Emu (Fan Fillet)

Food · Protein · Food, Typed Supps

A bird whose meat behaves like beef, not chicken — lean but packed with iron and B12.

Stage by stage

Intake (Chewing begins breakdown): Chewing breaks down the dense muscle fibres so digestion can begin.
Stomach (Protein digestion starts): Stomach acid and enzymes start splitting the protein into peptides.
Small intestine (Iron & B12 absorbed): Heme iron and vitamin B12 are absorbed alongside amino acids from the protein.
Bloodstream (Built into red blood cells): Iron is built into haemoglobin for new red blood cells; amino acids repair and build muscle.

Timing

Any meal; its low fat content means nothing extra is needed to absorb its nutrients.

Time to effect

Weeks: A few weeks of regular iron-rich meals is roughly how long it takes red blood cell iron stores to shift.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Keto, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Halal, Kosher, Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

208 on the satiety index, where white bread is 100 — very high. Modelled from the Holt et al. (1995) measurements.

Environmental footprint

9.9 kg CO2e and 660 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Poultry meat" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.

Cost band

Pricey — roughly £14 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Heme iron
Vitamin B12
Lean protein

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 116.2
Protein: 24.7g
Carbohydrate: 0g
of which sugars: 0g
Fat: 1.8g
of which saturated: 0.6g
Fibre: 0g
Sodium: 43mg

Food vs. supplement

A 100g serving supplies close to three times the adult RDA for B12 and a substantial dose of easily absorbed heme iron — both harder to get in equivalent form from a supplement.

Kitchen tip

Emu fillet is extremely lean, so it cooks fast — sear it hot and pull it earlier than you would a beef steak, or it turns tough.

Common myth

“Emu, being a bird, is a lean white meat like chicken.” In reality: Emu meat is officially classified and sold as red meat. Its high myoglobin content gives it an iron level and colour closer to beef than chicken.