|
|
Emu
in Virginia:
Exotic
Beasts in the Old Dominion
They
are called “ratites” – flightless birds that
may be the descendents of dinosaurs. In Virginia,
those that raise emus and ostriches are part of a
small but growing form of “alternative
agriculture” that offers meat, eggs, leather, oil,
soap and feathers to consumers.
At
Emu of Virginia in Fluvanna County, a couple keeps
80 emus – the Australian cousin of ostriches –
and sells a variety of products from emu oil, which
is valued by some as a skin treatment, to emu meat,
which has much less fat than beef (.6 grams vs. 20.7
in a single portion) and eggs, which are sold for
decorative purposes. They are green and apparently
make great Christmas tree ornaments!
Sue
Carr, owner of the Sandy Head Ostrich Farm in
Tazewell County, has emus but also raises ostriches,
Aracaunas, Turkens and other rare birds. (Aracaunas
are sometimes called “Easter egg chickens”
because they lay green, blue and pink eggs; Turkens
are sometimes known as “naked neck chickens”
because of a lack of plumage on that part of their
anatomy.) In the farm’s gift shop, Carr offers
decorated egg shells, ostrich shell candles,
wreaths, sprays, egg shells, plumes, feather
dusters, ostrich oil soap, and low-fat ostrich meat.
Shoppers can even buy ostrich jerky, which is
supposedly a great energy snack.
According
to the American Ostrich Association, ostrich
production in the U.S. may be second only to South
Africa – the bird’s home continent. In a
2002 census of livestock the U.S. Farm Bureau found
ranches or farms in all but two states, a total of
1,500 in all.
One
reason is that ostrich and emu are cropping up on
restaurant menus, sought by Baby Boomers worried
about their health. Chefs refer to emu and ostrich
as “new meats.” Food critic and author Sam
Guigno even wrote about his experience with ostrich,
emu and other new meats on his Web site,
SamCooks.com.
Apparently,
it took awhile for the ostrich industry to take
flight. “When I first started selling it, people
looked at me as if I was from another planet,” a
breeder in Pennsylvania told Guigno. “Kids would
say, ‘That’s Big Bird we’re eating!’” Now,
however, the meat is sought by diabetic and heart
patients, as well as other health-conscious
gourmands.
The
usable meat from the ostrich comes from the upper
leg. To prepare it, Guigno slices the deep-red meat
thinly like scaloppini, dusts the pieces with flour
and sautés them in a hot skillet. He deglazes the
pan with wine or brandy to make a simple sauce.
Guigno tried both ostrich and emu and found they
tasted quite similar – sweet and tender. Ostrich
is even served at the Ritz Carlton in Tyson’s
Corner, VA, wrapped in apple-smoked bacon.
If
the ratites don’t appeal to you, try Kerry's
Pulled Bison BBQ. Kerry and Frederick Wildt own the
Wild-T-Bison Farm in Richmond County. Kerry’s
recipe, posted on the National Bison Association Web
site, involves braising five to six pounds of bison
(shoulder roasts) in a Dutch oven and covering them
with a killer barbecue sauce. The other bison farm
in Virginia is Brush Creek Farm, owned by Jim and
Jan Politis. (According to the bison breeders’
association, there are about 4,000 bison ranches or
farms in the U.S. that raise about 232,000 of the
animals.)
In
addition to standard cuts – from rib eye steaks to
brisket and ground patties – the Brush Creek Farm
offers culinary guides such as the "Buffalo Is
Heart Healthy Cookbook" and the "Great
American Bison Cookbook." As with ostrich and
emu, buffalo meat is low in fat. The animals don’t
store intramuscular fat, so they are leaner than
cattle. A serving of bison contains only 2.42 grams
of fat.
Food
critic Guigno also tried bison. He found cuts of the
meat have a deeper, richer color than beef, and a
denser texture. The meat, he says, tastes like
well-aged beef, but sweeter. If you prefer to admire
rather than eat exotic critters, then you may want
to visit one of the Old Dominion’s llama farms.
You can even go hiking with the beasts, who hail
from the Andes where they are used as pack animals.
The International Lama Registry (the extra “l”
is omitted in the animal’s scientific name)
estimates there are more than 3,000 llamas in
Virginia.
Burnt
Mountain Llamas in Nelson County raises the animals
for show. But llamas have also been used to guard
sheep and even as caddies for golfers. Tim and Donna
Parkman of Twin Creeks Llama Treks own six llamas
and offer hikes ranging from two to five hours that
are so popular they must be booked months in
advance.
Llamas,
apparently have great dispositions. As Tim Parkman
says, “We were intrigued by their calm demeanor
and stately presence, not to mention their dreamy
eyes and cute wooly faces.” Parkman retired to the
Shenandoah Valley after a 24-year Air Force career,
and wanted to raise animals that wouldn’t end up
on the dinner table. After researching cashmere
goats and alpacas, they chose llamas and haven’t
looked back.
But
perhaps the farmer with the most exotic animals in
the commonwealth is Jimmie Spady. The 68-year-old
former oysterman drives a truck with a license plate
that reads “Zoo Man.” Profiled in a Los Angeles
Times article earlier this year (“The Nation:
Emus, Ostriches and Llamas All Get Along on a
Virginia Farm Menagerie,” February 19, 2006),
Spady began raising exotic animals on his Oak Crest
Farm near Smithfield about 20 years ago when the
oystering business began to fail. At first it was
just a money-making venture; at one time emus sold
for more than $25,000 a pair. Now, he admits it’s
a backyard hobby. However, it takes him two to three
hours to feed the few hundred animals he owns, which
include a zebra; African ostriches; rheas
(ostriches’ South American cousins); fainting
goats (whose leg muscles freeze when startled, so
sometimes the animals fall over); and geese that
stand up like penguins. Spady told the Times:
“Maybe somebody thinks it’s unusual, but it’s
just what I do.”
Spady
definitely has company. For some in the Old
Dominion, raising exotic livestock is all in a
day’s work.
NEXT:
Up, Up and Away: Hot Air in Virginia
--
August 7, 2006
(Got
a question? Check out Ask
a Librarian Live.)
|
|
