Philly Cheeseostrich Sandwiches

Of the many killer foods we've found at the Saturday/Wednesday farmers markets in Lux City Center, ostrich meat ranks at the top. The aubergine spread, goat cheese stuffed peppers, sausages, fresh fruit and veggies, cheese, yogurt, etc are all exceptional, but the ostrich is truly a gift. 

I almost feel bad for the poor things, not only are they arguably some of the most unattractive birds in the world, but they taste good, too. I did some reading on ostriches and found some interesting facts about them that don't make me feel so bad about eating them or their unfortunate appearance and volitational deficiencies... 

• They are so powerful a single kick can be fatal to predators. 
• They can run 40 mph and outpace predators such as lions, hyenas and leopards.
• When fully grown, an ostrich has one of the most advanced immune systems known to man.
• When a male ostrich reaches 13 years of age it is responsible for its own actions. This is recognized with a ceremony whereby the young ostrich reads from the Torah. Typically, this ceremony is followed by a celebratory meal and party attended by friends and family. Musical entertainment is often provided and usually falls short of everyone's expectations until enough wine has been consumed to make dancing possible. On occassion, a great aunt ostrich will break a hip and/or wrist on the dance floor and a few adolescent ostrich males will get to second base in the coat check room.* 

Anyway, not only does it taste great (only slightly gamey), but its nutritional value beats chix, turk, beef and pork hands down. Check it here: http://www.ostrichgrowers.com/nutrit.html. If you're wondering what it looks like, it's appearance is a mix between beef and chicken, skewing much more to the beef side of the spectrum. 

The only cooking tip I got from the ostrich vendor was to cook it medium. That's it. So what did we do? Well, we made cheesesteak sandwiches, and they destroyed.

 

Seasoned the meat-bird with salt, pepper, cumin and coriander and then seared it in a cast iron skillet. The skillet then went into the oven and under the broiler along with shaved green peppers and onions, as well as some sauteed criminis. Pulled it from the oven and let the meat-bird sit for about 5 mins. Made thin slices of meat and placed them atop toasted ciabatta buns that had some delish melted Hepperdanger Keis cheese. Piled the peppers, onions and shrooms and got busy. We had some mashers and chard on the side as per usual. 

Musical accompaniment for cooking and dinner was Loudon Wainwright III's "High Wide & Handsome - The Charlie Poole Project" which comes highly recommended for anyone who likes banjo picking and songs that can thrive in any time period. Check it out here: http://www.thecharliepooleproject.com/project.html.

*I may have taken some editorial liberties with this final bullet point.