Kangaroo meat
As kangaroo meat in Australia ( Roo ) is meat of all Australian kangaroo species referred. In addition to being available in Australia , it is mainly exported abroad, where demand has increased since the emergence of BSE in cattle. In the country of origin, the meat has not been particularly popular since the beginning of the 20th century and is primarily sold as dog food.
The kangaroos are not specifically bred for consumption in Australia, they live wild in the wild. Since the animals no longer have any natural enemies since the local carnivores such as the thylacine , they reproduce very strongly, so that, at the request of farmers, a certain number is shot annually by state-approved hunters. Most of the meat is exported, 80 percent of it to Europe. The most important import countries are Germany, Belgium, Denmark and France.
The kangaroo meat is dark red and contains only two percent fat, so it is very lean. The taste is similar to that of game . It can be grilled, braised, boiled or fried, but because of the low fat content it should only be prepared “medium”, otherwise the meat will be very dry and hard.
In Germany, the meat is available from specialist dealers, but it is also offered in some large supermarkets.
Kangaroos used to be an important source of meat for the Aborigines , the native people of Australia, as well as for the white settlers. It was considered to be tastier than the meat of other wild animals available on the continent. According to cookbooks and other sources, the most popular dish of the 19th century was the kangaroo steamer , a stew. The meat was chopped or cut into small pieces, seasoned and slowly simmered for a few hours on the stove with fatty ham and some water. The first recipe for it appeared in 1829. The steaks were grilled over an open fire. Soup and steaks were also offered to guests in hotel restaurants until around 1900. After that, kangaroo meat was ousted from the menu by lamb and beef , and it was now considered inferior bush food . It has not completely lost this image to this day. The kangaroo tail soup is a special soup that is nowadays also offered in Germany, preferably in festive courses.
Since 2005, kangaroo meat has also been marketed in Australia under the name Australus . This name was chosen in a competition for a gourmet magazine, which received 2,700 suggestions from 41 countries.
Individual evidence
- ↑ BBC News: Kangaroo meat boom (2001)
- ↑ Information on kangaroo meat ( Memento of the original from February 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion to Food, 1999, Article Kangaroo , p. 426
- ^ Herrmann, F. Jürgen: Textbook for cooks . Handwerk und Technik, Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-582-40055-7 , p. 165 .
- ↑ Report to ABC News (2005)
