I had a 'roo steak at glasto this year and it was really really nice. Can't wait for it to be easily available.

Sounds appetising!

*\. I'm off to destory the world with a quater pounder!

If you equipped the boomers with boxing gloves then rustling probably wouldn't happen.

Paris cos she knows when she's been jumped.

Efros

This is going to lead to so many bad puns about wooly jumpers...

Also, 'roo steaks would probably be pretty nice. *googles for them*

is for Delia to produce Cooking with Kangaroo.

Seriously, roo's are just are not as tasty as cows. The meat is quite a lot tougher and not as flavoursome. It won't catch on I tell ya!

Mind you the barbie sausages that the aussies eat are even worse, so you might be able to replace some of the pigs with roo and improve the cuisine somewhat...

<--- bbq flames

That'll need one BIG mutha of an oven!

Not so sure about the appeal of "Roo Tail Soup", although I imagine you'd get much more out of your average 'Roo tail than your average Ox tail.

And you'd need a new name for "OXO" cubes. Should make the "OXO" family a bit jumpy too.

Would clothing made from 'Roo skin automatically qualify to be called a 'jump-suit' or 'jumper?

The one with the built-in tail.

(Dear god, I need to get out more!)

nothing wrong with roo steak, tastes Brilliant!

Whilst roo might be a bit tougher because they actually use their muscles rather than just kinda hanging around slowly gaining weight - it's darn tasty.

I had a nice rooburger last friday actually. Delicious with a bit of mustard and ketchup.

I'm all for it mate!

I don't think there is a native animal we don't eat already. Except maybe wombat. A bit too chewy I imagine.

I still wouldn't eat roo with horseradish and mint sauce though...

"the authors reckon the removal of sheep and cows would mean the rangelands could actually support up to 240 million kangaroos."

Surely by increasing the number of kangaroos being farmed, the methane that they produce will increase. They're herbivores as far as I know, so they probably fart a great deal to.

(Couldn't resist)

I've had 'roo - a bit salty, but not bad - would be alright in a meat pie or bangers, but not much of a steak.

I've also had croc and emu ... and 'roo is definitely best of the three.

I knew the bouncy little bastard had to be good for something!

Paris 'cos, well if we're doing "Barbie" jokes...!

Roos or rather the bacteria in their gut don't produce methane but some form of acetate instead. Consequently they don't fart at all.

Paris cos she don't fart either just queefs.

Efros

I've had roo as well. In fact we were poor volunteers at the time, living and eating off a very limited budget.

Minced roo meat was the cheapest meat on offer at the local supermarket - it was actually in the dog food aisle, but we were assured that it was fit for human consumption, as the roo meat that was only for dogs would have been dyed purple.

It was fine actually, and made a pretty good bolognese! We're all still alive to tell the tale. :-)

If it works out, the cost of roo leather should plummet! 20% lighter than cowhide, more flexible, more durable and cooler than cowhide (perfect for the blistering uk summer)...

My bike leathers are made of skippy (from Arlen Ness) and they were a grand... Why can't they have started this years ago?

Mine's the 1 piece race suit with the gixxer key.

Any form of meat isn't going to be environmentally friendly compared to a vegetarian diet. If the US would eat a few more lentils and beans, we might actually have some rainforest left instead of burning it all down for cattle feed.

@AC "Can't wait for it to be easily available."

It was easily available until viva got involved. Bunch of hippies that they are! kinda backfired on them though, now they're saying "support our crazy take on animal rights and help destroy the planet!"

http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/exoticmeat/index.htm

I didn't, after buying a pair of Kangaroo-skin motorcycle gloves.

I'm a 24/7/365 biker - don't own a car, so my kit gets used every day, and not gently. These gloves are the best I've ever owned, though, due to me managing to dodge the less focust and more hormonal drivers that grace our lovely british roads, I've not had to put them to the ultimate test, and am going to retire them cost my daughter broke the lining on one. (its complicated) after two and a half years hard use!

Looking forward to trying the meat, just hope its not as tough as the gloves!

Mine's the kangaroo skin one with the WD40 int he pocket!

so presumably the other 89% is Fosters related.

Paris because she is responsible for many emissions

That suggest the Strine definition of vermin is an animal that is too little or too big to hump.

The meat needs to be eaten fresh, only a couple of days after slaughtering. It's extremely tender at this stage and tastes more like beef. If it is a week old it is tougher and hand has a different gamey taste. It doesn't have a good shelf life.

"It doesn't have a good shelf life."

Next time, try keeping it in the refrigerator.

not a single mention of 'Want to go large with your MacRoo burger?'

I'll have a few Pingu wings as a side order aswell please

with some grated puffin a la Clarkson.

Efros

A purely vegetarian diet wouldn't make my immediate environment very friendly...

My impression is that Kangas have a bit more attitude than cows - unless they're Gary Larson's Far Side ones, of course.

On the methane front, it seems they also have a different digestive process which generates very little.

As for other alternatives, is cannibalism so bad? Think about all those council estate feral teenagers with no future, tenderised over the years in a cider marinade... What?!

(backs out of the room quietly)

I wonder what our Veggie readers think about all of this.

What about a bit of gene manipulation to put a roo's digestive juices into a cow? Then we could carry on eating beef without beefing about the environmental impact (not that I do anyway). Guess the possible side effect of producing jumping cows needs to be looked into as well. Good for making milk shakes, I'd have thought.

I had a roo burger last time I was in Aussie.... bloody nice, mate! Similar to venison IMO.

Icon, 'cos that's what is next :D

Kangaroo has little fat and the animals are very friendly to the top soil in that they don't loosen it like other livestock causing those dust storms they get from time to time. It all makes perfect sense, and it tasted good too. Superoo my order thanks.

I'd like to give it a go.

Waiting here in the 'States with utensils ready and taste buds tuned.

P.S. Strictly speaking, if you want to be green, you should be eating local. But I'd still like to give it a try. :)

Here in Aus, roo is easily avaiable from the local supermarket - though in much smaller amounts to the usual beef, lamb, etc. Dog food, though, is full of the stuff. My dog lives on a diet of roo ears, testicles, etc, and seems to get along just fine.

Incidentally, emu can also be found in the pre-packaged meat department making Australia the only country in the world that has a coat of arms made of dinner . I'm an expat Brit and when I point this out the locals get all shirty and try to throw it back at me so I tell them that lions are really expensive and we've eaten all the unicorns.

And its delicious, it just takes a bit more skill to cook then steak (lets face it steaks very forgiving as to how you cook it).

However, its beginning to get more expensive here in Aus because more and more people are eating it. It used to be about $10/kg cheaper then steak its now down to about $3/kg cheaper... :(

Highly recommended!

Tasty and very yummy and as it is a very lean meat without excessive fat and the animal creates far less greenhouse gas to maturity unlike your average equivalent heavily polluting feedlot McCrapper CJD burger grown bovine variety !

But then again , in what other country can you eat it's national symbols(Kangaroo and Emu) as they very plentiful in numbers and are both fully capable of self regulating it's numbers dependent on climatic conditions unlike the mad cow variety which needs major human assistance drugs inclusive to multiply !

The best way to prepare a roo steak is to rub it in a bit of olive oil 15 minutes before barbecuing - since the meat is naturally low in fat you just need a little oil to help it cook properly.

It has to be done rare, if you overcook it it becomes tough and tasteless, so if you like your meat charcoaled then roo is not for you.

In our local supermarket it's significantly cheaper than beef or lamb, lower fat, and if we're doing our bit for bovine flatulance reduction, well that's just a bonus isn't it :-)

Through summer our family has BBQ roo at least a couple of times a week...

The local baker (here in Canberra) does a very nice kangaroo pie. A friend of mine won't eat it because "it's on the coat of arms". Bah.

Kangaroo can taste somewhere between extremely lean beef and venison.

Wallaby is much the same.

Possum is rather nasty (but I had it in cannelloni so the preparation may have messed it up).

Emu is very nice, not like poultry at all - more a red meat.

Crocodile is like a cross between chicken and scallop.

Camel is nothing to write home about.

Buffalo (I think it was actually bison) is very gamey.

Dog is absolutely delicious, especially if fattened up on rice for about two weeks before slaughtering.

I wouldn't touch koala because I doubt the nasty brutes are fit for human consumption.

I'd jump at the chance to eat a 'roo!

Hmm, as I think about all the animals I have (or may have, I've eaten in some pretty dodgy places) eaten over the years, Kangaroo is one of the few beasts I haven't sampled!

Mine's the one with the well gnawed bones in the pocket.

... they're called Drop Bears, not jump bears. But, you're right, nobody eats Drop Bears, because nobody gets close enough and lives! Viscious buggers, they are.