Have the Australians crossed turkeys with kangaroos to produce a new meat for the market? No, I’m afraid not - there would be a lot of people jumping up and down and be hopping mad if that was the case.
The answer is no. But in Australia kangaroo meat in a variety of cuts is fairly easily available in supermarkets as is turkey.
Using mince from both animals mixed to make patties, rissoles or meat loaf produces really tasty and healthy item which is liked by kids and adults alike.
Turkanga Meat Patties.
Essential ingredients-
Equal amounts of kangaroo and turkey mince - a big handful or around 350 grams each.
An egg
A big breakfast cup full of finely cut onions - its a good idea to sweat these a little seperately - just to soften them so they conform to the shape you make the mix
A big breakfast cup full of finely grated sweet potato
Half a big breakfast cup of cooked brown rice
A heaped dessert spoon of psyllium or an another egg
Pepper and salt to taste.
Optional
Some finely chopped parsley
Some dried herbs of your choice
Some chillie fresh or dried - take it easy to start with especially if you want kids to eat them!
Mix thoroughly in a good sized bowl making sure the mince is well broken apart and evenly spread. Leaving it for a while at room temperature lets the flavour permeate and develope.
At this stage you can pop the mix in the fridge ready for later or go ahead and make the patties.
It’s a nice idea to coat them just before you cook them and I use an oatmeal and rice flour in equal portions in a clear plastic bag. Rolled oats works a treat too.
Using a biggish spoon as a measure, depending on the size you want your patties, take a dollop of the mix, make into a rough ball and drop it into the bag with the rice flour and oatmeal coating and jiggle this about till it is coated- this makes coating so easy and so much less messy ..
Remove and place aside - repeat this till you have a suitable number ready to cook.
The cooking! Pop a little butter and/or rice bran oil in an open pan over which you can place a lid.
Let it heat through on a really low jet - if you use butter, it is ready when it has stopped making bubbles.
Place the coated balls gently in the pan and press down to make a flattish pattie and allow a little space around each.
Keeping a lid on cook on a flicker of heat for 20 minute or so then turn them over for another 15 minutes with lid on. If a little browning is desired leave the lid off for five or ten minutes turning once for each side.
Keeping the heat down and the lid on means thorough cooking of the meat but also little tendency to break up or to express liquid from themselves meaning they are really moist and tender.
Cooking on a flicker of heat this way the meat component contracts very little and thus does not express all the nice juices of the meat and keeps the patties from swimming in gravy.
Serve on really warm plate with turmeric infused brown rice and warmed raw greens - chopped Chinese broccoli and/or celery give a nice crunch.
Cooking without recipes is a smart thing to do but it requires a little thought. It has the advantage that you do need to think whereas with recipes the thinking has been done for you.
Therefore I apologise for the above but I can assure you your variations on the above will produce a marvellous meal meaning strict adherence is unimportant.
But the important principle here is that in cooking anything containing mince it lends itself to being infused with great flavours at its very heart and very things that do that keep the texture open and tender.
The onions and the rice breakup the tenacious meat mince allowing its juices to surround all the particles and sink into the rice. The egg and the psyllium do the same plus bind the mix.
These principles will work with any mince, even elephant ( heaven forbid ) or crocodile or fish.
Just heating a piece of mince will result in a uninteresting product which in which the meat has contracted to squeeze out the natural juices to become hard.
