I know that kangaroo meat is usually cooked rare because it's so low in fat.
I also know that certain meats are not safe unless well cooked, such as chicken and pork.
But what about kangaroo? For me it's the most delicious red meat so if I like steak tartare I know I should like kangaroo tartare, but how could I make sure that I'm doing it the safest way possible, if there is a safe way?
It seems the meat is not farmed at all but entirely "harvested" in the wild http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/meat-wool-dairy/ilg/industries/kangaroos. So it should be treated as a game meat rather than a farmed one - i.e. best to cook it.
Here's advice from the Department of Primary Industries saying you should never feed raw kangaroo to your dog, so I'd err on the side of caution http://new.dpi.vic.gov.au/pets/pests-and-diseases/health-care
Kangaroo meat is recognised as a health risk - as it's a bush meat, and is butchered in field. It can take up to two weeks before it is transported to a processor where the testing regime (which itself is only sampling a small number of carcasses) is only for salmonella and e.coli - not for the many many other pathogens and diseases kangaroos carry. There is good reason that farmed livestock are wormed, drenched and husbanded.
I really wouldn't go near it, and you most certainly should not eat it undercooked which is a recognised health risk. See this article on contamination from my site.
While you question is not a duplicate, most of the answer for How safe is steak tartare? applies here.
If you have good quality meat, from a reputable provider, you are likely to be fine.
Given that you would likely need to find a good butcher, I would suggest you talk to him/her and ask if they would eat their product in that way. If not, perhaps take their advice.
Kangaroo meat is subject to the same level of inspection as microbial testing as other red meats. It is perfectly safe to eat in the same way as all other red meats. There are no parasite problems in the product. The only proviso is one which applies equally to lamb or beef: that pregnant women, the elderly, very young children and sick people should not eat any raw meat due to possible toxoplasmosis rick.
I know this is a really old post, however id like to add something to the conversation. 6 days ago I went to a fancy restaurant and ate Kangaroo meat, it was quite raw, as you would eat if it was raw beef. From the night i ate this kanagaroo onwards (6 days later) i have had constant severe stomach pain. Ive been to the doctors twice, blood tests came up ok and have just had more testing to look for parasites. I havent got the results yet, but im 99% sure it is a parasite problem, and it all started a few hours after i ate the raw Kangaroo. I also hadnt eaten any suspect food at all in the 48 hours leading up to the Kangaroo meat, so i can easily say it wasnt anything else i had eaten. Ill be happy to post back here when the test results arrive. I always thought it was safe to eat reasonably raw, but my opinion has now changed. I wouldnt eat unless cooked all the way through from now onwards.
