Bush food: Kangaroo

While early settlers quickly learnt the value of kangaroo from the Indigenous population, kangaroo meat hasn’t always been seen as acceptable in modern Australia.

“Kangaroo has been the red meat of choice amongst the Australian dining public for 40,000 years,” jokes the executive officer of the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia, John Kelly. “It just hit a marketing hiccup.”

That hiccup includes the fact that the sale of kangaroo meat in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland was illegal except as pet food until 1993.

Things are on the up however; in the 20 years since it was legalised in those states the perception of kangaroo meat has shifted considerably and, according to Kelly, is now more popular than duck among Australians.

Kangaroos belong to the Macropodidae family. There are about 60 species with four used for their meat; the red kangaroo, the eastern grey, western grey and common wallaroo as well as two species of Tasmanian wallaby.

While some people still feel ambiguous about eating one of our national emblems, conservative estimates of somewhere between 34 million and 50 million kangaroos – much more than Australia's human population – mean there is an argument for culling and consuming to preserve grazing land for cattle and sheep. The “kangatarian” movement, however, advocates getting rid of cattle and sheep and only eating kangaroo because they produce negligible amounts of methane, eat only native plants, and their soft footpads don't degrade the land.

Kangaroo meat is considered one of the healthiest red meats, with only 2% fat, and high levels of conjugated linoleic acid, as well omega threes. It's also high in protein, iron, zinc and B-group vitamins.

Available at butchers and supermarkets, kangaroo comes in familiar sounding cuts, such as rump, racks, loin, steak and mince. Wallaby meat, which has hit the ingredient hip list in many Australian restaurants, is only found at speciality butchers.

Colin Fassnidge, head chef of Sydney's Four in Hand and4Fourteen, uses kangaroo and wallaby on his menus. “A few years ago it wasn't as readily accepted as it is now," he says. "But now everyone's getting on the bandwagon and it's starting to get a bit trendy."

Fassnidge says that kangaroo has a mild, gamey, “grassy” flavour not unlike venison and should be cooked in the same way. “The tail has nice meat, but needs to be braised like an oxtail because that muscle works hard. Some of the other cuts you want to cook on the rare side of medium rare. If you overcook it, it's gone.”

Fassnidge says wallaby steak, which has a slightly sweeter flavour than kangaroo and comes in smaller cuts, needs only the briefest cooking time – about 30 seconds on each side.

“With kangaroo it depends on the thickness. If it's as big as your hand, it needs around two minutes on each side. Barbecuing is a good way to cook kangaroo or wallaby, but you want to have everything ready before you start – you can't afford to go wandering off looking for your tongs or it will overcook.”

Macro Meats Gourmet Game, which supplies kangaroo meat to Australian supermarkets, recommends marinating the fillet or steak in macadamia, sunflower or olive oil with a pinch of salt and pepper for at least 15 minutes before cooking quickly on a high heat. Like other meats it needs to rest before serving. (You can try their recipe for kangaroo burgers below.)

As well as barbecuing or frying, kangaroo meat can be roasted, slow-cooked or stir-fried. Because of its earthy, slightly gamey flavour, kangaroo meat matches well with fruit sauces like plum, red currant, quandong or orange, as well as herbs such as garlic, rosemary, juniper and spices such as mountain pepper, paprika, black pepper.

In his book Meat, chef Adrian Richardson of La Luna Bistro in Melbourne, nominates bush tomatoes, anchovies, onions, beetroot, red wine, port, spinach, mustard and sun-dried tomatoes as good accompaniments.

Kangaroo burgers with apple and fennel slaw

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: eight

500g kangaroo mince

1 tsp native spice mix or BBQ spice mix

½ red onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tbsp lemon thyme leaves, chopped

2 tbsp parsley leaves, chopped

1 tsp lemon zest

35g fresh breadcrumbs

1 egg, lightly whisked

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil spray

Apple & fennel slaw

¼ white cabbage, chopped

1 small fennel bulb, finely sliced

4 red apples coarsely grated

½ red onion, peeled and finely sliced

¼ cup whole egg mayonnaise

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

Eight small bread bread rolls

Tomato chutney

Method

Place the mince, spice mix, onion, garlic, thyme, parsley leaves, zest, bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper together in a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Cover and refrigerate, ideally for at least two hours, to allow flavours to meld.

For the slaw, add all the ingredients together in a medium bowl, mixing until well combined. Cover and set aside until required.

Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Heat a char-grill pan over medium-high heat for two to three minutes. Meanwhile shape the kangaroo mixture into eight equal-sized patties, spray both sides with olive oil and cook patties for three to four minutes on each side. Place patties on prepared baking tray and cook in preheated oven for a further 10 minutes.

To serve, halve bread rolls, then layer with tomato chutney, kangaroo patty and top with apple and fennel slaw.