn. Before the garlic toasts, add in a can of chicken stock. Raise the heat to bring the chicken stock to a boil

Adding the greens to a pot and seasoning with salt and barbeque rub.

As the stock is starting to boil, slice up the greens into strips about half an inch thick, and add them to the pot. Season the whole thing liberally with salt, add about a tablespoon of cider vinegar, and if you're looking for a little kick, add some barbeque seasoning. Mix everything together (using tongs is actually the easiest way to do this) and submerge the greens as far as possible into the stock.

Stirring the greens into the stock. 

Then, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let this cook for at least 25 minutes, but the longer the better. Check it every so often and stir to make sure that all the greens are cooking evenly, and to see if it's reached your desired level of doneness.

Sliced Cremini Mushrooms

While the greens are going, you can get to work on the mushroom butter sauce and the ostrich steaks. This mushroom butter sauce is one that we've been making for quite a while, and is a great complement to any sort of steak, so you don't need to have ostrich on hand to enjoy this recipe. It's a great complement to a rib eye, porterhouse, or even a filet. Start with the mushrooms. Clean them and slice them thinly, and then put them into a skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook them over high heat, making sure that they're coated evenly with oil. As they're cooking, season liberally with salt and pepper.

As the mushrooms cook, they'll start to render their liquid.

After a few minutes of cooking, they'll start to render some water. Keep the heat high through this and once the water starts to evaporate, add in about a half cup of sherry cooking wine. Once the liquid has all evaporated and the mushrooms have cooked down nicely and caramelized somewhat, remove from heat. You'll finish this off once the ostrich is ready.

I have my eye on the prize - get to the ostrich!

To prepare the ostrich, we were told that it would be best if cooked to about a medium rare. When you cook a steak, the fat inside will render and keep the steak juicy. Since the ostrich has so little fat, you have to be careful not to overcook it or it will lose it's juiciness and become chewy and chalky. As such, we were told by the ostrich guy to prepare it at about a medium rare.

Ostrich steak seasoned with salt and pepper. 

Season the steak with salt and pepper, and let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes to let the salt work it's magic and for the internal temperature of the steak to rise a bit. Then add some oil to a skillet and raise to high heat.

Searing the ostrich steak over high heat.

Once the oil starts to smoke slightly, you'll know it's ready to give the meat a nice sear. Add the steak to the hot pan and sear for about a minute or two on one side, depending upon how thick it is. Then, flip the steak and sear it on the other side.

This smells awesome... is it ready yet?

Finish the steak by covering the skillet, taking it off the burner, and letting it rest in the heat for about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Then, remove it from the pan and let it rest on a cutting board for a few minutes to retain the juices. You can check for doneness by pushing it down with a finger and seeing if it has the right level of resistance, or by simply slicing it in half. If it needs some more time, add it back to the skillet, covered, over low heat.

Finished ostrich steak, nicely browned, super juicy.

Once the steak is done, you can finish the mushroom sauce. Place the pan with the mushrooms back over low heat and add one tablespoon of butter. Stir so that the butter melts, but do not leave on the heat for too long, or else the butter will clarify. You want the butter to remain nice and creamy as it combines with the remaining sherry liquid in the pan. This will give it an excellent flavor without feeling greasy or oily.

Melting the butter into the mushrooms.

Place the steak on the plate and spoon over the mushroom butter sauce. Ladle some of the greens on the side, and enjoy!

The finished greens - soft, flavorful, delicious.

The Result
We were truly impressed with the ostrich. It had a very steaky flavor, but it was actually almost a little sweeter. It was extremely tender, juicy, and flavorful. It tasted like one of the better filets we'd ever had, and we could feel good about eating it since it was so healthy!

The greens came out pretty well, and seemed to be heading in the direction of Smoke Joint quality. The flavors were all there, although they could probably have cooked even longer than the 30 minutes we had them on for. Next time, we'll do them for an hour and see how it's goes.

While we love a good beef steak, ostrich will definitely become a staple in our repertoire. We'll definitely be back to pick up some more steaks and maybe some ground ostrich from Roaming Acres next week, and if you live in the NYC area, we'd absolutely recommend heading over to one of the NYC farmer's markets and trying it out for yourself!