Tandoori Emu

Name: Tandoori Emu
Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients: 40 green cardamoms; 3 tsp mace; 300 ml olive oil; 20 cloves; 1 L yoghurt; 100 ml olive oil; 10 tbsp black pepper; 10 tsp caraway seeds; 100 g garlic paste; 20 dried red chillies; 2 tbsp hot English mustard; 200 g ginger paste; Salt to taste; Red food colouring (from an Indian grocery); 1 emu, about 8 kg; Chilli vinegar sauce (a Hong Kong sauce, ask at a Chinese grocer); Chilli vinegar sauce (a Hong Kong sauce, ask at a Chinese grocer); Chilli vinegar sauce (a Hong Kong sauce, ask at a Chinese grocer); 200 ml vinegar

Preparation info

10–12
Serves

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Cheong Liew

By David Sly and Cheong Liew

Published 2025

About

The idea of cooking one of the creatures on Australia’s coat of arms came to Cheong when emu farming become popular during the 1990s. Emu feathers and skin were being used for high-demand commercial products including cosmetics, and emu meat was being offered for human consumption.

Ingredients

Ingredients Method

1 emu, about 8 kg
200 ml vinegar
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Oceania
Australia
Main course
Gluten-free

Method

Clean the emu of any innards. Make cuts on the breast and legs. Mix vinegar, chilli sauce and olive oil to make a marinade. Rub marinade all over the emu and allow it to rest for an hour. Grind all dry spices with yoghurt, olive oil, hot English mustard, ginger paste and garlic paste to make a second marinade and mix it with the rest of the chilli vinegar marinade, using a wood