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Australia

RIP Maurice Rioli

Well that's sad. He was a great player and too young.

Maurice Rioli dead

The football community is mourning the death of AFL legend Maurice Rioli.

6PR news reported today that Rioli had passed away in Darwin. He was 53.

The radio station said it was believed Rioli suffered a heart attack at a Christmas Day gathering.
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Ops normal, in other words. :)



I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!

- Dorothea MacKellar​
 
A question appropriate to this thread.

Isn't it time to change our National Anthem? Nobody sings it. I find it embarrassing.

Sure it's better than Waltzing Matilda, but why not "We are Australian" or better still "Down under". I'm serious.
 
MarronTitle.png




Yabbies are pretty cool, but if one is going to discuss more serious crayfishy things then Marron are what you're talking about.



Marron01.png

Handsome, n'est-ce pas?
Picture: ABC Landline
​



At one stage, mainly for want of better studies being carried out, there was only thought to be a single species of Marron, but it's commonly accepted these days that there are at least two. Personally, I think there may be even more, because I swear I've seen the buggers in Queensland, way outside their defined range, but of course that's just a bit of an anecdote, so we won't be discussing that any further. Probably

The two recognised brands are Cherax tenuimanus, known as the hairy, or Margaret River Marron and Cherax cainii, AKA the smooth Marron.



Marron02.png

Hairy Marron - Cherax tenuimanus
Picture: Karen Gowlett-Holmes/www.osfimages.com​



Both are native to the southwestern corner of Western Australia and are farmed there quite extensively. Many South Australians will also attest to them being about the place and in fact Marron have been introduced to Kangaroo Island and other parts of South Australia where they have been both commercially farmed and are known to have established feral populations in local waterways. A mixed blessing, one might say. I mean, they're food, after all, and quite a luxury item at that, going by the prices one pays.



Marron03.png

Smooth Marron - Cherax cainii
Picture: spinycrayfish.com​



It appears that tenuimanus, which is critically endangered, may be being supplanted in most areas by the introduced and more adaptable cainii, and it is most likely that specimens reported in areas outside the southwest are of the latter species.

Dog knows what the things I've seen in SE Queensland are, but they were definitely too big to be normal yabbies (Cherax destructor).

Normally they're as black as, but according to fairly credible reports from wandering Pharaohs, and as the following photo bears out, they can appear in a range of colour schemes incuding fire engine red (not including the ones that are about to be lunch, but that's a whole different thing).

Both species grow to about 2 kg (4½ lb) if they don't get eated first.



Marron04.png

As always, don't try this at home, kiddies - they're every bit as bity as they look​



Scientifical Stuff:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Astacidea
Family: Parastacidae
Genus: Cherax
Species: C. tenuimanus ('hairy') C. cainii ('smooth')​


Non-Scientifical Stuff:


Marron05.png

Cherax lunchii​



Marron make excellent eating, very similar in taste to lobster. Being that they are a freshwater species, however, they are far less salty and provide an overall sweeter taste. Distinct from all other similar freshwater species is the fact that they do not burrow and do not take on as much waste into their flesh.

"Recipes?", I hear you asking. Well, duh.



Char grilled marron with orange and ginger sauce

4 large marron
1 cup orange juice
1 x 2cm piece of ginger peeled and finely chopped
Sea salt to taste
1 cup butter diced

Pop the marron in the freezer for 30 minutes. This will improve their temper somewhat. Remove and cut in halves.

Rinse to remove comic cuts.

To make the sauce, simmer the orange juice and ginger and reduce to about 1/3, swirl in the butter a few pieces at a time, keeping the sauce warm but do not boil.

Season the marron. (salt, pepper, other stuff)

Lightly brush with the melted butter and char grill 3-4 minutes on each side.

Arrange the grilled marron on a plate surrounded by the sauce and serve immediately.​


Marron06.png

Alternate Serving Suggestion - Cooper's Special Sauce (goes well with anything)​

More Recipes



Australian Wildlife Eat or be Eaten - Choose Quickly​
 
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HawaiiBigSis said:
So those marron bug-things are fresh-water critters? How come every picture has them on dry land (aside from the cooked or ready-to-be-cooked guys)?
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So you can get a good look at them. In their natural environment and in the water they're very hard to see, and even harder to get close enough to for picture taking purposes.


Here are some photos from a couple of Marron farms.


 
lionking said:
A question appropriate to this thread.

Isn't it time to change our National Anthem? Nobody sings it. I find it embarrassing.

Sure it's better than Waltzing Matilda, but why not "We are Australian" or better still "Down under". I'm serious.
Click to expand...

I am Australian would be an excellent choice. Down Under would be horrible. No country should have a national anthem with the word chunder in it.
 
Damien Evans said:
I am Australian would be an excellent choice. Down Under would be horrible. No country should have a national anthem with the word chunder in it.
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I think we should do what the Spanish did. Then we'd be spared the sight of professional sports players trying to sing.

Although, I am a bit of a rebel. A larrakin, if you will.

I like the idea of the word "chunder" in a national anthem.
 
lionking said:
A question appropriate to this thread.

Isn't it time to change our National Anthem? Nobody sings it. I find it embarrassing.

Sure it's better than Waltzing Matilda, but why not "We are Australian" or better still "Down under". I'm serious.
Click to expand...

 
Back on yabbies.
We just spent two weeks in Halls Gap (Vic west) (yep, we got caught in the floods). The kids caught over 100 yabbies and we made enough for two feeds (entrees anyway). The way I do them is:

Place them in the freezer for half an hour or so to put them to sleep.
Boil a pot of water. Place the yabbies in the boiling water for 5-10 seconds.
This makes removing the tail from the shell easy: rip the whole tail from the main of the body. then remove the very end tail - the poo should come away with it. De-shell the tail - it should almost be able to be pulled out while the shell is in tact - if not, remove the tail as you would a prawn.

Retain the claws.
Rinse the tails and ensure the poo is removed.

Prepare some:
1. onion,
2. garlic, chillies, salt & pepper, ginger and fresh lemon to taste.

Place the yabbie tails in a bowl with some olive oil with the ingredients of #2.

Dice the onion and cook in plenty of olive oil until transluscent.
Add the yabbie mix and cook for 60 to 90 seconds on a high flame.
Remove the tails from the pan
Cook the claws for 30 seconds

Serve in separate bowls as an entree.

Bloody delicious.
 
Damn, I'm a bit late to the Marron post. Excellent stuff, Pharaoh!

I can't believe I've never heard of Marron. Or if I've heard them mentioned, I just filed them in the category of "Weird **** I wouldn't go near".

But they look delicious! Want want want.
 
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