Great Australian BBQ Competition Recipe

Queenslander Bush Tucker with an Asian Twist!

aka:  Crocodile & Prawn Stir Fry with BBQ'd Macadamia Nuts

Crocodile & Prawn Stir Fry

When asked by Alastair McLeod, "Why we chose Crocodile to cook, seeing we'd only cooked it twice?"

My response was "We wanted to cook something different"! I actually thought there would be lots of whole cooked fish in the competition. I was wrong! But it was fun a doing a stir fry on the BBQ. We had a little problem with heat, which affected our finished dish.

I had a practice run cooking the Spices, Herbs, Vegetables with noodles & the Sauce & loved the flavour. 

Next we had a practice run at my home with a few friends tasting the dishes we tried.This time we cooked the crocodile. Now I'd seen a post by Brendan a chef cooking crocodile in Lemon Myrtle 3 mins each side. 

Preparing the Ingredients

we decided to sprinkle the croc with some 'bush spices' sear each side on the BBQ, take it off & rest the slab of meat until we added it back into the stir fry.  

I figured if I sliced the meat paper thin, it would keep to a tender consistency. The judges, Chef Dominique Rizzo, Alastair McLeod & Queenslander Billy Moore,  recognised this when judging. I've cooked it several times now & as long as I slice it finely, it is tender to eat, but I can't say I've mastered cooking crocodile. In saying this, it's still delicious & worth trying. The closest meat I can compare it to is Chicken. So not so scary to try afterall, & really takes your guests back when you tell them your serving crocodile. 

The Stir Fry preparation takes about 15 mins & when cooking a smaller serve for 4 people another 5-10 mins depending how you move through the steps.

Ingredients: 
400 gr piece of crocodile
20 green prawns
3 sections egg noodles (pictured)
 oyster mushrooms ( not available when I cooked this time)
Coriander, Garlic, Spring Onions, Ginger, Chili
Vegetables of choice
Bean Sprouts
Fresh Coriander,  Macadamia Nuts,                                                                                                       Hoisin Sauce, Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil.

Cooking the Noodles &
Frying the spices, Prawns & veggies.

 Step 1. Prepare vegetables (cut finely)

         2. Mix coriander, garlic, ginger, chili & spring onion 

          ( using fresh ingredients, chop & pulp with a mortar & pestle)

         3. Sprinkle croc with Bush Spice mix

         4. Use some of the crushed mixture to prawns (step 2) 

         5. Heat BBQ, add sesame oil, sear croc both sides for 1 min each side , set aside & rest.

           Add oyster mushrooms to the hotplate & brown the macadamia nuts, then set mushrooms & nuts aside.

         6. Bring water to the boil & add noodles. At this stage it all starts to come together.

         7. Add sesame oil to hotplate, add crushed herbs to plate & prawns, turning to cook,               add vegetables and stir.

          8. Add 4 tablespoons of Hoisin Sauce, a sprinkle of Soy Sauce,add the noodles

          9. I sliced the croc finely while Jeff stirred the stir fry, the croc was added, the                              macadamia nuts, sprouts & some fresh coriander.

 The photo in the heading is the larger dish I prepared at a BBQ with my very special Aunty Annegret & family. 
For serving I used those takeaway noodle boxes (that's another funny story) & chopsticks. 

There is no reason why you can't add a can of coconut milk to the last step of this recipe. 

Chicken & Mango Stir fry

Trophies 

One of the chicken dishes in the blind ingredient comp

In Front of the judges!

ENJOY COOKING!

That funny story I mentioned, was about my bargain chinese takeaway containers I purchased on holidaying in Melbourne. I couldn't help myself, marked down to 20cents for a pack of 8, I bought the lot, while shopping with my sister Heidi for a party. Well do you think I could fit them into my luggage for the flight home. They eventually made it to Brisbane by car. It made a very funny story at the time, having a goof laugh at me.Don't worry I'm always having a laugh at myself.