How to Get Oil From an Emu
The emu is the largest bird native to Australia, thought to have been in existence more than 80 million years ago. For centuries, these birds have provided humans with food, clothing and more recently, oil. Production of emu meat and oil has consistently increased, and numerous health benefits have been discovered for a myriad of conditions such as cell regeneration and pain relief. However, due to its offensive odor and brown color, emu oil must undergo several stages of processing before it can be utilized.
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Things You'll Need
- Emu carcass
- Sprayer capable of high heat
- Tank for mixing
- Filter
- Refined filter
- Rendering tank
- Diatomaceous earth
- Absorbing clay
- Bleach
- BHT or tocopherols
- Storage container
Instructions
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Preparation
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1
Remove the fat. Emu oil is rendered from a thick subcutaneous fat layer on the back of the bird. Typically each bird will yield about 20 pounds of fat tissue. No special tools are required, but the fat must be separated from the muscle tissue. The fatty tissue must be clean and free from impurities and contaminants such as feathers, blood, dirt or manure.
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2
Cook the fatty tissue to remove the fat. The water temperature should not fall below 120 degrees.
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3
Wash the cleaned fat to coagulate and separate proteinaceous components. Insert the fat into a tank filled with water or pour hot water over the emu fat. The water temperature should be 150 degrees to melt the fat into an oil and reduce peroxide growth. Stir for approximately 20 minutes.
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4
Strain the crude oil from the water and then run through a finer filter. This will further reduce impurities before placing it into the rendering tank.
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5
Add the oil to rendering tank. Mix the oil with diatomaceous earth and absorbing clay. Bleach can be substituted for the clay if desired. The clay absorbs any peroxide and refines the brownish hue, and the diatomaceous earth further refines the oil. If the peroxide level is high, the oil may be run through the rendering tank several times. Keep the tank at a slight vacuum to inhibit peroxide growth.
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6
Deodorize the oil to remove odors, peroxides and any carboxyl compounds from the bleached oil. Typically, emu oil is deodorized by injecting pure steam into the heated oil at a temperature of 350 to 450 degrees under high vacuum. This should remove any remaining peroxides, carboxyl compounds and discoloration.
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7
Add an antioxidant such as butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) or tocopherols to retard spoilage and increase shelf life. Due to the nature of emu oil, it is more susceptible to spoilage during and after the refining process. Therefore, it is imperative that preservatives are added to the final product.
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8
Inspect the final product. The resulting color of the processed emu oil should be light yellow when in ambient temperatures. In cooler temperatures, the oil will solidify to a butter-like consistency and lighten in color. Oil resulting in any other color signifies impurities.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
