Thursday 3rd November 2011

I have never cooked kangaroo before. I never used to want to even eat it because as a child growing up in the Pilbara, we used to nurse joeys when their mothers were injured or killed on the roads. I've tasted it when other people have ordered it when we eat out, but I have never ordered a whole steak to myself, much less cooked it.

Today was a day of firsts for me.

I bought some kangaroo fillet steaks from Woolworths that were on sale. I know that the meat is lean but you can't over cook it or it will be dry. The steak fillets were marinated in a herb and garlic sauce and the instructions said that although kangaroo steaks should be eaten medium rare, the marinade contained a tenderiser so even if we cook it well done, the meat should not be tough.

I cooked the steaks for a few minutes each side, aiming for medium rare.

I prepared a fresh salad of Mum's homegrown lettuce, cucumber, mushroom and baby asparagus spears.
Another first for me was cooking potatoes in the microwave. I only had two small potatoes left in the pantry so there was no point in parboiling them and roasting them. I put them into the microwave and selected the 'vegetables' function and the microwave used its sensor function to cook the potatoes. After a few minutes, the potatoes were cooked but still had a little crunch to them. I could have zapped them for another thirty seconds or so but I like the crunch when I'm eating potatoes in salads.

The steak was cooked perfectly.
Aside from a few little strands of sinew in the steak, it really was very tender and lean. It's got a gamey taste, that's for sure. It may be an acquired taste for some people but I think I can really enjoy adding kangaroo into my repertoire in the future!