Eat more wallaby its good for you!
Wallabies are widely distributed across Australia, particularly in more remote, heavily timbered, or rugged areas, less so on the great semi-arid plains that are better suited to the larger, leaner, and more fleet-footed kangaroos.
Wallaby meat has a rich burgundy colour, is very tender, with subtle flavour lending itself to diverse styles of preparation. It is very low in cholesterol and very low in fat, perfect for the health conscious.
Portioned and ready to cook
Wallaby has a mild game flavour and can be used as an alternative to veal or chicken. The tenderness and flavour of wallaby meat is best enhanced when lightly cooked.
Provided the following simple steps are followed, cuts of Wallaby meat can be prepared in a similar fashion as all other red meats:
Brush the meat with oil (e.g. olive , peanut or seasame) prior to cooking either by pan frying, barbecue or roasting.
Place in a hot pan and quickly turn to ensure both sides are seared (browned) , seal and turn only once to retain moisture.
Roasting is an ideal cooking method for Wallaby meat. For the best results cook at controlled temperatures. It is not recommended to overcook kangaroo and Wallaby meat as the absence of fat makes the meat dry out.
Source: Yarra valley Game Meats,www.LifeStyleFOOD.com.au
Mark Olive’s Wallaby Stack
Recipe by World Famous Chef Mark Olive from The Outback Café
Mark Olive (aka the “Black Olive”) has been a chef for over twenty years - he became interested in cooking as a child, watching his mother and aunts.
He was born in Woollongong in New South Wales, but his people are the Bundjalung nation from the state's northern rivers region.
Mark was chef at Melbourne's indigenous restaurant, the Flaming Bull, and ran his own restaurant in Sydney for a time where he specialised in creating recipes using outback ingredients.
Today he cooks regularly for gatherings of hundreds of people at big corporate and public functions in Australia, bringing his signature blend of contemporary outback tastes to every occasion.
500 g Wallaby butterfly cut steaks
1 Sweet potato thinly sliced lengthways
1 Capsicum cut into 4 equal pieces
Native Mountain Pepper
3 Dessert Spoons Seeded Mustard
1 Dessert Spoon Honey
¼ cup crushed Macadamia
1.Pre-heat oven to 200°C.
2.Prepare the steaks in a butterfly cut, and coat with native mountain pepper, set aside.
3.Coat the zucchini, sweet potato, and capsicum with olive oil and cook on a hot griddle plate until tender (do not over cook).
4.During cooking sprinkle with native mountain pepper. Remove from griddle and set aside.
5.Sear both sides of the wallaby steak quickly on a very hot griddle (should be medium rare).
6.Remove from griddle and set aside to rest.
7.On a baking tray, layer the sweet potato, zucchini, capsicum and wallaby, repeat.
8.Top with crushed macadamia nuts and place in oven until nuts are golden brown.
9.To make the sauce, mix the seeded mustard and honey in a small bowl.
10.To serve, place the stack on a plate and drizzle with the honey mustard sauced. Sprinkle native mountain pepper around the plate and add some whole roasted macadamia nuts for presentation.
