Tag Archives: Port

Beer Braised Wallaby Shanks

Tonight we made braised wallaby shanks.
Keep in mind, if you don’t have access to wallaby, this recipe works just as well using lamb shanks.

Braising is a great way to cook tougher or sometimes leaner cuts of meat. Cooking on a low heat in liquid over a period of time tenderizes any cut. It’s always best to braise meat on the bone as it gives a lot more flavour. We purchased the wallaby from the Melville Street Farmers Market in Hobart. It is reasonably priced and really tasty too.

I decided to braise the wallaby shanks in St Bernadus Abt 12.
(One glass for me, one for the pot)

Beer Braised Wallaby Shanks

4 wallaby shanks

2 cloves of garlic (crushed)

2-3 bay leaves

Fresh thyme 

1 brown onion

5 or 6 swiss brown mushrooms

1 tomato (diced)

1 bottle of St Bernadus Abt 12

Beef stock

Method 

Fry off the thinly sliced onion in some olive oil on a medium heat until transparent

Add the garlic, bay leaves and thyme, fry for a couple more minutes

Add the wallaby shanks and diced tomato

Pour over the beer (1 whole bottle) and lower the heat

Add the mushrooms

Top up with some beef stock so the shanks are covered in liquid

Cook on a low heat for 2-3 hours

Season with salt and pepper

Serve with wedges of grilled pumpkin and some of the reduced sauce


Caroline. While we waited for the wallaby to cook I made the appetizers: 2 glasses of Torpedo Extra IPA.
My taste buds are now ready for dinner.

Kris: The wallaby meat when  slow cooked becomes really tender and silky.
I love it with a Belgian brune, dubbel or a dark ale.

We drank a glass of the St Bernadus with dinner. St Bernadus is age for 3 months before released to the public and can be aged up to 15 years in the bottle. There is some residual yeast in the bottom of most bottles so be careful for chunky bits when pouring.

The beer’s full bodied flavour  (a bit spicy and a bit sweet ) went perfectly with the wallaby, accenting the sweetness of the meat.

Caroline: Now look away so I can lick my plate…

Kangaroo and Poached Pears

Kangaroo is such a lean and super tasty meat, as long as it is cooked rare or medium rare. It is also a great match with wine and beer.

Kris : I recommend buying kangaroo fillet as opposed to kangaroo steak. It is a couple of dollars extra per kilogram, but worth it.

A great trick is to use pineapple in the marinade, which helps to tenderize the meat.
Kiwifruit and Paw-paw also contain enzymes that work in the same way.

I normally combine some macadamia oil, balsamic vinegar, pineapple pieces, garlic and fresh thyme to make the marinade.
1 -2 hours is more than enough marinating time in a covered bowl in the fridge.
Then leave the meat to come to room temperature and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side on a really hot cast iron griddle pan. Let it rest a couple of minutes before serving.

Serve with Tomato and Lemon Myrtle chutney (the recipe is on our recipe page) or a simple salad of rocket, olives and goat’s chevre.

As a beer match I recommend Kostritzer Schwartzbier (Germany) or Schwartz Brewery Dark Lager (N.S.W).

As for wine, a Pinot Noir, cool climate Shiraz or Grenache would be an ideal match. A great Tasmanian Pinot to try is 3rd Child from Campania.

Caroline : This is our FAVORITE port. It’s the Chateau Reynella 16 Year old Rare Old Tawny Port. It comes in a 375ml bottle and is only $8.99 at Dan Murphy’s! I can’t tell you how many bottles of this we used to drink when we lived in Melbourne (and had Dan Murphy’s down the street…dangerous)

Even after trying some more expensive ports, this one still remains my favorite. It tastes like figs and spicy fruit and has a soft, thick mouth feel.  It was a great match to our dessert, Spicy poached pears.


Spicy Poached Pears

Peel and quarter 2 pears and remove the seeds (or used peeled and whole, they take longer to poach) 

In a pot, make a simple sugar syrup of 1 cup of sugar and 1 & 1/2 cups of water.
Place a cinnamon quill broken in half, a few cardamom pods, 2 slice’s of ginger, a few cloves and a chili sliced long ways into the syrup.

Let it simmer for a while to extract the flavour’s of the spices.

Add the pears and poach them until tender.

Serve with marscapone (or whipped cream) and a small amount of the strained poaching liquid.

Delicious and easy to make.