HolisticGirl
Arnold
Lara MLovejoy Kangaroo Cooking on the ABC
May 25th 2006 12:14
Lovejoy is a cultural variety program on the ABC at 12:30 on Thursdays. Today’s episode was called He who sings wins. The show is chatty and relaxed with a backing track of contemporary jazz fusion so you know it’s supposed to be trendy. I guess by now you have figured out that I’m a bludger Arts student who sits around at home all day, but hey, at least I wasn’t watching Jerry Springer.
Anyway, this program included a cooking segment at the end with a really wonderful chef whose name unfortunately escapes me. He was an aboriginal chef and fused native Australian ingredients with modern Australian cuisine. He made a fillet mignon dish, though renamed it ‘roo mignon’ as he was cooking with kangaroo meat. He also included several other native Australian ingredients including native thyme and pepper berries, which I think is a fantastic idea. This lasting cultural cringe has caused us to always seek out our art and culture from overseas, but there is a lot that we could use right here if only we escape that paradigm and begin to think laterally.
The chef also learned another artistic skill from his family in Moree, carving and painting emu eggs. He covers the beautiful large eggs with traditional linework designs of animals. He explained that the lines covering the kangaroo he was carving shows all the best cuts of meat. Today he was using the upper portion of the tail.
The chef’s opening remark, “When I look at our coat of arms I want to eat it.”
Reasons why I believe people should begin to eat native animals as an alternative to mainstream European meats;
Think carefully, can you think of any native Australian animal that has hooves? There are none. Australian land is not equipped to have large numbers of hooved animals living on it. Breeding herds of hooved animals such as cows, sheep and pigs cause the soil to become compacted which leads to soil erosion, a big environmental concern. Native animals such as kangaroos are perfectly suited to life in Australia and place infinitely less stress on natural resources.
Also, by creating an economic interest in the welfare of native animals, we can ensure their longevity. People are generally more responsive to money than abstract arguments about diversity and the beauty of nature. If native animals became a viable industry, their chances of survival as a species would increase one hundred fold. You don’t see cows becoming extinct do you?
In addition, kangaroo meat is much better for you. It is tender and lean, and contains a very low amount of fat when compared with beef or pork.
Here is a page of different variations of the fillet mignon at Cooks.com
Today’s challenge is to try and substitute as many native ingredients into the recipes as you can.
Public domain images from: http://morguefile.com
"Throw another fillet mignon on the barbie"
The chef also learned another artistic skill from his family in Moree, carving and painting emu eggs. He covers the beautiful large eggs with traditional linework designs of animals. He explained that the lines covering the kangaroo he was carving shows all the best cuts of meat. Today he was using the upper portion of the tail.
The chef’s opening remark, “When I look at our coat of arms I want to eat it.”
This kangaroo is keen to be in someone's belly
Reasons why I believe people should begin to eat native animals as an alternative to mainstream European meats;
Think carefully, can you think of any native Australian animal that has hooves? There are none. Australian land is not equipped to have large numbers of hooved animals living on it. Breeding herds of hooved animals such as cows, sheep and pigs cause the soil to become compacted which leads to soil erosion, a big environmental concern. Native animals such as kangaroos are perfectly suited to life in Australia and place infinitely less stress on natural resources.
Also, by creating an economic interest in the welfare of native animals, we can ensure their longevity. People are generally more responsive to money than abstract arguments about diversity and the beauty of nature. If native animals became a viable industry, their chances of survival as a species would increase one hundred fold. You don’t see cows becoming extinct do you?
In addition, kangaroo meat is much better for you. It is tender and lean, and contains a very low amount of fat when compared with beef or pork.
Here is a page of different variations of the fillet mignon at Cooks.com
Today’s challenge is to try and substitute as many native ingredients into the recipes as you can.
Public domain images from: http://morguefile.com
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Comment by Anonymous
We need a lot more chefs like Mark (his show is the Black Olive on SBS television show, Message Stick). It makes our cuisine unique and interesting, particularly to international audiences. It also clearly defines our food style, unlike the publicity chefs who only promote themselves. Name one product (except their own) they endorse, support or assist. I'd argue that they contribute little to the Australian food industry and chefs like Mark Olive, unheralded, unsupported and unpromoted do far more.