Although plenty of overseas visitors arrive in Australia planning to pet a kangaroo, not so many are keen to eat one. But following the news that we’re being urged to chow down on more roo meat to combat an over-population of kangaroos around the country, maybe it’s time you hopped to it and tucked into a serving of Skippy.
Sydney’s most famous kangaroo dish incorporates Australia’s other beloved national animal, the emu, on the borderline treasonous ‘Coat of Arms’ pizza — half emu and half pepper kangaroo with bush tomato, capsicum and lemon myrtle mayo.
The Australian Heritage Hotel, 100 Cumberland St, Sydney, NSW, +61 2 9247 2229
That’s not the only place in Darling Harbour you can find roo on the menu — this premium steakhouse dishes up marinated strip loin with spinach pesto mash, wild rocket and red wine jus.
Waterfront Grill, 289 Darling Dr, Sydney, NSW, +61 2 9280 4994
If you can’t bear to see Skippy served on a plate, how about a skewer instead? With six locations in Sydney and Melbourne, the Meat & Wine Co present the spiced loin fillet with buttered potato, tomato chutney and crispy onion rings.
The Meat & Wine Co Southbank, Freshwater Place, 3 Queensbridge St, Southbank, VIC, +61 3 9696 5333
If Skippy ever travelled to Tokyo, this is what he’d taste like. This moody Perth nightspot combines oriental flavours with your favourite Aussie animal in its kangaroo sizzling plate, a roo fillet smothered in red miso sauce with seasonal greens.
Tiger Lil’s, 437 Murray St, Perth, WA, +61 8 9322 7377
The name doesn’t quite have the same ring as the original ‘Thai beef salad’, but the world’s largest exporter of kangaroo meat — Macro Meats from South Australia — are trying to win consumers over to this marsupial spin on an Asian classic.
Now there’s a catchier name… and a simpler recipe. Embrace the great Australian tradition of throwing a couple of snags on the barbie with some sausages made of our national icon, available in all patriotic supermarkets.
We have to finish with Chewy Rooey gourmet kangaroo jerky if only for its superbly punny name. Available in regular and chilli flavour.