SXSW: The Meatist Talks Eating Kangaroo With Aussie Paul Dempsey, Can't Bum a Ride

Ok, we're just posting this because Bradford didn't take a photo

​Backstage after Thursday night's Kashmir show at Maggie Mae's, an awfully tall fellow could be seen laughing with Kashmir's lead singer, Kaspar Eistrup. Turns out it was Paul Dempsey, lead crooner and guitarist of Australian band Something for Kate. SFK and Kashmir toured together, both in Australia and Denmark, and spent an awful lot of time taking each other out to eat meat.

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"Honestly, the very best red meat in the world," said Dempsey with a pause for effect, "is Kangaroo." Should that have been hard to guess? When a woman next to Dempsey made a pouty face at the thought of killing 'roos, Dempsey explained that they're so common they need to be culled by the government so they don't starve to death. Culled for a delightful meat dish, apparently.

"It's very, very lean, and there's only one way to cook it. No 'roo tacos or anything like that, just a thin steak cooked quickly, served usually with a wine sauce. The steaks are small too, and when you get them they might be a bit bloody," Dempsey said, with a sad look towards the woman next to him, "but it's really great. Not many Australians eat it though, it's actually a bit of a delicacy. Unlike Foster's, which sucks and isn't sold there anyway."

So put down those stupid oil cans of lousy beer and hit someplace Dempsey says has a great selection of real Australian beers: Eight Mile Creek on Mulberry Street, in New York.
"They might even have some kangaroo meat," Dempsey said with a smile

Those of you still in Austin can catch Dempsey, sans-SFK, at the Aussie BBQ at Maggie Mae's on Saturday, where they won't be serving kangaroo, but will (predictably) probably serve Foster's

-- Bradford Schmidt

Check out Paul Dempsey's "Bats":

Paul Dempsey - "Bats" from Mighty Nice on Vimeo.