Fair game … Kangaroo!!!

 

Greetings Carnivores,

Back in February, when the wicked Canadian Winter of 2014 was blowing and snowing hard, my wife (who is a category manager for a huge Food Service Company) bought a ticket to a raffle. One of the prizes to be awarded was a gastronomic, culinary evening hosted by renown Australian executive Chef, David Evans.

As luck would have it, she won.

This particular prize was meant to be a Valentines dinner. As wonderful as this sounded, … it meant that Chef David would be cooking for US and not spending the evening with his OWN wife. This just wasn’t right so, I’m REALLY glad my marital equivalent took a rain cheque for dinner at a later date, TBA.

Fast forward a couple of months, and the great Winter of 2014 gradually released it’s icy grip. One evening, my wife and I attended a molecular gastronomy demonstration, co-hosted by Chef David and on the menu … Kangaroo.

Yup, Roo.

Now, before you send me all kinds of “how COULD you” messages, let me just say that these animals have been hunted by Australia’s indigenous people for their hide as well as being an invaluable food source for many thousands of years. As well, early settlers of Australia relied heavily on them for survival. In the Land Down Unda, Kangaroo meat is WELL known for it’s nutritional attributes such as:

High in Protein

Lean red meat with very low fat content

Low in saturated fats

Good source of Omega-3, Iron, Zinc, and B Vitamins

Absence of chemicals and artificial growth hormones

Wild, NOT farmed and SUSTAINABLY sourced

*(from Naturally Australian Meat & Game)*

To say that we were very pleasantly surprised by the flavour would be an understatement. We were served Kangaroo loins, cooked (click here)  Sous-vide,  and it was absolutely delicious. If I had to compare it to something, I’d have to say Beef Filet Mignon.

After the event, we had a chance to chat with Chef David and asked him if he would cook “Roo” for us when we ‘cashed in’ our winning raffle ticket. As a great side benefit for me … I asked if I could be his Sous chef for the evening.

So, last week my wife, her Brother and his wife, as well as two other dear friends and I, came together in the executive kitchen at GFS for an evening of Aussie culinary magic. Chef David paired wines for each course, which just added another level to the all-round awesomeness of the evening.

On the menu was Cream cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped Jalapenos, flat-bread topped with a mushroom medley,

followed by the most amazing tomato essence soup,

Foie gras,

massive poached prawns, grilled marinated Kangaroo with grilled seasonal vegetables

and finally,

Creme Brulee.

We learned SO much that evening. Chef David was AWESOME, explaining everything about the menu as well as an all round Australian education.  Funny stories about these beasts invading a family picnic (nobody told the Kangaroos the hot dogs weren’t for them).

We learned Kangaroo is not farm raised in Australia, but harvested in the wild. Because of this fact, exporters had to meet strict Canadian guidelines which entailed a visit by CFIA representatives, to observe the wild harvesting program. Only when they were satisfied the Aussies met all the food safety requirements of the Canadian Government were they given the Green Light to export the “Roo” for Canadian tables.

There are all kinds of sources out there for Wild Game if you’re interested, and as for the Kangaroo; Click here for the contact website for Naturally Australian Meat and Game

As for yours truly, being a knucklehead foodie, I was especially honoured to be able to work along side Chef David for the evening.

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Until next time Carnivores, stay hungry and as usual, please follow my posts on Twitter @DougieDee and like and share them on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/carnivoreconfidential