Australia - Kangaroo Tail Stew and Beer Damper

Home sweet home. This week I cooked food from my home country, the land down under, Australia. Peter and I eat kangaroo quite often but cooking kangaroo tail was a fun new experience.

Australia is the smallest continent and one of the largest countries in the world. It is is also the flattest continent (except for Antarctica).

At least 60,000 years before European explorers sailed to Australia, the first Aboriginal explorers arrived from Asia. It is suggested that Australian Aboriginals have the longest continuous cultural history of any group of people on Earth. The indigenous cultures of Australia are complex and diverse. There were around 600 different communities in Australia when Europeans arrived, many with distinctive cultures and beliefs. At that time over 250 languages were spoken. Currently it is estimated that only 145 of these remain in use.

Despite the many cultural differences between Aboriginal communities, there are a number of commonalities between Aboriginal cultures, one being the concept that land is fundamental. The land is at the core of their spirituality. Perhaps the most well-known sacred site in Australia is Uluru (named Ayers Rock by Europeans). According to Uluru dreaming, the world was featureless until the ancestors emerged and travelled across the land, creating the features including Uluru.

Dreaming stories pass on important knowledge to future generations. Because there was no written language, the Aboriginal people conveyed their cultural stories through artwork, songs, dance and storytelling. The artwork used to convey these messages differs throughout communities. This is an example of iconography of the Central Western Desert community.

Last year Peter and I went to Red Ochre Grill (an amazing restaurant in Adelaide) and ate slow cooked kangaroo tail, which was delicious. I have been dying to make it ever since. You can get kangaroo tail from the Adelaide Central Markets or just get a regular cut of kangaroo at most supermarkets. Kangaroo is a very lean red meat and is also environmentally friendly (compared with lamb and beef which are significant contributors to greenhouse gas). Kangaroo is part of traditional outback and aboriginal cuisine. Damper is also a traditional outback food, which is baked in the coals of a campfire. It was historically prepared by swagmen, drovers, and other travellers. Damper was originally developed for people who travelled to remote areas for long periods of time with only basic rations.

Beer Damper

Ingredients:

• 330ml beer
• 2 ½ - 3 cups self-raising flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 40g butter, chopped into small cubes

Preheat oven to 190° degrees

Combine flour and salt. Add the butter and rub together until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Add beer and mix together until dough consistency (you may need to add more flour if the dough is too wet).

Knead the dough until smooth

Form into a bread shape, score the top of the dough and cook in the oven for 45-50 minutes (or on a campfire!).

Slow Cooked Kangaroo Tail Stew

Ingredients:

• 1kg kangaroo tail (use less meat if using a boneless cut)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 cup red wine
• 400g tin of diced tomatoes
• 2 carrots, chopped into large chunks
• 1 Tbs thyme
• 400g mushrooms
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 cup of stock (or water)
• 150g sour cream (optional)
• 1 Tbs pepperberries (optional)

Brown kangaroo tail and add to slow cooker pot

Cook onion and garlic with paprika until soft. Then add the red wine and bring to the boil.  Add to the slow cooker.

To the slow cooker pot add: tinned tomatoes, carrots, thyme, pepperberries, mushrooms, bay leaf, rosemary and stock. 

Cook in a slow-cooker for 4 hours on high (or 1 ½ hours simmering on the stove) or until meat is tender and vegetables are cooked. Remove the bones from the kangaroo and shred the meat into pieces. Add sour cream. 

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The kangaroo stew was fantastic! It was rich, creamy and delicious. The flavours blended perfectly together and the slow-cooker made the kangaroo extremely tender. The damper had a nice subtle beer flavour and brought a nice crunch to the meal. However, the damper wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped. I think it would have been better cooked on a campfire. Peter suggests that everyone should try kangaroo tail and it would be a perfect dish to make for any international guests coming to Australia. The stew is very filling and makes a lot so be prepared for delicious leftovers!

187 meals to go. Next stop on my world tour: Austria!