Foreign Grocery Friday: Australia's Kangaroo Meat, for Everything from Burgers to Curries

January 27, 2012 at 10:13 AM | by jetflyboy | Comments (3)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're continuing our feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

You've seen them in movies such as Australia and Crocodile Dundee, or you've even been lucky enough to have the opportunity to pet and feed them during a trip down under. They's kangaroos, and now the fuzzy marsupials are great for more than just cuteness. They can be for dinner! Yes, you read correctly; kangaroo meat is quite common in Australia and really worth trying if you can get your hands on it.

Just like beef, roo meat comes in many different forms, from ground meat for burgers to filets for a more refined palate. We have even mentioned having a BBQ with kanga bangas, Aussie for kangaroo sausages.

Our favorite preparation, however, might be the kangaroo curry we sampled at a Melbourne Thai restaurant.

The taste: Classified as a red meat, kangaroo meat is quite lean and has a rich flavor similar to beef but significantly stronger. Since it is less fatty than beef (about 1-2% fat), it can get tough if overcooked and should be served medium to medium rare. Australians who fancy roo often marinate the meat to add further flavors.

The price: Depending on the cut of roo, you could pay as much a $20 AUD per kilogram for filets or as cheap as $7 AUD per kilogram for ground meat to make your own burgers. Since the Australian dollar and US dollar run about the same, after the metric conversion, the meat will set you back about $3.5 to $10 USD per pound.

Where to find it: Most all Aussie grocery stores carry various forms of the meat and, naturally, it's in the meat section. Coles, Woolworths or IGAs are safe bets to try the exotic protein. Boutique butchers will also sell the meat, though it is a bit harder to come by. We have even discovered packets of roo jerkey in airport gift shops, which really is the best way to bring some back for your mates.

Australia is one of a handful of countries that consumes the animals on their coat of arms. The kangaroo and emu flank the emblem for the island nation, and both have a tendency to end up on the dinner table.

If you'd like to share some of your foreign grocery finds, we'd love love love to see them. Send 'em on over via email here and snack on, my friends.

[Photo: Rose Holley / Flickr]

Comments (3)

Return to » Foreign Grocery Friday: Australia's Kangaroo Meat, for Everything from Burgers to Curries

The Kangaroo meat industry would have you believe that this is a perfectly safe meat to eat. the truth however is another story. The Killing of Kangaroos is not for their meat or to keep their numbers in check,they are killed for their skins which is where the money is made. 75% of the meat from Kangaroos goes into pet food, there is very little sold for human consumption unless you count the rubbish which used to be sold to Russia for making into salami. Don't be fooled by all the propaganda read through the links provided. http://thinkkangaroos.uts.edu.au/publications Read section 2 - pages 8-19 from "A shot in the dark" Hygiene and Kangaroo Game Meat. http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/support-files/a_shot_in_the_dark.pdf Do you really think eating Kangaroo is such a good idea now?

Cuz it's gooood. Just in Australia in September, and I couldn't get enough of kangaroo steak. Yes, I know they're also considered pests (I live upstate NY and feel they are the "deer" of OZ) but once cooked.. But, I have to say, I bought home the roo jerky and it was nasty. Fresh is best!

I'm sure the writer of this article was mealy reporting on an interesting food fact of Australia, so It's disappointing and embarrassing that you had to spoil this with a political statement. To answer your question Cienwen, Yep I still think eating Kangaroo is a great idea. Anyone in the real world knows you can find the same type of dribble you provided, on every single topic available on the internet including vegan and vegetarian products. To be honest I think it's awesome that most of the kangaroo is used = very little wastage; whether it's for skin, back scratchers, snags, fillets or pet food. But I do respect your point of view given that a short search on your profile shows you are clearly a Kangaroo rights advocate. You cannot please 100% of the people 100% of the time. I'm a bodybuilder and Kangaroo meat is the leanest meat with the highest yield of protein per gram making it perfect for a bodybuilding diet. I mean you no disrespect but clearly you don't appreciate how restrictive a bodybuilders diet is and something other then chicken breast is actually quite a treat. So I'm all about Kangaroo meat. Oh and BTW, aboriginals have been eating Kangaroo meat for centuries so I can't be all that bad, right?

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