Ostrich substitute
Beef fillet or tenderloin
Use the same amount by weight as the ostrich you are replacing
Use lean beef, not chicken. Beef fillet or tenderloin swaps in one for one and is the closest easy match for ostrich steak, and venison loin is closer still if you can get it, since it shares ostrich's extreme leanness and faint sweetness. For stir-fries, stroganoff and sliced dishes, sirloin or flank steak works at the same weight. For stews and potjiekos, beef chuck or shin is the right choice, because those cuts have the fat and collagen that ostrich lacks and so braise more forgivingly. The single most useful thing to know is that ostrich is not a white meat: anyone who substitutes chicken breast will end up with a completely different, much milder dish.
Other ostrich substitutes
Ranked, with the exact amount to use
Substitutes for Ostrich with ratios
2Venison loin or venison steak
Different tasteWhat changes
- Best for
- pan-seared steaks, grilling, medallions with berry or wine sauces, smoking, carpaccio
Technically the most accurate substitute. Both meats are dark, very lean, fine-grained and quick-cooking, and both are ruined by the same mistake of cooking them past medium rare. Venison is more assertive, with a clear iron-and-forest gaminess and a sweetness that ostrich has only a hint of, so the dish tastes wilder. It is also usually more expensive and harder to buy than beef. If your recipe pairs ostrich with red wine, juniper or fruit, venison will taste like it belonged there all along.
3Kangaroo or emu
Close matchWhat changes
- Best for
- steaks, grilling, burgers and boerewors-style sausage, stir-fries, anywhere ostrich is called for
Effectively interchangeable, and emu in particular is close enough that it can be hard to tell apart on the plate. Kangaroo is the leanest of the group and the most strongly flavored, noticeably more iron-rich and slightly liver-like, so it reads as a bigger, wilder version of ostrich. Both share ostrich's narrow window of doneness, so treat them identically: hot pan, two to three minutes a side, rest, and never past medium rare. If you found ostrich in a shop, one of these is often on the shelf beside it.
4Beef sirloin, flank or skirt steak
Taste and texture differWhat changes
- Best for
- stir-fries, ostrich stroganoff, salads with warm sliced meat, sosaties and kebabs, fajita-style dishes
The practical, affordable choice when the ostrich was going to be sliced anyway. These cuts have more beefy depth than fillet, which is welcome in a sauced dish, and they cost a fraction as much. What changes is chew: they have a coarser grain and a bit more bite, so slice them thinly against the grain and they eat close to ostrich. Skirt and flank also want a slightly hotter, faster sear than fillet or ostrich does, and they benefit from a thirty-minute marinade in the way ostrich does not.
5Beef chuck or shin, for stews
Taste and texture differWhat changes
- Best for
- potjiekos, stews and casseroles, pies, curries, slow-cooker dishes
The right substitute for the ostrich cuts that get braised rather than seared, and honestly an easier ingredient to work with. Chuck and shin are laced with fat and connective tissue, so they turn silky and self-saucing over two to three hours, while ostrich stewing meat is so lean it can go dry and grainy even in liquid. Expect a richer, glossier, more obviously beefy pot than an ostrich potjie, and slightly less of that clean, faintly sweet flavor. Because there is more fat, skim the surface before serving.
6Turkey thigh or duck breast
Taste and texture differWhat changes
- Best for
- burgers and patties, stir-fries, sliced pan-seared dishes, casseroles
Offered with a warning, because this is the substitution people reach for and it is the least accurate. Turkey thigh is the darkest, most savory poultry that is easy to buy, but it is still pale, mild and much softer than ostrich, so a peri-peri ostrich steak becomes a pleasant turkey dish rather than a close imitation. It also has to be cooked through, where ostrich must not be. Duck breast is a far better bird choice, since it is dark, dense and served pink, though it is fatty where ostrich has almost no fat at all. If you use turkey, add beef stock, soy sauce or mushrooms to rebuild the savory depth you have lost.
What is Ostrich?
Ostrich is Ostrich is a red meat that happens to come from a bird: the steaks and fillets are deep burgundy, taste closer to lean beef than to poultry, and carry almost no marbling, so they cook like venison and turn dry and liverish past medium rare.
Cooking tips
- The defining fact about ostrich is that it has almost no intramuscular fat, so there is nothing inside the meat to protect it from heat. Cook it to 125F to 130F for rare to medium rare, pull it off, and rest it for five to ten minutes. Two or three minutes a side in a very hot pan is usually the whole cooking time for a steak. Every substitute except beef chuck follows the same rule, with the single exception of turkey, which must be cooked through.
- Add fat from the outside, since the meat brings none. Oil the meat rather than the pan so it sears instead of steaming, and finish with a knob of butter, a spoonful of olive oil or a pan sauce. This is the same discipline venison and kangaroo need, and it is why beef fillet, which has a little fat of its own, is more forgiving than any of them.
- Keep marinades short. Ostrich has a fine, open grain that takes flavor fast, and an acidic marinade left on for hours will make the surface mushy and grey. Thirty minutes to an hour is plenty. Coarser beef cuts like flank and skirt are the opposite and genuinely improve with a longer soak, so adjust if you switch to those.
- Match the cut, not just the animal. Ostrich fan fillet, tenderloin and steaks are quick-cooking; ostrich neck, shin and stewing meat need two hours or more in liquid. Substituting beef fillet into a potjie or beef chuck into a two-minute sear will both go badly, regardless of how good the swap looks on paper.
- Slice thinly and across the grain, and slice it just before serving. Because the meat is so lean, thick slabs read as dry even when they are cooked correctly, while thin slices of the same steak taste tender and juicy. This applies to every lean red meat on this list.
Frequently asked questions
Is ostrich red meat or white meat?
Does ostrich taste like chicken?
Can I use chicken breast instead of ostrich?
What temperature should ostrich be cooked to?
Can I just leave the ostrich out of the recipe?
Related substitutes
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