If you are not from Australia, you might be alarmed by the fact that we would eat the beloved Kangaroo. In fact, it turns out we are one of those weird countries who eat both the animals on our national Coat of Arms - the Kangaroo AND the Emu!

What you may not know is that Kangaroos are so plentiful in the wild these days that they are actually culled each year in order to control the population. They are culled for a variety of reasons, one of which is to reduce their impact on agricultural crops. This culling of our national icon means we are then left with a rather large supply of Kangaroo meat.

This recipe for Slow Cooked Smokey BBQ Kangaroo is really handy for lazy days or when you’re super busy - you just chuck everything in the pot and leave it to cook away. It’s also super flavoursome. Kangaroo is really affordable, high in protein and low in fat so you should try to include it in your diet as much as possible. If you don't live in Australia I guess you won't really have access to Kangaroo as conveniently as I do. Try substituting the Kangaroo in this recipe for a nice piece of brisket or pork shoulder.

Slow Cooked Smokey BBQ Kangaroo

Ingredients

500g Kangaroo fillet
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
Splash of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup smokey barbecue sauce or liquid smoke
3 whole peppercorns
Pinch salt

Method

1. Place roo steaks in slow cooker and add bay leaf, garlic, salt and pepper.

Just so you know, Kangaroo meat isn't always this square looking. This lot was just pulled from the tray, still frozen!

2. Add remaining ingredients, place lid on slow cooker and cook for 7 hours on low*

3. Once cooked, remove the meat from the slow cooker and place in a large shallow dish. Use two forks to shred the meat. Place meat back into the slow cooker and cook for a further hour with the lid off to allow the sauce to reduce.
4. Enjoy!

*If you don't have as much time, you could also cook this for 3-4 hours on high, but the low option will give you the tastiest, most succulent outcome.