Lenah Wallaby is truly unique

Unique to Tasmania, wallaby is one of natures finest meats. Wallaby has a rich burgundy colour, a surprisingly mild - even delicate, flavour and a wonderfully tender texture. Think of it as the ‘veal of kangaroo’.

• For sensational pan-fried dishes use Wallaby Fillet;
• For the best stir fry you've ever had use Wallaby Eye Fillet;
• For roasts use tunnel-boned Wallaby Legs;
• Or for something really different try Wallaby Shanks.

Cooking Lenah Wallaby

Like most game meats, wallaby is great either cooked quickly (pan-fried use porterhouse or topside) or cooked very slowly (e.g. slow braised shanks).

Perfect Pan Fried Wallaby

• Handle Lenah Wallaby just as you would a good red wine. After opening the pack, ‘decant’ the meat into a bowl and put the juice aside for your sauce. Let the meat ‘breathe’ for 5-10 minutes. This allows the pack smells to dissipate and the meat to absorb oxygen.
• If you prefer your meat cooked more on the medium side of rare, you can then marinate the wallaby in olive oil. This is not essential, however.
• Pre-heat the pan and add some (olive) oil. The oil will help the meat brown and retain its natural juices.
• Seal the juices in the meat by turning the cut immediately after placing in the pan until all sides are lightly ‘browned’. Then allow 2 to 3 minutes cooking on each side. Remove from the pan and stand in a warm oven for 5 to 10 minutes to rest prior to slicing. Aim for medium rare.
• Be careful to leave lots of space around each piece of wallaby when pan-frying. If the pan is over filled the meat will stew in its juices producing a rather unsatisfactory result.
• The last and most important tip: The way you slice meat to serve makes a huge difference to its eating quality. Its very important the meat is sliced diagonally across the grain. This will maximize the tenderness of the meat in your mouth. Unfortunately meat is often sliced the wrong way, doing the product a great injustice.

Wallaby Recipes

Lenah Wallaby fillets* with basil pesto, grilled eggplant, tomato and Westhaven goats cheese

Serves 4

• 1 pkt wallaby fillets
• 1 eggplant, sliced into 4
• 1 tsp basil pesto
• 1 large onion diced
• 150 grams westhaven goats cheese
• 5 large tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• (Maldon) sea salt / cracked pepper

1. Cook onion in a little olive oil until translucent.
2. Add garlic and diced tomatoes, soften gently.
3. Add sugar and continue to cook until tomatoes are further softened. Keep warm.
4. Smear eggplant with olive oil and char grill or saute in a hot pan until cooked.
5. Cut goats cheese in half and warm through in a low oven.
6. Sear wallaby in a hot pan (as per above) until medium rare. Rest well, rub with basil pesto and slice across the grain.
7. Arrange tomato on plate, top with eggplant and goats cheese. Carefully place wallaby on top of cheese and serve.

Wallaby Stirfry

Serves 4

• 1 kg of wallaby striploin
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 4 tbspn peanut oil
• 1 large red chilli, finely sliced
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced
• 12 fresh basil leaves, shredded
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 cm knob ginger, finely grated
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper
• 250 gram noodles, prepares as per packet instructions

1. Marinate the wallaby in fish sauce and sugar for 15 minutes.
2. Heat 1 tbsp peanut oil in wok.
3. Add shredded basil leaves. Toss for a few minutes until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towel.
4. Heat rest of oil in wok.
5. Add chilli, ginger and spring onion. Cook for 30 seconds, tossing repeatedly.
6. Add wallaby and sear quickly.
7. Add fried basil and lemon juice.
8. Toss to combine. Season.
9. Serve piping hot over noodles and garnish with basil leaves.

Tart of Braised Wallaby Shank, Compote of Onion and Honey, Westhaven Goat Cheese Soufflé and Sauce Aribica

(For experience Chefs only)

Shanks

• 4 x wallaby shanks
• Sea salt/fresh ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 2 star anise
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano
• 6 garlic cloves

• 3 cinnamon quills
• Skin of 1 orange/1 lemon
• 60ml balsamic vinegar
• 170ml dry white wine
• 1 large carrot (cut into mirepoix)
• 3 celery sticks (cut into mirepoix)
• 1 medium onion (cut into mirepoix)
• 1 leek (cut into mirepoix)

• 1 litre reduced brown Veal Stock

Method

• In a mortar/pestle crush the sea salt, pepper, coriander seeds, star anise, herbs and 1 clove of garlic.
• Rub the mix over the wallaby shanks (after you have removed the small piece of sinew from the meat nearest the bone). Set aside.
• Heat some olive oil and fry off the mirepoix until lightly browned. Set aside.
• Seal off the shanks in the same pan, brown on all sides- remove.
• Add mirepoix back to pan along with cinnamon quill, orange and lemon skin and remaining garlic cloves.
• Brown till quite dark (not burnt) and deglaze with balsamic and white wine, scrape any sediment from the bottom.
• Place the vegetable base in the bottom of the braising pan and lay shanks on top. Cover with Veal Stock and cook slowly – (150 °) for about 3 hours or until tender.
• When meat is ‘falling off the bone’ remove and set aside in a cool room until reasonably cold.
• Strain the cooking juices, skim and reduce by half. Set aside for sauce.

Onion Compote

• 100gm butter
• 100gm Kaiserfleisch or bacon, julienned.
• 6 onions thinly sliced
• 50ml honey
• 50ml sherry vinegar

Method

• Melt butter in honey based saucepan, add bacon and onion and cook, covered, for 5 minutes until onions start to wilt.
• Remove the lid and reduce to a very low simmer for about 3 hours, stirring regularly to prevent sticking.
• Remove from heat, stir in honey and vinegar and season to taste.

Goat Cheese Soufflé

This Soufflé mix is sufficient for 5 x 150ml Soufflé dishes.

• 60g butter
• 60g plain flour
• 350ml warm milk
• 75gm goats cheese
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh parmesan
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (parsley, chives, chervil)
• 3 egg yolk
• Salt/pepper
• 4 egg white

Method

• Melt butter in saucepan and add flour, cook to white roux – cool slightly
• Add milk stirring all the while to form a sauce, boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Mash goat cheese until soft and add to sauce with chopped herbs and Parmesan. Allow to cool slightly.
• Fold in yolks and check seasoning.
• Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until creamy. Fold quickly into cheese mixture.

* Souffle topping is done last and is spooned over tart shell. Bake at 180°C for about 5 minutes, depending on size of tart.

Sweet Potato for Base

• 200g sweet potato (cut into even large pieces)
• pinch sea salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• pinch nutmeg
• 50g soft butter

Method

• Roast peeled sweet potato with olive oil and sea salt until nicely coloured and cooked through.
• Drain oil and puree in food processor with nutmeg and butter. Set aside.

Sauce Arabica

• 1 onion finely diced
• 1 carrot finely diced
• 1 stick celery finely diced
• 1 leek finely diced
• 1.5 litres braising liquor from wallaby
• 1.5 litres Veal jus
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs Thyme
• 1 head garlic, halved across
• 1 cup crushed Arabica coffee beans
• juice of 1 lemon
• 100g butter

Method

• Fry off the vegetables in a little olive oil until dark
• Add the herbs and garlic
• Pour over the braising liquor and veal jus
• Bring to boil and simmer for 1 ½ hours
• Strain, reduce by half and add coffee beans and infuse 1 hour
• Strain again, ad lemon juice and diced ‘cold butter’ just before serving

* This will make at least 1 litre of sauce. If you wish to freeze it, leave out the butter until service.

To assemble/serve dish

• Shred wallaby with fingers from bone and mix with a little Sauce Arabica to bind.
• In the bottom of 4 cooked shortcrust tart shells place a good spoonful of onion compote, top with wallaby and chill
• Make up a soufflé mix and top each tart steel with this, bake 5 minutes.
• Place cooked tart on a spoonful of sweet potato mash
• Surround with Sauce Arabica, serve at once.