The kangaroo mince in our local supermarket comes from South Australia. It’s really unfortunate. Coz otherwise it fits every criteria for the Witches Kitchen definitions of good, good and good.
It’s good for you – lean, low cholesterol, high iron, organic, free range. It tastes good – pretty much like lean beef mince – in things like this I can’t tell the difference. And it’s virtuously good – soft feet, no greenhouse gas farts, wild harvested and ethically killed, from species that are not in any danger. It’s just not local. At least the kangaroo mince in the supermarket isn’t. But in the scheme of compromises, it’s a small one.
The Recipe:
The key to a good burger patty is cottage cheese in the mix. It makes it hold together nicely without going dry.
To make 4 large patties, mix
- 300 grams of kangaroo mince,
- one finely chopped onion,
- lots of garlic,
- a finely chopped chili (or not)
- a good swig of Worcestershire sauce,
- 1 egg,
- a couple of big spoonfuls of cottage cheese
- a couple of spoonfuls of wholemeal plain flour
- salt and pepper
Use your hands to squish it all well together. The mix should be sticky but not sloppy.
With wet hands, shape into burger sized rissoles. Fry in a little olive oil for a few minutes each side.
Fried onions are essential, so while the burgers are cooking, fry some sliced onion in olive oil. I like thick slices of fried tomato too.
You also need some home-made 2 minute mayonnaise.
Allowing everyone to assemble their own is a nice way to serve, so while the burgers are cooking, make up a platter of greens – cucumber, lettuce and rocket. Assemble some condiments – chutney, sauce, mustard. Burger buns, the fried onions, the kangaroo patties and dinner is served.
That looks so good! We have had the Macro Meats Kangaroo Burgers a couple of times now. Woolies sell them all ready to go, in the packet. I think they probably only contain mince (not nice sounding stuff like you used) but that is how my kids like them!
I also made Nacho meat the other day with kangaroo mince (plus some vege’s, seasoning, homemade pasta sauce) and it was a big hit with the family. I froze a couple of batches to have easy meal another night… your kangaroo recipes/ posts have permeated by brain now!
By the way, have you read this blog before. This post in particular: http://wholelarderlove.com/2012/02/20/i-didnt-shoot-the-kangaroo/
Thanks for the recipe…my teen really enjoys kangaroo but i haven’t warmed to the taste…she will want to give this recipe a try i think!! Would never have thought of adding cottage cheese!
Thanks for the link. I hadn’t seen it before. Great post!
To my shame I’ve never tried kangaroo. I do like the idea of my first foray being into something like a burger. Great idea – I will have to seek some kangaroo mince out.
Hi Liz, I get mine from my local IGA supermarket, but I think Macromeats are common in supermarkets these days.
Thankyou so much, I don’t know why but I had completely forgotten about roo meat despite having it a few times last year! Went and bought some yesterday from Wollies and will be buying only that as mince now unless I can find some good local wallaby meat. Thanks for the push and for solving my meat dilemma 🙂
Hi Linda
Awesome blog and a great ‘roo burger recipe you have here. I love Kangaroo Burgers so much I made a website about roo meat earlier this year. Check it out for more recipes and info if you like: http://kangarooburgers.com
@Allana – Lenah Game Meats in Tasmania specialise in Wallaby Mince. I’m a Kangaroo meat fan through and through, but Wallaby meat is A-MAZING. Really tender and holds flavour well!
I have to smile when I’m in the shop because as kids we had roo, rabbit and fish (shot gun or line caught in that order!) because we had little money for anything else in the way of meat. Now it’s a gourmet thing and sells at massive amounts per kilo.
Which is fine, if there’s a market for it it’s like anything else that’s mass caught/sold ie commercial fish etc you have to charge what it’s worth and it’s a good meat.
I just find it funny that now it’s ‘gourmet’ fare in restaurants and on chef shows, when we had it as kids because we had nothing else… and now the argument could be made that shop bought kangaroo isn’t affordable. I mean, I know the whole quantity/quality/meat-free other nights etc you can but on face value, compared to other things.
and I mean that in the nicest possible way, you know 🙂 More a musing out loud I guess. If we can’t source our roo meat via family and friends, then I think we’ll be finding a way to accomodate a small amount from the shop in our menu planner as well. Fish on the other hand, I’ll keep to catching our own on the rare occasions that we get to go fishing. 🙂
Hi Kristy, my partner loves fishing, and in years past has often brought home enough to hold a barbeque and feed the neighbourhood. But it’s getting harder and harder to get a decent catch these days. We’re really noticing a sharp decline in local fishing. There’s plenty of local wallabies, and brush turkeys, but they’re protected wildlife. Shhhh!