Conventional Vs. Unconventional Meat and Poultry

While walking through your local farmers market, you might be confronted with some not-so-typical options. Buffalo or Beef? Emu or Chicken? What’s the difference? What’s nutritional difference? Fat content? Flavor?! In this week’s blog, I’m going to attempt to answer these questions by highlighting the key components that demarcate the familiar from the not-so-familiar form of meat or poultry.

Let’s start with Beef vs. Buffalo meat. Cows and buffalos are both grass grazing animals that are found all over the US. They also have the same type of cuts. So what’s the difference? According to the USDA, a 4 oz Buffalo patty has 122 calories, 24 grams of protein, 2.06 grams of fat, and 70 mg of cholesterol. A 4 oz Beef patty (95% or more lean) has 140 calories, 21.3 grams of protein, 5.4 grams of fat, and 62.2 mg of cholesterol. Therefore, comparing patties, a Buffalo has less calories, more protein, less fat and more cholesterol. On the whole, buffalo seems to be healthier.

Now onto Emu vs. Chicken. Emus originated from Australian but can be found throughout the United States while chickens are almost everywhere. Here’s the nutritional break-down: 1 oz boneless, skinless cooked chicken has 53 calories, 8 grams of protein, 2.06 grams of fat, and 25 mg of Cholesterol. 1 oz of cooked Emu has 49 calories, 7.36 grams of protein, 1.99 grams of fat, and 23 grams of Cholesterol. As you can see, Emu vs. Chicken is, at least nutritionally, a toss-up.

But which tastes better? It’s hard to say. Since Buffalo beef is leaner, it has less fat to add flavor so naturally it might not be as rich. However, it is often said that Buffalo meat has a slightly sweet taste and rich in flavor. Emu is sometimes said to be fine-grained and slightly oily compared to chicken. However, as you probably know, these are merely opinions and the best way to find out is try it yourself! I think all of them have a unique flavor worth trying.

If you live in Wisconsin, a great place to find and order emu is at Valley View Emu’s, LLC. You can find Buffalo at Ruegsegger Farms or  Ney’s Big Sky, LLC. If you don’t live in Wisconsin, go to Local Dirt and find some unconventional meat or poultry near you!