Another haul from my weekend market wandering, and this time I scored a kangaroo fillet and found some lovely native Australian bush spices that I thought might just be the best friend kangaroo needed. The dish is paired with textures of beetroot (boiled in stock, puree, and leaves sautéed) tied together by a sweet, sour and savoury spiced plum sauce.
Wine pairing - this dish was paired with a 2015 Quealy Rageours Sangiovese Shiraz Pinot Noir blend which complimented the dish perfectly and hitting every single notes of of the spices in the bush mix, the fruity notes from the sauce and the gamey flavour from the kangaroo fillet.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 1 hour
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Kangaroo Fillets
- 300g kangaroo fillet
- salt
- pepper
- 4 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp mixed Native Australian Bush Spices*
Beetroot Textures
- 2 large fresh beetroots with leaves
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp butter
- salt
- pepper
Spiced Plum Sauce
- 2 large plums cut into pieces
- 2 cloves
- 1/2 cinnamon bark
- 2 juniper berries
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup full bodied red wine
- 1/3 cup chicken stock
- salt
- 4 tbsp butter
* Spice blend with mountain pepperberry and pepper leaf, lemon myrtle, sea salt and pepper.
Method
1. Peel and cut the beetroots into wedges (reserving the rest leaves), add it to a small pot with the chicken stock and butter. Bring to boil then reduce the heat to simmer over low heat till fully softened for about 25-30 minutes. Once cooked, take out half of the beetroot and add just enough of the liquid to blitz into a smooth puree in a food processor. Set aside and keep warm.
2. Start on the sauce while the beetroot is cooking by adding the chopped plums, brown sugar, red wine, chicken stock, cinnamon, juniper berries, cloves and butter into a sauce pan. Bring to boil and cook until the plums are fully softened and liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Adjust the flavouring once reduce by adding salt and more brown sugar if required. It should be sweet and savoury. Add more butter in to thicken the sauce if required, the sauce should just be lightly coating the back of your spoon. Pass it through a sieve and keep warm.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Dry the kangaroo fillet well and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat up some oil in the pan over high heat until smoking, sear the kangaroo fillet in pan over high heat for about 1.5 minutes each side for lovely crust. Reduce the heat, add the butter to the pan to melt and use the spoon to baste the fillet on a tilted pan for another 1-2 minutes. Put the fillet in the oven and bake for approx. 10 minutes for a medium rare finish. Take it out once cooked and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before carving. Roll it in the mixed bush spice on the outside of the fillet.
4. Fry the beetroot leaves in a pan with some oil, salt and pepper until softened and just cooked.
5. Plate by placing some beetroot leaves at the bottom of plate, topped with kangaroo fillets. Add the beetroot pure and beetroot wedges to the plate and enjoy it with the spiced plum sauce.
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