Would You Eat Kangaroo?

One of the things about getting older is it becomes increasingly difficult to discover new experiences. Fortunately, a good way to ensure these types of rare opportunities continue to present themselves to you is to travel to foreign countries. I mean, how else would I ever get the chance to sample a roo? Yup, kangaroo was on the menu in Tahiti last night. It wasn’t described in any particular manner or its origin sourced but I imagine it came from Down Under. I’m not even certain of what part of the body my rounds of roo came from. My husband joked it was the tail, but we both know that tails, regardless of what you might think, are not very tasty.

I had some reservations about ordering the roo. Roo? Come over here and sit on my plate. Although I am not a vegetarian, I am not always comfortable eating meat. Julia Whitty, in her marvelous book about diving in Rangiroa, The Fragile Edge, says there are more carnivores in the sea than on land. Whereas, we humans eat cows and pigs that eat plants, it’s more removed in the ocean. In the ocean, apex predators can be four times or more removed as in fish that eat fish, that eat fish, that eat fish, that eat fish, that eat plants.

But that wasn’t helping me deal with the fact that I was about to eat a kangaroo. With brow furrowed, lips pursed, I turned to my husband who was busy studying the menu — trying to decide between ravioli with prawns or lobster stew — raised my forearms with fingers curled into what could best be described as gesturing a pathetic rabbit and whimpered. He immediately began to mimic a kangaroo, bouncing his head forward with force and thumping the table. See, this is why I married the guy.

I can tell you that kangaroo, even when accompanied by foie gras with a carmelized crust, and prepared medium rare is a bit tough and chewy. Very dense texture and intense taste. From its initial spot in my mind, sitting quietly and innocently as a hot appetizer option on the dinner menu at the Tahitian restaurant Le Lotus, to its appearance in all of is grand glory on my dinner plate, I could not help but think about it as an animal joyously hopping about while carting a little baby joey in its pouch. Not that I have ever seen a kangaroo in person, mind you.

So, I gobbled it.