Eat ostrich
Ostrich is a red meat despite coming from a bird: lean, fine-grained and closer in appearance to beef than chicken. It is commonly served as a steak, fillet, burger or slow-cooked dish in southern Africa and is also farmed elsewhere, including Britain. Its low fat makes accurate cookery more important than elaborate seasoning. Choose a licensed restaurant, farm shop or specialist butcher that can identify the farm and cut. A whole-muscle fillet shows the meat most clearly, while a burger reveals less about texture and must be cooked differently. Ask the cook how they prevent such lean meat drying out, then pair it with something that adds moisture or acidity—perhaps a fruit sauce, spiced relish or vegetables. If trying it in South Africa, seek a place that explains its own regional preparation rather than offering a generic tourist dare. Use only inspected, traceable farmed meat; do not buy an unlabelled wild bird or assume a wildlife market is lawful. Keep raw ostrich chilled and separate from ready-to-eat food. Because it is poultry, follow the product’s validated cooking instructions and current local food-safety advice. Minced ostrich and burgers must be cooked thoroughly all the way through, with no underdone centre. Check sauces and marinades for allergens, and confirm current personal-import rules before carrying meat home from abroad. Take a plain first bite and notice the mineral flavour, tight grain and absence of marbling before adding sauce. The discovery lies in meeting a familiar-looking red meat with a very different animal and farming story—not in claiming that every unusual species tastes like chicken.