Emus??

[JeffG]

There are emus at the game preserve that we hunt...anyone ever eat one?  How do you get the drumsticks in the oven?    

[markc]

Jeff,  I've never hunted or eaten an emu,  but have heard that in my part of Texas, when the emu ranching business went bust, a number of ranchers simply turned them loose.  Would be wierd to see one stalking the piney woods while deer hunting.  Not sure if I would shoot one or not.

I guess you need a big oven to get them drum sticks in there.   :-D
markc

[Tom]

The local barbeque place is an old stage coach stop.   They had emu burgers a while back.   It was supposed to be the craze for healthy food and didn't make it.   I had one and it was good.   I've seen those little ones, rhea for $75 but never shot one.    The emu burger was good.

I guess you make drumstick steaks?!

[acearch72]

Tastes just like chicken.

LOL!!

[Hud]

Actually they taste like beef, but more the texture and dryness of venison, so the rarer you  cook it the better.  I have shot and butchered hundreds of them.  The main product off the birds is the fat, which is the money maker. The meat is secondary. As good as the meat is, it isn't really cost effective to raise them for the meat alone.

As far as hunting them, I think they would be a really good game animal. Big game of the fowl world!  When they are in the wild they act a lot like deer. They like to be out in the open, but will disapear into the woods. I have never hunted turkeys but would think it would be similar, though you couldn't call one up.

I did shoot one wild one for the sheriffs department. I used a 30-06 at about 120 yds. It dropped right in its tracks.  When I butcher one at home I usually shoot it in the back of the head with .22 birdshot out of a revolver.

There is no breast meat, as they don't fly. Big drumsticks though.

Hud

[markc]

Thanks for the info Hud.   I assume they are ground nesters since they do not fly.  I figure they would not be successful in the woods I hunt, due to the feral hogs, but would love to see one come through some time.
markc

[cam0063]

I am no expert on Emu, but do see a few which are native to my area... I have eaten it a couple of times as sausages, kebabs, rissoles and salami... At 1st it tasted quite nice, then an after taste takes over and everything else for the next hour, including your beer, tastes like Emu! I thought maybe it was just me, but everyone I know who has eaten it has found the same thing... I would try it again, but not as a meal and won`t lose sleep if I don`t!

Over this summer, Emus have been culled in their 1000s here due to the drought... I have never hunted them, had one for a pet though. Mates who cull them generally use any rifle they can lay their hands on. Inparticular a .22magnum for head shots or a 12 guage, for the same reason. I have got close enough to them to hit them with an air rifle or a rock, so not very challenging. Much the same for the Kangaroo, they just sit there, not challenging either, in my book anyway. But that is another topic...

cheers,

Cam.....

[Hud]

That remindes me of once when we were out in North Dakota processing emus "on farm" for our co-op.  There were several ND farmers and ranchers there with there birds.  The co-op was to sell the fat but everyone was to take the meat home for their own use. This was fine with the ND members as they didn't want another meat competing for sale with their prime beef.  They were really talking  down emu meat the whole day we were processing the emus.  

Finally the lady of the ranch said "Well lets take some of these emu steaks inside and I'll fry some up for us all to try."  So into the house she went with the steaks.

Soon she was back out with a plate full of bite sized peices fryed up. We all tried it. All the ranchers and farmers started in with how it tasted like liver, or was to wild tasting and way to tough.  

"Well" she says "I gotcha boys. The emu is still in the house. This you're eating is some of your Prime North Dakota Beef Steak!"

Sometimes things taste like you expect it to.

Hud

[cam0063]

A good story, had to laugh... I like the trick serving the beef 1st

I agree with what you said Hud! But if it over powers the taste of my Beer, then not for me!  :grin: haha I`ll eat just about anything at least once... Emu one of them. It was nice, if it didn`t have the aftertaste I would eat it when available, but a little too over powering for me and the many here.

A mate of mine has an Emu farm south of me, he eats it, but not often for the same reason as me [though he doesn`t admit it to many ]. I remember 2 years ago he had a D9 build a pit on his ranch, they buried 2000 meat birds in it that year... So many people went bust over farming Emus for meat here. I was in Texas several years ago and nearly every Game Rancher I met said Bloody Aussies and those Damn Emus! hahaha. Was said in fun, but I could easily see not only Aussies lost big money over them... The Emu Marketing Board for my state is based in my town. The By-product Oil is highly valued. Emu Oil is a well regarded thereputic medicine. I have Emu oil lip balm in most vehicles on the ranch. They flavour it so you don`t have the Emu tatse, but all the benefits.

cheers,

Cam...

haven`t tried Ostrich yet - one day!

[markc]

great posts Hud and Cam.  I recall in my part of Texas a few years back when Emu ranching was all the rage.  I hardly ever see one any more. Wonder if the same type of thing is happening to American Bison ranching??   Sounds like it is having a similar fate.  
markc

[cam0063]

Hi Mark, I did see a few Bison on my last visit to Texas, Iowa too. A mate in the Hill Country has a nice herd. I hope they are not on the decline! If I can get my ranch sold here and a business established in Texas, you will see a few Bison on my ranch! Maybe an Emu or two also just to remind me of home well maybe not! haha.

cheers,

Cam........

[markc]

how about kangaroo's?   You could put a couple of them on your ranch.  LOL   Now are they considered a pest, or varmit in Australia?  Thats what I've always heard,  that they are considered a pest kinda the way coyotes or prarie dogs are seen here in the states.
markc

[cam0063]

Mark,

In many areas they are considered a pest! They are a Pest in much of my area, though it depends on the season. We are not allowed to just go out and shoot them, you have to apply for tags... This means getting the Agriculture Dept to do a survey of your property, then they will tell you how many you can cull! People do hunt them on the quiet though... Most of the culled Roos go for Pet meat, however some does end up on the Restaurant table! It is a very lean meat and when I have had it as a roast, I have been very impressed.

During the 1940s, 50s, 60s and into the early 70s many .303 military rifles fired a .303 case necked down to .22 and .25 for Roo shooting... Some great looking rifles floating around in these conversions. I am actually thinking of collecting a few. Some of the more unusual chamberings on the Military .303 were .303-243 and .303-270... You can pick them up from $50-$300 Aussie [$25-$150 U.S]... makes for interesting Aussie shooting history!

Roos are one of the success stories with the introduction of man... We cleared the land, planted improved pastures which they thrive on and then culled the Dingos which were their main predator, alongside the Aboriginie... Aboriginals don`t hunt much anymore, so the Roos have thrived. In some areas they have thrived to the stage of starvation, especially when drought hits!

I have quite a few here on the Ranch/Farm... Is always nice to have a few. However when they come thru in big groups, they do a lot of damage to fences and crops. Not just what they eat, but what they knock down when moving about, playing and fighting. My neighbours have them in goups of up to 60 or so. When they head for my place a few shots over their heads and they go back for a week or so This goes on and on thru-out summer and Autumn...

When last in Texas, I was amazed to see Kangaroos roaming ranches there. One Rancher I know there captive breeds them very well.... He told me things about Roo breeding I didn`t know! hahaha... As for me stocking a ranch with them - well,,,,,,,,,, I do like them but I don't think enough to deliberately introduce them

cheers,

Cam....

[markc]

thanks for the info.  Now what do those old rifles look like?  Any way to post a pic of one?  Always wanted to visit your country, maybe one of these days I will get to.
markc

[cam0063]

Hi Mark,

I have looked for photos at some Aussie sites on the net, no luck. Will check some of my Aussie Shooting Mags I have. I will be visiting my Gunsmith in Perth soon. He had a few necked down and converted .303 rifles, I will take some pics with the digital camera if there is a rifle or two in his safe. I know he was a common builder of these rifles thru the 60s and 70s! I did see a lovely .303-25 he had built in the 60s on a SMLE action with Mannlicher style stock as a proffessional Roo shooting rifle.

My original Rosier Martini is of the style that was built as a light game gun for India and Africa from the 1870s. They were often brought into Australia as Hunting rifle and mine is stamped for the Australian distributor... poor Roo that gets hit by a 480gr slug from a .450-577! When I get some photos  let you know. Don`t know how to add them here on the forum...

After WWll, there were a lot of surplus military rifles on the market. Imported U.S and European rifles were very expensive at the time, so much was done with military conversions and wildcatting these cartridges... As far as I am aware of, people aren`t collecting these post war Aussie hunting rifles as yet... I am going to secure a few good examples when I see them. [shouldn`t have said that on a public forum ]. They may never be worth big $$$, but the history and the large No of variations made, make them interesting.

cheers,

Cam......

[sambar02]

You forgot to mention about both species being a total menace on the roads,absolutely kamakasi. I just came back to the state of Victoria after a whirlwind tour of northern New South Wales,more dead roos on the road than white lines. In Victoria farmers can get a permit to destroy roos on their property,but they must be left where they fall, the meats to good for that,the big ones are good dog meat,and the little ones taste great. very lean ,good for you no cholesterol. but don't get caught taking the pelts though. Not to many emus in my state at the moment but are coming back,frighten the hell out off you when out sambar deer hunting they go through the thick scrub like an elephant stampede.Just the thing to get the heart rate up