Slater’s 50/50 Kangaroo Burger
Slater’s 50/50 Kangaroo Burger
Slater’s 50/50 is doing kangaroo burgers this month. That’s right, the perky Aussie marsupial, ground up and put between a couple pieces of bread. Actually, “The ‘Roo” is 50% kangaroo and 50% ground bacon, topped with brie, thick-cut bacon, huckleberry ketchup, crushed macadamia ricotta, baby greens, radish slices… all between a honey-wheat bun.
Sounds like post-haute cuisine weirdo food, right? A bludgeoning of real-life cartoon animals to sell a few burgers?
True, it is a headline-grabber. But kangaroo meat is not exotica protein that only tastes good to Slater’s public relations firm. This meat might just save the world, according to some.
Even the notoriously burger-unfriendly Greenpeace has suggested eating ‘roo (or any macropod, for that matter). It seems macropods are real easy on the soil and produce very little methane (the infamous cow and cattle gas that’s currently pushing the delete button on our ozone). There’s even a quasi-vegetarian diet called kangatarianism—an enviro and ethical food ideology that excludes all meat except ’roo.
Australians shoot them because the bouncy bastards are everywhere. One Ohio tourist’s photo opp is another Aussie’s pest problem. So the meat is from wild, “free-range” animals, and usually part of a population control program. (Note: This isn’t just rogue Australian rednecks skeet-shooting joeys—but an ecologist- and government-backed thinning of the adult herd by trained shooters).
Still, roo meat is like Fosters beer: Aussies don’t actually consume much of it. It’s an aborigine tradition (“bushfood”), and about 70 percent is exported—mostly to Europeans because they don’t have the irrational protein hang-ups the rest of us do. Those techno-loving savages eat raw horsemeat with a little lemon juice, for chrissakes.
Roo meat is real tender like filet mignon. It’s high in protein and low-fat, so ask for the burger medium-rare or at the most medium (otherwise the lean meat dries out, even with all that bacon).
“The ‘Roo” is a bold public relations move on Slater’s part. Kangaroos are cuter than cows, with more peppy energy and a built-in Baby Bjorn. Probably won’t be big at 7-year-old burger birthday bashes. But rabbits are pretty cute and I could really tear into a lapin a la cocotte right now.
And it’s right in line with the Slater’s brand. Best known for its half-bacon, half-beef burgers, the chain isn’t peddling subtlety. Something about Slater’s makes me want to shoot guns and take my pants off.
So how’s the Roo burger taste? Gonna try it for lunch today. First criticism: How did they not think to serve this in a pocket bread?
NOTE: It should be stated that Slater’s isn’t the first to do this in San Diego. Crazee Burger serves kangaroo, ostrich, antelope, gator, you name it. They’re crazee.
