On the weekend tried my hand at cooking up a pot of 'Spag Skippy' with some kangaroo mince I picked up at Coles.Now as a cook I am not exactly up in JB's league, but I do know how to make a pretty decent bolognaise, or at least that is what I call it. It is based upon the stuff my mum made and I think she learned it from the old Margaret Fulton Cookbook back in the 60s (by the way I didn't realise she was a well deserved living national treasure before). However I know that what we Aussies serve up here is probably a lot more meaty and herby then any real Italian would recognise as a true bolognaise.
Now I have tried kangaroo on more then one occasion at restaurants and pubs. It usually comes grilled and is very, very tasty.
However I probably should have read this guy's blog or looked it up before I started because the bolognaise just lacked something, tasting very dead. Or is that the 'gamey' taste that I should have expected?
Now I have a huge pot of the stuff sitting in the fridge and neither Sweet Thang nor I are overly enthused at the prospect or polishing off the leftovers.
It is times like this that I wish I had a big dog...
Ugh. Have to admit, I wouldn't have gone the bolognaise with mainland 'roo. You could get away with it using grassfed wallaby from hereabouts - you can get away with most anything using the local wallaby - but mainland roo acts like a real game meat. Needs to be treated carefully, and you have to work with the flavour, not drown it out.
ReplyDeleteWhen you finally get your ample arse down here, Bobarino, if you will give me just a few days notice I will ensure we have wallaby in the larder for you. In the meantime... just toss that shit out, and forget about it.
By the way: kangaroo mince is a total WOFTAM. Every way I can think of cooking mince, it needs at least a little fat in it. Roo is lean, lean, lean and mean. So all those lovely slow-cook recipes you know -- fucking toss them. They won't work with no-fat roo. However you cook 'roo, you have to work from the assumption that you're going to present it medium rare, at best.
The only alternative I know: wrap it in fatty bacon or the like, if you must slow-cook. So obviously: roo mince should be avoided.
Mmmmm BBQ Hopping Marsupial. Haven't tried minced Skippy although I've seen it in the supermarket. Have had steaks and sausages. Mmmmm. Delish.
ReplyDeleteFH - thanks for the advice - was what I was thinking as well. One of those links mentions basically soaking the meat i il before you cook it.
ReplyDeleteBy the way we have booked tickets to Tasmania for Easter weekend. Planning to fly into Launceston and fly out of Hobart - hire a car and drive between the two places. Which one are you nearest to??
Does anyone else get the shits with the comments function on this site? It seems to leave off every second letter...
ReplyDeleteThat post above should have read 'soaking the meat in oil before you cook it' !
GB, an option is adding some cubed panchetta, but have to agree with Dirk, Skip is better grilled. I suppose you could also try Skip Wellington...
ReplyDeleteThe only thing you can really do with roo mince is make it up into burger patties with your own fave ingredients. I buy a couple of roo steaks now and then for something different.
ReplyDeleteYou'll love Tassie. Mr Flinthart resides outside of Launceston I believe. The journey down to Hobart is full of hidden gems. Hobart itself is a bottler.
'Roo mince'='Ground Kangaroo Burger', I take it? I wonder if it would make decent meat loaf. Some onions, peppers,a bit of garlic, barbecue sauce on it-I'd bet we could make a good meal of that hopper.
ReplyDeleteIf we can make raccoon fair eating, a kangaroo ought to be easy...
I'm up near Launceston, Bob. About forty minutes east, by road. Should be hereabouts over Easter.
ReplyDeleteFH- sounds good - that is what I thought.
ReplyDeleteYD - it sounds like you would be better off with a burger rather then a slow cook like meatloaf.
Therbs - we went to Hobart last year - was a great time.
Chaz - that does sound like a good idea.
A couple of harbinero peppers will transform your mess into a message from God that she loves you.
ReplyDeleteThe roo sausages they have in Coles generally aren't up to much, but with a very tart chutney still quite edible. Makes for a close-to-no-fat meal in the rotation without going to the length of excluding meat altogether!
ReplyDeleteBut have to agree about the mince. When I used to make dog food at home, I'd stew up a kilo of roo mince with pasta and veggies, and keep the resulting fortnight's suply in the freezer. The little guy loved it, but quickly became fat, so it's calorie controlled dry food these days for him.
My favorite pasta sauces are basically vegetable bases (variations on what's usually called primavera, or "spring sauce") with meat products added at the very beginning. Hence the meat in question being something like chorizo, bacon, pancetta or (yum) all three. As a student, I could eat like a king (well, a somewhat rustic Italian king) that way for very little money.
Damian - thanks my favorite pasta sauce to make at home is my version of what restaurants call matriciana - addbacon and chilli to the ingredients for a napoli sauce (tomato, onions, garlic, white wine) and then hand grate some parmesan or romano cheese over the top and serve with a rocket salad...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm with you GB.
ReplyDeleteI tried skippy mince, SWMBO & the Bobette bitched & whinged about the smell of it cooking, then when I plated it up it was like slightly gamey cardboard.
The steaks aren't too bad if served rare, but the mince = pet food.
Very interested in the Captains sugestion that Wallaby is better. Most interesting.
Well its all academic because by now the local garbologists should have picked up the bin complete with frozen and not frozen tupperware containers of bolognaise.
ReplyDeleteThat is one experiment that I won't be repeating soon.
need some chooks or duck GB, i haven't thrown anything that can rot into landfill for years
ReplyDeleteThe problem G bob is that it was lacking, yes, well if ya had come to me, i could have told you that the key item not present was LEAD.
ReplyDelete