Kangaroo meat is highly nutritious and can be cooked as a fillet steak, minced burger meat or as thin sizzle steaks. The meat is red and flavoursome, with a unique, gamey flavour that goes well with red wine sauces, in stews or casseroles, or on its own. 

Whilst some might be cautious when thinking about cooking and eating kangaroo, keep in mind they are native to Australia and plentiful. Aboriginal people have been eating kangaroo as a staple protein in their diets for thousands of years.

Sourcing and enjoying kangaroo.

Kangaroo has grown in popularity in recent years, now available at not only butchers specialising in game meats, but also the main grocery stores.

Cooking with kangaroo can be tricky sometimes as with such a low-fat content, it can become ‘leathery’ if overcooked. If you’re cooking a dish with kangaroo mince, you might like to add beef or pork mince, as the fat content will help keep moisture in when cooking and add additional flavour, whilst balancing out the gamey flavour of the roo.

Dale Tilbrook

Dale Tilbrook is a Wardandi Bibbulmun woman, haling from the area around Margaret River and Busselton in the south west of Western Australia.

To join Dale on one of her bush food or art workshops, visit daletilbrookexperiences.com.au or visit Dale at Maalinup Aboriginal Gallery in the Swan Valley. You can have a chat with her, peruse and purchase Aboriginal art and try and purchase bush foods.

Here she shares her simple, but delicious and healthy kangaroo burger recipe with us.

Kangaroo Burgers with Native Herbs.

Preparation: 20 mins Cook time: 1-1.5hours Serves: 4 or to as a sharing platter

Gas tip! You can do this on your barbecue or on a gas cooktop. If you don’t use gas in your kitchen, you can prepare it on your barbecue. Just make sure you’ve got the Kwik-Gas ready to go.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoon olive or grapeseed oil
• 1 kg kangaroo mince
• 250 g pork or beef mince 10% fat
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• ½ cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 3 cloves of garlic crushed or equivalent jarred minced garlic
• 2 teaspoon salt (or less if you wish)
• ½ teaspoon native pepper leaf or 6 crushed pepper berries
• 2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) mixed Australian native dried herbs. Combine 2 or 3 of the following:  native thyme, native basil, sea parsley, lemon myrtle, anise myrtle, and ground bush tomato. If you don’t have access to these, just use an Italian herb mix. You can double the amount if using fresh herbs.
• Mixed salad or shredded vegetables for serving; beetroot, zucchini, carrot, lettuce, spinach and a mayonnaise, herbed or garlic butter or aioli dressing.
• Bread rolls or loaf of bread to cut and serve.

Method:

1. Soak breadcrumbs in milk for 20 minutes.
2. Sautee onions until translucent.
3. Put the pork or beef mince (but not the kangaroo mince) in a food processor and pulse a few times, then add the kangaroo mince and pulse another two times.
4. Put the kangaroo and pork mix in a bowl and mix well.
5. Add the other ingredients, combining the minced meat and ingredients thoroughly, using a fork, wooden spoon, spatula or your hands.
6. Refrigerate the mixture for at least one hour to allow the flavours to develop and blend. It also helps to keep the shape of the burgers, or meatballs, as you cook them.
7. If using the oven, preheat to 220′ Celsius.
8. Form the mixture into golf ball size balls.
9. Arrange on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Spray the burgers, or meatballs, with a cooking oil spray to get them browning up more. Cook until browned and cooked through, approx. 15 to 20 minutes.
10. Or if using a frying pan or barbecue, fry in batches over medium heat in olive or grapeseed oil. Let them cook thoroughly on the first side before turning. Cook the other side and then turn a few times until cooked through and browned.
11. Serve burgers, with toasted bread or in rolls with salad and a spread of your choice. If you’re eating these as meatballs, they can be served hot or cold with a tomato-based sauce and can also be added to a red-sauce pasta.

The local name in gas and in your kitchen.

For more kitchen inspiration and tips and tricks on using gas, check out our Kleenheat Kitchen recipes.