Roo meat

[Cal-ApeR]

For those of us lucky enough to have access to property with a macropod harvesting permit....


I have never taken meat off a roo but recently due to health issues, I've found that this meat is perfect for my diet and new lifestyle. I'm thinking about bringing some home never time I'm out and putting it in the freezer.

I don't have time to butcher a whole animal so am looking at what people take quickly. I assume legs and possibly back straps?

Finally, healthy animals? What am I looking for here? With deer I normally check the organs for spotting etc. Same with roo meat?

[duncan61]

You will need a small doe for human consumption if you wish to get the best meat.There is a heap of meat on even a small animal.I did commercial harvesting and had a flat strap swivel hook welded on the back of the rack and I had a gamble for spreading the legs.I would hang the animal by slitting the skin at the ankles and hooking the gamble on the swivel hook then you can spin the carcass.With small animals that the processor would not take I would slit the belly then grab the poo tube and slide the poop pellets back in to the gut and remove all the green then run a knife round the bottom rib both sides and swivel the top half and the spine snaps and the whole top half separates and gets discarded.Turn the carcass around and remove the but area taking care not to puncture the bladder If you puncture the bladder discard and start again.I then put a bent hook in the girdle and rehang the carcass.I used to cut the shins off with a wood saw as it is not uncommon to cop a leg in the face when moving carcasses around and if the shins have been broken off the bone will go through your cheek real easy.I leave the tail on but you can take it off if you want now you have a neat package that can be skinned simply I break the but up by trimming the loin out then each leg can be removed and I boil up the girdle which I think is the best part.When I first hang the animal I slide a knife up the throat to puncture the heart and let it bleed out for a few minutes or you may cop a spray in the face when you remove the gut and sever the main artery.The longer the but stays whole and chilled the better the quality of the meat will be.Hope that helps

[Blr243]

I have only done so for dog meat. With the animal on its back I sliced the belly skin and then roll the roo onto one side I pulled the guts out but left the chest cavity as is. At approximately the kidneys I sliced through the spine at the discs then dock the tail off. And leave waste in the field or at a roo dump if that’s what the landowner prefers. This method only takes a touch more time than whipping off the back legs and gives nearly three times the meat. And all the meat is protectected from dust during transit back to home or coolrooom or camp or wherever

[TassieTiger]

It’s one of the leanest cuts of meat out there - with almost zero fat on most animals.
This can make the taste a bit bland - so be ready to cook it with some legit butter or similar, to inject some flavour...

[Jon79]

It’s a good thing to eat if you don’t want others travelling in your car or if you want to clear a room in a hurry

You have to slice it really thin to ever cook it right through, rissoles would probably be the best or back straps if you want to do it as steaks, personally I hate the stuff even the smell of it cooking is enough to turn you off it

[TassieTiger]

I remember going out to a fancy restaurant and seeing wallaby on the menu and I’m thinking - great, now I’ll see how a professional gets this meat to taste bloody good...
Should have ordered the duck.

[Cal-ApeR]

Haha great response guys. The taste is fine. Bit of marinade and it comes up good. Much like venison, don't overcook and it's fine.

Regarding disease though - no tips?

Dunc, that was very detailed! For a quick grab of meat, you reckon get the back straps or too small? I was thinking of just grabbing a couple of legs and straps rather than doing the whole animal. There are thousands of them where I go. I am there to help reduce numbers so don't want to be seen more interested in taking meat then helping the owners.

[duncan61]

If you are drop and rot culling no one will care if a small one is in half.I thought the kangaroo industry was going well in the east with macro meats buying up plenty

[duncan61]

The only animal that I have eaten fresh is goat and it was O.K. but we were real hungry and I rolled the leg in foil with a heap of garlic and cooked it on a barby plate.Fresh kangaroo smells a bit even the red roos it needs to be hung in the dark out of flies.I have seen tails left in a car get consumed with no ill effects you just remove the knuckle that was exposed and go for it.The skin acts as a protecting agent so once the meat is exposed it really needs to be covered and cooled.When I shot for King River for human consumption we had 48 hrs to get the deep core down to 4 degrees you just cant cool it then let it heat up again or it will go slippery and rot very quickly.I had my own chiller trailer parked at Mt Augustus and running at 2 degrees and I left a few small but ends hanging for around 20 days the the day came when I had to do something .I thought I may have to discard them but they were perfect except where the meat was exposed and had dried out but the trimmed inside meat was divine and we boiled up a stew and I could not get enough