The lead article in this PFS has been written by Dr. Sarah Birkhold. While emu meat receives most of the print in the popular media, most producers will say that the most value is in the emu oil. In the following article Dr. Birkhold details the special processing steps required for this unique product. Although no established procedures exist for emu oil production, Emu oil can be recovered using conventional processing technology. It will cover the basics of emu oil extraction and refining.
Emu oil spoils more easily than commonly rendered animal fats like lard and tallow.
Therefore, rendering and refining techniques must use low temperatures and minimize exposure to oxygen. Emu oil processing can be divided into two parts, extraction and refining. Extraction is removing the oil from the fat tissue. A large portion of the fat is found in the abdomen and is easily removed. Fat should be chilled immediately, unless oil processing continues uninterrupted.