grilled kangaroo fillets with a sweet and spicy yogurt dressing and salad

Kangaroo meat is extremely lean and as a result needs to be cooked quickly and is best served medium rare. Of course, if you’re cooking kangaroo mince (sausages, meatballs and the like) then it should be cooked to well done. Grill or pan fry the fillets, make the dressing in a food processor or Thermomix and feel free to mix things up with the salad ingredients.

ingredients

for the kangaroo and salad

• 6 kangaroo fillets (similar in shape to chicken tenderloins)
• salt and pepper or your favourite seasoning
• spinach and rocket leaves
• julienne carrot (1/2 a carrot)
• a handful of cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 5 cm piece of cucumber, quartered lengthways then diced
• 1/4 red capsicum, diced
• dash of olive oil

for the dressing

• 125 g natural greek yogurt
• 30 g Mayonnaise
• 1 lime rid, zest and juice
• 1 tsp sweet soy sauce (Kecap Manis) *or gluten free soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon palm sugar
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon sumac ground
• 1 bunch fresh coriander leaves
• 1 red chilli, optional

directions

for the kangaroo and salad

1. Rub the fillets with some salt or seasoning 2 hours before cooking.
2. Prepare the salad ingredients, add to a bowl with the oil and toss.
3. Fire up your barbecue, grill or heat a frying pan to a medium high heat.
4. Cook the fillets until medium rare, turning every 30 seconds.
5. Allow the fillets to rest for at least 5 minutes.

for the dressing

1. Place the lime zest in a food processor and chop on high for 5 seconds (Thermomix – chop for 5 seconds, speed 8).
2. Add garlic, chilli and palm sugar and chop on high for 5 seconds (Thermomix – 5 seconds, speed 8).
3. Add coriander and chop for 3 seconds on medium speed (Thermomix 3 seconds, speed 5).
4. Add yogurt, mayonnaise, sweet soy sauce, sumac and lime juice and mix for 5 seconds on medium speed (Thermomix 5 seconds, speed 4).

Place the salad on a plate or bowl, top with the sliced kangaroo fillets and drizzled with the dressing and some of the juices from the fillets. Enjoy your true blue Aussie kangaroo salad.

You could add a variety of other ingredients to the salad – pine nuts, mint, avocado, crunchy noodles, the list goes on. Our eldest was eating orange segments while we were eating the salad and I thought that would be a nice boost to the overall flavour.

Click here for other Messy Benches’ salad ideas.