Pass the kangaroo
What's for dinner? Exotic meat, from emu to alligator to. . .lion?
RANDALLSTOWN, MD.--The emus at Drumming Emu--a farm near Baltimore that raises the long-legged, long-necked, flightless birds-- are fearless. They strut up to humans and stare with curious, brown eyes. But don't mistake inquisitiveness for smarts. "They're not very intelligent," drawls owner David Sponsler. "They've got a brain the size of a marble." Just as well, really. That means these birds can't figure out they're destined to be dinner.
If it's true that we are what we eat, then Americans have a new exotic flavor. Sales of unusual meats--sometimes called RMAs, for red-meat alternatives--are sizzling. National distributors report figures rising annually 20 percent to 30 percent. Bison leads the pack, with 25,340 slaughtered last year. That's impressive growth, considering that beef consumption is flat and the economy sluggish.
Emu is among the rising stars. The bird's meat is decidedly red and looks (and tastes) much like beef. RMAs in general are leaner than beef and pork; emu is even lower in fat and higher in protein than other exotic meats, according to a 2000 study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "A lot of these meats are so fat free they look like liver," says Russ McCurdy, owner of Seattle's Finest Exotic Meats (www.exoticmeats.com). "There's no marbling or fat." Typically raised on free-range farms, RMAs also tend to be free of injected hormones and antibiotics.
Mane course. Customers like the game of exotic meat one-upmanship. Besides emu and bison, options include kangaroo, wild boar, alligator, caribou, elk, deer, camel, ostrich (the larger cousin of the emu), zebra, and even lion. "Lion is the new big thing," enthuses Greg Landry, co-owner of 888eatgame.com, a Florida-based mail-order firm. He claims the king of beasts tastes like veal. Landry's lions are farm-raised in the United States, primarily for zoos or for use in photography and films. But some are sold for meat to help pay for breeding costs. That's also true of the camel meat he sells. The camels are bred on a 64,000-acre ranch for medical research.
A rich diet. Daring dining will set you back more than the cost of a slab of sirloin. A pound of lion or camel can cost $35 retail; a 1-pound emu steak, between $8 and $18. But many folks get their first taste when dining out--usually in white-tablecloth restaurants. Chef Warren's, a posh eatery in Southern Pines, N.C., recently sold out of 18 pounds of antelope steak--prepared with a pomegranate glaze--in just two days. Further down the food chain, Fuddruckers put an ostrich burger on its menu two years ago. "It's doing very well," says Bob Dodson, director of operations for Maryland and the District of Columbia. "You get people who say, `Ostrich? No way.' But once they taste it, they're totally amazed." Fuddruckers now sells 2,000 to 3,000 ostrich burgers a week.
Enthusiasts rave about the taste of alternative cuts. "They have a nice, clean, intense flavor," says Warren Lewis of Chef Warren's. "There's a certain sweetness you don't find in beef." One caveat: Lack of fat means RMAs don't tolerate overcooking.
Animal lovers may be taken aback by the trend. But neither Landry nor McCurdy sells meats from endangered species. They look for farms that raise the animals humanely.
But even devotees have their limits. Vicki Brooks, 37, turned to RMAs because of food allergies. Now a fan of wild boar, kangaroo, and caribou, she eschews rabbit. It's too cute. And Lewis says, "I wouldn't serve elephant. And I hear that in Japan they're serving whale. That would bother me." Not to mention how it would make Dumbo and Shamu feel.
This story appears in the June 9, 2003 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.