It doesn’t get any more Australian than kangaroo, does it? Our national emblem is synonymous with our country’s culture, outback, and cuisine. Chefs across the country have long been looking to the local protein to craft classic dishes as well as develop new creations. Whether it’s a tartare, an alternative steak option, or a stock base, kangaroo is a versatile protein.
Hospitality speaks with former executive chef of Adelaide’s Restaurant Botanic Justin James and Owner of Sydney’s Bush Grant Lawn about how to use kangaroo.
Serving kangaroo at Adelaide fine diner Restaurant Botanic was a natural choice for American-born chef Justin James. “My approach to food is to immerse myself in my environment and draw on local and native ingredients,” says the chef. “Putting kangaroo on the menu was an obvious choice.” Kangaroo features in various forms across the 26-course menu alongside other local proteins such as crocodile, emu, camel, sea urchin, abalone, and Murray cod.
When it comes to suppliers, James’ choice is wild game kangaroo company Paroo, which sources meat from regions across New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia.
“They are an incredible company that provides sustainable kangaroo products,” says the chef. There are three species of kangaroo in Australia permitted for commercial harvesting: red, eastern grey, and western grey. James opts for red kangaroo due to its subtle gaminess. “Grey kangaroo is a lot more gamey which makes it slightly harder to pair with certain flavour profiles.”
Kangaroo meat comes in various cuts taken from the loin, tail, and leg of the animal. “I love using the loin as it’s so tender,” says James. “The strip is great for grilling and the tail is best suited to braising and more hearty dishes.” The chef suggests paying attention to the species of kangaroo you select, but to ultimately use it in the same way as mainstream proteins.
“Compared to beef or lamb, [kangaroo] shares similar applications based on the cut,” he explains. “For example, leaner and more tender cuts of kangaroo can be cooked lightly or served raw. Cuts that are tougher require longer cooking methods such as braising.”
James’ favourite way to cook kangaroo meat is to lightly sear it over flame for one to two minutes. “You can get the same effect in a pan with butter and herbs, but you miss that slight char and the additional flavour profile that comes with it,” he says. Kangaroo is also a much leaner meat than lamb, pork, or beef so it’s important to ensure the meat is not dry before cooking.
Chef Grant Lawn has grown up eating kangaroo meat and feels the protein aligns
with Bush’s vision. “Kangaroo is entrenched in our eating culture here in Australia
— my dad would cook it when I was a kid,” he says. “It’s good meat and just makes sense with our ethos [at Bush] which is trying to help the [Australian] bush in a way.”
Lawn purchases kangaroo meat from Game Farm which sources the protein from southeast Australia, with the chef preferring Malleeroo. “It’s an eastern grey kangaroo which is a bit smaller compared to a red kangaroo,” he says. “I’ve been using it for a number of years now so I’ve become accustomed to it.”
Lawn’s “tried and true” cuts of kangaroo are loin and tail. Bush’s roo steak and tail sauce dish teams the two cuts together with the loin used as a steak and the tail in the accompanying sauce. Like James, Lawn says a hot and quick cook is the best method to get a rare or medium–rare finish.
“We cook the kangaroo loin on our hot plate, but you can use a fry pan,” says the chef. “We like to use the hot plate because it gets very, very hot … you want to get a good sear on the outside without cooking into the meat too much because you want it rare.”
When it comes to the kangaroo tail sauce, the process sees the meat cooked until it’s tender and comes off the bone easily which takes three to six hours before the sauce is reduced for a further two hours. “We brown off the tail and do a classic mix of wine and water and then reduce it down,” he says. “It’s the base for a lot of the sauces we use in the restaurant because it has a lot of collagen, unctuousness, and stickiness.”
It’s a journey of discovery when it comes to using kangaroo meat at Bush. When Lawn
first opened the venue, he experimented with kangaroo in the form of a curry-based party pie which proved very popular. More recently, Lawn has used tail meat to create his version of a chicken wing by frying it with salt and pepper and serving it with a Korean–American spicy sauce. The chef finds the loin works equally as well in carpaccio form and has also had success making jerky.
Both Bush and Restaurant Botanic serve kangaroo as a tartare. When preparing
kangaroo, James likes to lightly cure it in salt and brown sugar before serving it with leaves, roasted cucumber, and kelp. “It tightens the meat ever so slightly and seasons it at the same time,” he says.
Lawn reaches for alcohol for his kangaroo tartare. “I like to put a little bit of alcohol on
the outside such as gin,” he says. “I have also used a prickly pear spirit to give it a bit of fragrance and cut through any blood smell.” He currently serves tartare according to the classic method with chips as an accompaniment, but has paired it with an anchovy emulsion and hashbrown in the past.
James says kangaroo is his “go-to” protein at both Restaurant Botanic during his time there and in his own kitchen. “The flavour and texture [of kangaroo meat] is on par with the best proteins around the globe — that’s my opinion,” he says. “I love sustainability and the idea we can eat our way towards solving the problem.”
Lawn enjoys using kangaroo as a protein and has found the feeling is mutual with guests. “It’s iconically Australian and no one else really gets to use it … it’s unique here and it’s wild,” says the owner and chef. “A lot of people come here and say it’s the best steak they’ve had in their life.”
Lawn suggests other chefs look to the protein as a means to offer something different while also showcasing Australian produce. “We have so many amazing Thai and Italian restaurants and the quality is high, but there’s not many pure Australian restaurants. I think people want to eat that kind of stuff and they come here, so we should definitely tap into that [more].”
Kangaroo meat lends itself to a variety of applications and is a protein chefs should
consider using to offer guests a point of difference and put a more sustainable protein on the plate — you can’t go wrong.
