Poultry
Dromaius novaehollandiae
B tier
Dromaius novaehollandiae is the scientific name of the living emu, the tall flightless ratite of mainland Australia. On a butcher’s ticket the binomial usually means true emu meat rather than mixed ratite packs—deep red, very lean muscle with a mild, clean flavour closer to young beef than to chicken. Farmed birds supply steaks, stir-fry strips, and mince. Because fat is scarce, cooks treat it like venison or ostrich: hot sear, medium-rare centre, and rest so juices redistribute. Overcooking turns the fine grain chalky. Labelling under the species name helps buyers avoid vague “exotic red meat” blends.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
History
Aboriginal Australians hunted Dromaius across the continent for meat, fat, and eggs long before European settlement.
European naturalists described and named the emu as natural history collections expanded in colonial Australia.
Commercial farms marketed meat under clear species identity as emu ranching industrialised.
Specialty export and restaurant trade used the binomial to signal pure emu rather than mixed game.