Ostrich Steak with Fig Chutney
Ostrich – The Big Bird
I know ostrich is not very common in Europe. But I’m actually very happy when I find it. It might be weird to some people, simply because they haven’t tried it before. One thing to know beforehand is that ostrich meat doesn’t taste like other birds. It doesn’t even look like other birds. The meat is deep red more like a venison. And some people say it tastes like beef, but you will just have to try this ostrich steak and make your own assessment.
I like to keep the seasoning for this very simple with salt and pepper, as I like to taste the flavor of the meat. Because it’s a very lean meat you should be careful not to overcook it. To me it’s perfection at medium rare. The most important factor in cooking meat is to cook it at room temperature. Always remember to take your meat out of the fridge one hour before cooking.
The last of Figs
Fig season typically runs from August through October. I took the last opportunity to make a delicious chutney from fresh fig. The combination of figs and red onions is perfect. And a bit of Marsala gives an extra nice taste. This chutney is a perfect match for the ostrich steak. And I like it with cheese on toast also. I made a slightly bigger portion to have leftovers. These can be saved in a sterilized jar in the fridge for weeks.
Trumpet Royale Mushroom
To complete the dish, I added some mushrooms and sweet potato. But not just any mushrooms. I used the trumpet royale mushroom that goes by many names. You might know it as the king trumpet mushroom, or French horn mushroom or even king oyster or king brown mushroom. It has a thick, meaty white stem and a small brown cap. You can eat it in its entirety and the stem has the same flavor as the cap. It can be sautéed, grilled, braised, stewed, or broiled. And is an excellent substitute for meat in a vegetarian dish.
Ostrich Steak with Fig Chutney
Ingredients
Ostrich steak
- 2 ostrich steak about 180 gram each
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- Salt and pepper
Side dishes
- 1 big sweet potato
- 2 Trumpet Royale mushrooms
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Fig Chutney
- 3 pcs big red onion about 400 gram, sliced
- 8 pcs fig about 500 gram, stemmed and cut into 8 parts
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp fresh thyme finely cut
- 1 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 100 ml Marsala red wine Ruby Port is also nice in it
- 1 pinch chili powder
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
Chutney
- Heat olive oil in a pan. Add red onion and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until translucent. No any problem, if it’s a bit browned, but do not burn it, because it will be bitter.
- Add fig, thyme, Marsala wine, lemon juice, cider vinegar, chili powder and salt. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook it uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until its liquid should be reducing, chutney has thickened. Stir frequently.
- Taste your chutney. Add a tablespoon honey if it’s not sweet enough for you and cook for 2 minutes, stir constantly. My figs were ripe and sweet, the wine is sweet too, I didn’t have to add any sweetener in it.
- Serve the chutney with steak or put to sterilized jar and store in the fridge. Delicious with cheese too.
Side Dishes
- While chutney is cooking, sweet potato is baking in the oven. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Slice sweet potato in lengthways to 8 – 10 mm thick slices.
- Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Lay the slices to the tray and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Turn the slices and bake the other side for 15 minutes too.
- Slice Trumpet Royale mushroom in lengthways to 4-5 mm thick slices.
- Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Preheat 2 tbsp olive oil in a big frying pan. Put mushroom slices in it very gently, don’t break them. Fry on medium high heat both sides for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown.
Ostrich Steak
- Spread ostrich steaks with a bit of olive oil, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Heat a frying pan to smoking-hot and fry the steaks for 3 minutes on both sides.
- Add butter to your pan just before your meat is done and mix with steak juices to coat your meat. Leave to rest for some minutes. Steaks will be perfectly crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside. It’s medium rare.