Gibbo's Surf and Turf

After a late run of lobsters for my local area (Sutherland Shire) i finally got my hands on a couple and thought why not make a Surf and Turf on Boxing day. And what better turf than some Kangaroo fillet.

Rather than run through the ingredients for everything, I'll just briefly explain the process i use for the various sections of the dish.

This is all about timing and i did all of this dish on the bbq.

For the Roo, have yourself a hot oiled flat plate on the bbq, and simply season your roo fillet with some salt and pepper before it hits the heat. Cook one side until brown then turn, cook the other side untill browned then move to the grill (not on) but leave the plate on low and close the hood, this will gently continue to cook the roo through but leaving it rare and succulent, i usually leave it for about 20 minutes before returning with the lobster.

When i did the lobster for this dish, i used some scissors to cut the membrane that connects the tail to the head, this ensures when you separate, you will pull the meat inside the body cavity also, then i make two cuts on the outsides of the underside of the tail (confused yet?) this allows you to peel back the softer underside of the tail skin revealing the white flesh. Using your fingers, on the hard side of the tail, peel back the meat from the shell, using the scissors to cut around the membranes leaving the tail paddles attached for presentation. I then slice in half (laterally) removing the intestine, rinse in a salt brine and season, this can go on the bbq plate once you believe your roo to be almost done, set aside with the roo on the warm grill plate once it is browned on all sides and the tail flaps are bright red.

For your sides, i use the side burner to boil some sliced potatoes, golden delight seem to crisp up well on the bbq, so peel and slice into 1cm thick circles, boil them in some salted water until lightly blanched, set pot aside until your meats are done, then cook in the hot plate with some olive oil until golden, save the water in the pot also!!

I throw some greens like beans or snow peas onto the hot-plate last, just long enough to get a bit of colour and heat through them.

For the sauces, i used Bearnaise and a red wine/balsamic glaze, Bearnaise I'll save for another day, i cheat and use my food processor and it makes great Bearnaise, google it if you want but I'll do a step by step hassle free Bearnaise soon.

For the glaze, this is real simple, with a small amount of butter and a crushed garlic clove, foam the butter and garlic on the side burner, pour in about 1.5 cups of red wine, and as much balsamic as your palate will handle for acidity, about 150mls of beef stock if you have it (not needed though, but will add some depth, i sometimes add some meat/roo offcuts to the foaming butter for similar effects) and about a tablespoon of brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste and reduce, once boiling add about 3 tablespoons of the potato water, the starches will help any sauce thicken, same goes for any pasta water, i try and save this sauce to the last 5-10 minutes of the dish or until up put the potatoes on the hot plate with some more olive oil. You will know it is done when thick bubbles start foaming, turn the gas off or you'll end up with tar.

Like i said, this sort of cooking is all about timing and starting different processes at the right times will ensure you have juicy meat, succulent lobster and hot ready to pour sauces. (have some warm plates, rinse them in some hot water for a few seconds and dry them off)

Please feel free to ask any questions