re: Australian Aboriginal Recipes

Hi Kelsey

By reading this you will understand there are no 'traditional' recipes as such or that I know of.

Most people go hunting on the sea and some go hunting in the bush. People on the sea go hunting for turtles, fish, crabs, dugong and go into the mangroves for mudshells, oysters and crabs. In the bush you can find bush fruit and more food like goanna, pigs, wallabies and more. But the most hunted food is most of the sea food like the dugongs and turtles.

The most common cooking methods are roasting on the coals, cooking in the ashes, steaming in a ground oven and boiling.

ROASTING ON HOT COALS

This is a technique for cooking meat and fish. Foods roasted on the open coals of a fire include most meats, fish and small turtles. Meat is usually cooked in this way when it has to be eaten immediately, though most bushmen would accept that it is better cooked in a ground oven.

The catch is generally first thrown on to the flames of a fast burning fire. After about ten minutes it is taken off the fire, and cleaned. It is then returned to the fire, which has subsided to form a bed of hot coals. Turtles, snakes, goannas and fish are also cooked this way and are quickly cooked through.

When combined with slow cooking in the coals, the roasting method produces very juicy cooked meats, which have a hard skin. The flesh of the game stays chewy - considered by Aboriginals as gourmet and a as a reason for their excellent teeth.

BAKING IN THE ASHES

All types of dampers, seeds, nuts and root vegetables are cooked in the hot ashes. It is important to select good wood for this cooking fire; many Australian native bushes have slightly irritant properties and some ashes are never used by Aborigines for cooking. Acacias are safe and fast burning. Some foods such as witchetty grubs are simply rolled in the hot ashes; some such as damper and goanna are placed on the hot ground beneath the ash and covered with more hot ash.