Kangaroo Steak

Ingredients

Meat

• 4kangaroo loin fillets or rump steaks, about 180 g each, 3 cm thick, silverskin trimmed off
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 2 tspcoarsely cracked black pepper
• 1 tspflaky sea salt, applied at the end
• 1 tspground native pepperberry or juniper (optional)

Pan sauce

• 1shallot, finely diced
• 100 mlred wine
• 150 mlbeef or game stock
• 2 tbspquandong or redcurrant jelly
• 30 gcold butter, cubed
• 1 sprigthyme

To serve

• roasted root vegetables or potato mash
• watercress dressed with lemon

Directions

1. Take the fillets out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking so the centre is not fridge cold; a cold core in such a lean cut means the outside overcooks before the middle warms.
2. Trim off every scrap of the silvery membrane with a sharp knife, since it contracts violently under heat and bows the steak off the pan.
3. Pat the meat completely dry, rub with the olive oil and press the cracked pepper and pepperberry into both sides. Hold the salt back until after cooking, as salting early draws moisture to the surface of an already lean meat.
4. Get a heavy cast-iron pan or a barbecue grill genuinely hot, until the oil shimmers and just begins to smoke; kangaroo needs a hard fast sear, not a gentle one.
5. Sear for 2 to 3 minutes on the first side without moving the meat, until a dark crust has formed and the steak lifts cleanly, then turn and give it 2 minutes on the second side.
6. Pull the steaks at an internal temperature of 50 to 52°C (125°F) for rare or 55°C (130°F) for medium rare and no further. Kangaroo has almost no intramuscular fat, and past about 58°C (135°F) it turns dry and liverish.
7. Rest on a warm plate, loosely covered, for a full 10 minutes, which is as long as the cooking itself; this is where the juices redistribute and the temperature climbs a few degrees.
8. Meanwhile soften the shallot in the pan, deglaze with the wine and reduce by half, add the stock and jelly and reduce to a syrupy glaze, then whisk in the cold butter off the heat. Slice the rested steak against the grain, salt it, and spoon the sauce over.

Technique

• Kangaroo is roughly 2 per cent fat, which changes everything. It cannot be cooked like beef, must be served rare to medium rare, and needs a long rest relative to its cooking time.
• It is a wild-harvested meat, taken under government quota from free-ranging animals, which makes it unusual among commercial red meats and gives it a genuinely gamey, iron-rich flavour.
• A sweet-sour element is the traditional pairing: quandong, native plum or redcurrant jelly all cut the strong iron note that puts some people off.
• Australian food safety advice recommends cooking kangaroo mince and sausages through, but whole muscle steaks are safe seared rare, the same as beef.

Substitutions

• No kangaroo: venison loin is the closest match in leanness and flavour and cooks by exactly the same rules, as does emu fillet.
• No quandong jelly: redcurrant or plum jelly, or 1 tbsp of pomegranate molasses, provides the same sweet-sour lift.
• Native pepperberry can be replaced with crushed juniper and extra black pepper.

Variations

• Kangaroo fillet smoked over ironbark or paperbark for 5 minutes before searing is a modern native-Australian restaurant treatment.
• Marinated in olive oil, garlic and rosemary for 4 hours, it is barbecued at Australian summer cookouts.
• Kangaroo carpaccio, seared 30 seconds a side and sliced paper thin, is a common starter.

History

Kangaroo was legalised for human consumption in South Australia in 1980 and across the rest of the country by 1993.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kangaroo Steak?

Kangaroo Steak is a main from Australia: lean gamey native red meat, best grilled rare. Kangaroo was legalised for human consumption in South Australia in 1980 and across the rest of the country by 1993.

How long does Kangaroo Steak take to make?

Kangaroo Steak takes 15 min plus 30 min tempering of preparation and 10 min plus 10 min resting of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kangaroo Steak?

Yes, within limits. No kangaroo: venison loin is the closest match in leanness and flavour and cooks by exactly the same rules, as does emu fillet. No quandong jelly: redcurrant or plum jelly, or 1 tbsp of pomegranate molasses, provides the same sweet-sour lift. Native pepperberry can be replaced with crushed juniper and extra black pepper.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kangaroo Steak?

Kangaroo is roughly 2 per cent fat, which changes everything. It cannot be cooked like beef, must be served rare to medium rare, and needs a long rest relative to its cooking time.