Exotic meats grab the spotlight

Enjoy them in a restaurant. Cook them at home. But do yourself a favour: try these flavourful, unique, Alberta meats.

STORY BY KIERAN BRETT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROTH AND RAMBERG

When it comes to meats like bison, elk, wild boar and ostrich, Chef Josef Wiewer offers three little words: DON’T BE SHY.  As executive chef of Calgary’s WildWood Restaurant, Wiewer has played a key role in putting Alberta’s exotic meats on the map.  Diners come to WildWood from far and wide to enjoy dishes like smoked bison carpaccio, wild boar bacon, bison short rib and elk steak.

“When we started WildWood, we made a commitment to profile Rocky Mountain cuisine and focus on local ingredients,” says Wiewer. “We know how to work with game, and we’ve found some excellent producers in Alberta.”

Raised and trained in Europe, where game meats are mainstream fare, Wiewer understands that Albertans might hesitate to cook these meats at home. Meats like elk, bison, wild boar and ostrich are very lean. Which means they’re easy to overcook.

“For the home cook, an elk or bison roast is a great place to start,” he says (because roasts are done slowly, they’re harder to overcook). “You roast it slowly for a few hours, serve it with some vegetables, it’s wonderful.”

BISON MAKES A COMEBACK

As a child growing up in Switzerland, Armin Mueller took an early liking to the bison. “I used to enjoy watching Western movies, like John Wayne, and the bison always impressed me,” says Mueller with a smile.

Today, he runs Canadian Rangeland Bison, a 500-bison cow-calf operation and 1,000-head bison feedlot near Bentley, Alberta and he loves it.  When he moved to Canada in 1975, he first operated a dairy farm. Mueller sold his dairy operation in 2000 and went into bison. His timing was at least partly symbolic.

“To me, bison is the meat of the 21st century,” he says. “It’s low in fat, high in iron and high in protein. It’s meat for today’s health conscious consumer.”

Mueller feeds his bison a variety of grains, with no additives. The bison are finished on pure grain, a step that produces an attractive colour of meat. Processing takes place at federally and provincially inspected facilities to ensure a high level of food safety.

After 25 years with cows, and four with bison, Mueller’s happy with his choice of a second career.  “The bison are really pleasant to work with, once you know how to handle them,” he says. “They’re smart, they’re fast and best of all, they don’t complain.”

FRESH FOCUS ON ELK MEAT

Elk have been farmed in Alberta for 20 years, but until four years ago, it wasn’t just about the meat. Elk were raised primarily for the antlers of male elk. Velvet antler is an essential part of traditional Chinese medicine, and Alberta velvet was exported around the world.

When world velvet antler prices plunged in 2001, Alberta elk producers began to focus on marketing the meat.

“We introduced people to elk meat all over the province,” says Glenda Elkow, Chair of the Alberta Elk Commission, who raises elk near Lloydminster. “We went to trade shows, public events and farmers’ markets. We saw that once people tried elk meat, they were impressed.”

Alberta elk are grain fed and the meat maintains a consistent tenderness regardless of the age of the animal. According to meat researchers in Lacombe, there’s very little difference in tenderness between a yearling elk and an older animal.  Regardless of age, all meat is tested for food safety by provincial inspectors before it goes to market.

Elkow describes farmed elk meat as sweeter and milder tasting than wild elk. It’s lean, tender, low in cholesterol and a versatile ingredient in the kitchen. Elk meat can be used in virtually any recipe that calls for red meat. Making a casserole?  Try ground elk for a different taste.

“There’s a tiny learning curve in the kitchen,” says Elkow. “Because elk has no marbling of fat, you can’t cook it like beef. It should be either slow-cooked on low heat, or seared both sides on high heat and cooked on a medium setting.”

From 25,000 animals in 1996, Alberta’s farmed elk population now stands at 45,000. At Josef Wiewer’s WildWood Restaurant, the elk steak is doing a brisk business at $32.95 a pop.

Now better-established in the meat trade, Alberta elk producers have two products to sell instead of one.

WILD BOAR MOVES TO THE MAINSTREAM

Consumers have three ways to get Deb and Earl Hagman’s wild boar meat. Dine at one of the many restaurants they supply. Buy fresh or processed meat in a specialty meat shop. Or come to the farm and hunt it yourself.

After a decade in the beef business, the Hagmans branched out into wild boar in 1991. Their company, Hog Wild Specialties in Mayerthorpe, Alberta, raise between 300 and  500 animals at any given time. This summer, the Hagmans and another couple launched a mobile catering operation focused on boar and beef, called Wild Side Concessions.

The boars are raised on the range and supplement the Hagmans’ twice-weekly hay feeding by grazing. All the meat is federally inspected prior to marketing.

“The meat is very flavourful and filling,” says Deb Hagman. “You don’t need to eat a lot to feel you’ve had a great meal. And cooking it is easier than you might think. It needs low heat to avoid overcooking, and it’s great with a variety of sauces, especially those that are fruit-based.”

Looking to shake up your barbecue menu? Hagman recommends a wild boar roast. Cook it on low heat over the barbecue. Once it is cooked to desired doneness, remove from the heat and cover with tinfoil for 10 minutes. Hagman says it’ll be an experience you won’t forget.

FEATHERS FLY AS POPULARITY GROWS

Surprisingly, ostrich meat has been a food source for more than 2,000 years. Originally native to Iran and Iraq, ostrich has been associated with Africa since the mid-19th century.

Bob and Patricia Clark’s history with the ostrich is a little more recent. Five years ago, looking to diversify their Calgary-area goat operation, they acquired 25 ostrich chicks. Today, their operation (call it a herd or a flock; both are correct) numbers about 150.

“Working with the ostrich is very simple. You don’t need to do a lot,” explains Bob Clark. “The area that needs the most attention is nutrition, to ensure good production. We feed them alfalfa, a mixture of grains and a vitamin supplement.”

Ostriches are market-ready at 12 weeks of age, when they typically weigh 220 lb. The leg and thigh furnish most of the tenderest meat. Government inspection and processing take place at Pure Country Meats in Strathmore, east of Calgary. The Clarks market their meats directly to consumers, mainly at the Calgary Farmers Market.

At 2 grams of fat per 100 grams, ostrich meat is exceptionally lean, as well as tender, so care must be taken in the kitchen. Clark recommends cooking ostrich meat at a medium temperature, using sauces to draw out its flavour.

“Ostrich meat can be ground or made into sausages,” he says, “and an ostrich steak is comparable with the best filet mignon you’ve ever had.”

Times are changing in the restaurants, kitchens and butcher shops of Alberta. With meats like bison, elk, wild boar and ostrich increasing in popularity, here’s your chance to try something different. Go wild.

READY FOR THE EXOTIC EXPERIENCE?

Alberta’s exotic meats are available at a number of specialty butcher shops, at local farmers’ markets or directly from the producers themselves.

These sites provide background on Alberta’s exotic meats, recipes, cooking instructions and in many cases, contact information for producers and retailers.

www.albertabuffalo.com/ (Bison Producers of Alberta)

www.albertaelk.com/ (Alberta Elk Commission)

www.hogwild.ab.ca/ (Hog Wild Specialties)