The moment I landed in Oz, I couldn't wait to try me some roo. When I finally tried roo for the first time, 'twas in the form of a burger.
Wonk! Though juicy, I was disappointed that the roo burger tasted much too much like a beef burger. Determined to find out how kangaroo meat really tasted, in the weeks that followed my roo burger experience, oh how I longed to try roo steak! And so, I followed Charmaine O'Brien's advice when BBQing roo for the first time. In her book, Flavours of Melbourne, she provides tips and suggestions on how to cook kangaroo. I've outlined Charmaine's tips in a previous post,
here.
Not only can roo be bought at most local grocery stores in Oz - such as
Woolworths and
Coles - it's affordable! Two (8 oz-ish) roo steaks you see here cost $10 AUD, which isn't that much more than the price of two good quality beef steaks, FYI. I heeded Charmaine O'Brien's advice and bought 'em from a proper butcher,
The Chicken Pantry, at the
Queen Victoria Market in Melbs. Here's how the whole shebang went down:
1 ― A buncha peeps had just finished using this public BBQ (in
Flagstaff Gardens, Melbs) when we arrived. Thus, we had to scrape the burned bits off the grill in order to have a clean surface to cook our food on. Such are the disadvantages of free public BBQs. Oh well. Essentials: cooking oil/cooking spray, tongs, salt & pepper, plates, cutlery, napkins, BEER :)
2 ― André preferred to stick slices of peeled garlic into his roo steak (for more flavour, apparently), but I went au naturale with mine. I didn't marinate my steak, nor did I steep it in any kind of oil prior to cooking. What can I say? I wanted to taste kangaroo meat in its truest form. Oh and feel free to slice up any veg you want and throw it onto the grill as well. We felt like capsicums and zucchini that night. Rather, capsicums and zucchini were the cheapest veggies at Woolies that night.
3 ― ssssssssssss If you hear the grill sizzle, you know you're in business. Big biznazz! Striving to achieve a perfect medium rare, I seared my steak for 3 minutes on each side. However, I found that 3 minutes on each side grilled up a perfectly rare steak. So I kept my steak on the grill for a little longer, about 5 minutes on each side. Cooking time will also depend on your grill. Some grills reach high heat, some grills do not.
4 ― Voila! I don't know what you guys will think but I think kangaroo meat is the sh.t! It's approximately the same price as beef, it's leaner than certain cuts of beef and it's certainly more tender than most of the beef steaks I've had in my lifetime! We didn't have a steak knife so we went ghetto styles and used my serrated butter knife (with the red handle) to cut up our steaks instead.
5 ― Just a little salt & pepper on my roo steak and I was one happy camper. But you could go nuts on yours! I'm sure it'd taste yummy with tomato sauce, or whole grain mustard, or BBQ sauce... the list goes on! Easy peasy! As Charmaine O'Brien recommends, "cook kangaroo meat as you would any other red meat." Happy grilling! PS. I love Australia! ('Cuz in Canada, not one butcher sells kangaroo meat, that's fo' shooooo)
