Kangaroo Kebabs with Pancetta
I’m a huge fan of kebabs. They are so straightforward, quick, and simple to prepare and cook. The Kangaroo Kebabs were no exception. I was lucky enough to get bought a box of ‘exotic’ meat from a friend for my birthday from Wild on Meats. It included some Kangaroo Steak, so loving kebabs so much, I thought this was a good route to go.
I did quite a bit of reading before attempting to cook the Kangaroo. The consensus seemed to be to cook it medium-rare otherwise the meat can get tough. On cutting up the steak it did remind me a bit of Venison and it was very apparent how lean it was.
As with game meat, there is very little fat on Kangaroo so I also decided to wrap some pancetta around the Kangaroo to keep it a little more juicy.
I usually follow the steps below to ensure I get a really good cook:
- Marinate the meat for at least 8 hours and preferably overnight – I did skimp on this and only did them for around 3 hours
- Cook the kebabs using Russian Skewers
- Do not overcook the meat
Preparation and Cook
As with all my cooks, I took the marinating meat out of the fridge about an hour before I wanted to start cooking.
Next up was lighting the BBQ, with two zones. Doing this really does make it easier to manage the cook. Thread the Kangaroo onto the Russian Skewer and then wrap in the pancetta.
I cooked these directly for 4 minutes on each side and then rested for another 4 minutes. Even with such a short cook and having the Pancetta around them the meat was closer to medium to medium-well.
The Verdict
I was mildly surprised at how much I enjoyed these Kangaroo Kebabs. You could definitely taste the cumin on them, so I don’t think I lost too much by not marinating for longer. The Pancetta also helped and went well with the meat. Tasted meaty – again not really a surprise and is something I would definitely cook again.
Kangaroo Kebabs
Ingredients
- 250 g Kangaroo Fillet
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil (extra virgin)
- 1 tsp Thyme (dried)
- 1 Garlic Clove (crushed)
- 10 g Caster Sugar
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground Coriander
- 5 Pancetta Slices
Instructions
- Dice your Kangaroo and place in a bowl. Mix all the other ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour over the Kangaroo. Mix well and then place in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours but preferably overnight.
- About an hour before you want to cook remove the meat from the fridge. Add the Kangaroo to the skewer.
- Cook for around 8 minutes turning once through the cook (when I try this again I will do them for 3 minutes each side).
- Remove from the BBQ and allow to rest for a few minutes. You have different options on how you serve these. I just did them with a salad but they would be great wrapped in a pita or flatbread.
