Now, I don’t usually have the urge to write about the foods I eat day-to-day, but I’m becoming just a little obsessed with the kangaroo sausages I’ve been eating a bit lately. I think the obsession isn’t with the taste despite them being delicious, I think it’s with the amazing nutritional benefits. Most meat eaters stick with a few staples – chicken, beef, lamb, pork. But no one ever gives kangaroo a second thought, even here in Australia. But what’s not to love about kangaroo? It’s tasty, very healthy and very cheap.
Health
According to the Kangaroo Industry, kangaroo meat has less fat than lamb and beef and a similar level to lean pork and chicken and the fat is primarily unsaturated. That means having to chop off all the excess fat in your pork and chicken whereas kangaroo is generally lean from the start. The protein levels of kangaroo are higher than all the stock standard meats meaning it will fill you up a bit more and help build muscle! The cholesterol level is less than beef and lamb but slightly higher than pork and chicken. And the iron level is less than beef, but higher than all the others.
Also, kangaroo contains Omega-3 which comes as a bit of a surprise as well as a bunch of other things that are too complex for laymen to understand.
Oh yes, kangaroo meat is a great choice for health-conscious animal eaters!
Taste
Taste is a very personal thing and a new taste can often be confronting and even off-putting especially when it’s strong. Many exotic meats tend to be strong… which makes me think that beef is perhaps just bland. Anyway, kangaroo is only slightly gamy and I can now genuinely eat kangaroo sausages without even noticing the gaminess I once did. It really is not offensive in any way when you first taste it and as with most foods, you learn to love it.
The texture of kangaroo sausages compared to beef sausages is interesting. I find beef sausages to be very oily compared to their kangaroo brethren an a little squidgy whereas kangaroo sausages seem a little more firm and grainy.
I choose to accompany my kangaroo sausages with a nice pungent chilli jam. The combination is an absolute winner!
Cost
The cheapest and nastiest beef sausages contain all sorts of garbage – bovine offcuts, lots of saturated fat and often gluten. The kangaroo variety counter all of this by being gluten-free, very low fat (<2%) and… well I guess it could be any part of the kangaroo which is just a muscle-machine! Despite this, kangaroo sausages are about the same price as the cheapest beef sausages being about AU$8/kg or US$3.2/lb. A real bargain, in my view.
Ethical Considerations
I know eating a kangaroo to many would seem cruel, offensive, disgusting etc. Yes, eating animals is a pretty nasty business and if I was having to slaughter my own food day in, day out, I’d probably turn vegetarian. But I eat animals from a position of ignorance and at this point in time I’m OK with that.
Despite being cute, I think it’s OK to eat kangaroos just as I think it’s OK to eat cute lambs, pigs and cows. What is OK to eat and what is not is something that I have been debating with myself for some time with no clear conclusion being formed! Maybe the line in the sand really is “do not eat animals”. I just don’t know.
So, if you’re a meat-eater and kangaroo is cheap where you live (probably not outside Australia), I heartily recommend you give some Kanga Bangas a try. The stupid supermarkets often stick them next to the pet food section, but they are definitely for human consumption. I just think they don’t want to freak people out.
I welcome commentary!
4 replies on “Kanga Bangas – My Favourite Source of Protein”
Can you find them at most grocery stores? I haven’t looked yet but that sounds like something I’d want to try! I’ve only had roo once here at a restaurant (lunch included in a tour) and want to have it again — but afraid to cook it since I’ve heard it’s easy to mess up.
I haven’t had a problem with eating it since I’m not a vegetarian — similar to having venison every once in a while at home.
Yeah, most grocery stores do stock kangaroo, although it’s hard to find because they don’t tend to put it right next to all the other meat. I’ve never cooked kangaroo fillets as they’ve got a reputation of being tough because of the low fat content unless served rare. Another product is the mince. Once again, very cheap and you can’t tell the difference in things like spaghetti bolognese and the like.
Hi Adam, interesting about the line of eating animal or not. I think for me that is not a vegetarian, it comes to whether I think an animal is a pet-like or not. At the first time I came to Australia, kangaroo feels pet-ish or friend for me. I know this is weird, since it’s not an animal pet. It’s more like the feeling inside me. But now kangaroo feels less pet-ish, while for example, rock wallaby still feel that way, for me. I consider rock wallabies my friends (even though they consider me as a tourist carrying a bag of food). Maybe someday I will be open to taste kangaroo. Ryan has tried it and he quite likes it I think. Sheep are super cute, but I see it as food, not pet/friend, so it’s fine to eat. Except that I don’t like the strong taste.
Have you been in Manado? They eat almost everything.
Great review on kangaroo meat characteristic!
Yes, the whole pet thing is the point that I was making, I think. Many people that haven’t been to Australia love the cuddly wildlife – so do I! But I also like to eat some of it. 🙂 And it’s difficult to know why it’s ok to eat one animal and not another. So having said that, I’d probably eat a rock wallaby too if the nutritional content, taste and price stacked up. 🙂
Saya belum ke Manado, tetapi saya akan pergi satu hari… Saya senang sekali Sulawesi!