Food Drink

The Carnivore Club: Your Guide To Incredible Adelaide Meat Dishes

The perfect meaty meal is a juicy, smoky feast that lulls you into a food coma so intense, you will be craving Netflix without the side of chill.

Forget the eye fillet, Glam’s meat lovers moment will have you grasping for more than your steak knife. Just for one glorious night of artery obstacle courses, be a little bit smug about our position at the top of the food chain and embrace your Neanderthal roots without using that heinous P-word. A meaty meal is the perfect pre-game for a big night out, or if you do it correctly, you will be so captivated by the juicy, smoky flesh feast that you will be lulled into a food coma so intense, you will be craving Netflix without the side of chill. Honouring more than just the humble cow, we take your teeth on a journey through the whole farmyard and into the outback. Here’s the nine you need in your life.

Coal Cellar + Grill – Hilton Adelaide, 233 Victoria Square, Adelaide
Take your tongue back to the middle ages, where it seems pigs spent their lasts moments savouring their first bite of the crisp, sweet body of an apple before they were captured and hauled onto a rotisserie. Coal takes a big Babe bake-up to the next level with The Deconstructed Pig, designed to be shared by two, but me thinks Henry the 8th could have downed it lonesome after deflowering another stable hand. Immerse your fingers in 100 BBQ and bourbon glazed baby back ribs before twice cooked pork belly, Coal grilled king pork cutlet, pork and fennel sausage and, of course, roasted black pudding to finish. Enjoy it with the traditional sides of chutneys, sauces and mustards.

Press* Food & Wine – 40 Waymouth St, Adelaide
Nose to tail is in and Press* knows how to present these gorgeous giblets with flavours that flatter. Try the calves tongue with pickled cauliflower and horseradish cream and anise-roasted sweetbreads with cauliflower puree, peas and parsley. You simply cannot call yourself a proper carnivore unless you are willing to venture beyond muscle tissue.

Hoosegow Charcoal Restaurant – 419 Magill Rd, St Morris
Named with the Latin word for prison, Hoosegow’s fusion foods cooked on crackling Mallee Root charcoal will give your tastebuds Stockholm syndrome. The Hoose began in the home of owners Ara and Shadia with a recipe for chilli chicken, now a star attraction of smoky, sticky decadence served with jalapeno aioli. Lock in your palate for the Hoosegow meat plate for two, featuring the aforementioned chicken, guajillo lamb backstrap, slow roast pork belly, smoked beef brisket and chorizo, with baby potatoes and a smoked, spicy tomato relish or red wine jus.

2KW Bar and Restaurant – 2 King William St, Adelaide
Yes, we eat our icons; watch out Dame Edna. For those unfamiliar with kangaroo cooking, the tail offers an osso bucco consistency and a hint of gamey goodness for far more interesting fare. Could there be anything more contemporary-Autralian-cuisine than watching the sun set into the gulf while grazing on braised kangaroo tail with orange and carrot puree, smoked labneh, pickled okra and carrot? Glam thinks not.

Braised Kangaroo Tail from 2KW Bar & Restaurant.

The Ghan Kebab House – 366 Prospect Rd, Kilburn
A nod to the Afghan cameliers who contributed much to the development of the Australia we know, The Ghan celebrates the beauty of middle eastern eats on charcoal. Afghanis know the fat to lean meat ratio and serve up spicy minced lamb Shami Kufta, juicy Chicken Tikka pieces and tender Tikka Lamb skewers with the traditional sides of fragrant rice, garlic yoghurt, a vinegar-laden chilli sauce and naan. The casual atmosphere is extremely family-friendly.

Level One – 131/135-139 King William St, Adelaide
Any menu with a Feast section is a menu for a meat lover. Level One suggests sharing their dishes between four to six guests, but they read well enough to encourage a solo voyage into the land of meat sweats. Wrap up the pork belly in pancakes with cucumber, spring onion and sauces, or have the whole fried chicken with harissa, roti, feta, lemon and mint, or level up by forking into the beef short rib, served alongside cos lettuce, russian dressing and chicken fat potatoes. You’ll need the protein for Electra House’s dance floor.

Kaffana – 23 Peel Street, Adelaide
No seaside? No problem. The Serbians know how to get the very best out of the barn. If you can’t pronounce Cevapcici, it means you need to visit Kaffana asap; the chargrilled mince marriage between pig and cow is a union honoured with spices and consummated on a bed of diced onions. Select from chicken, pork, beef or lamb shasliks, or create a magical motorboat moment between you and the Kaffana Ribs. All dishes come with Mama’s homemade bread, potato and cabbage salad.

Sean’s Kitchen – Station Rd, Adelaide
We are a lamb nation. If you want to debate that, take it up with Lee Lin Chin. Australian lamb is on the menu with pride anywhere from Bali to Dubai, prized for its sweetness and upbringing. Celebrate these wonderful, fluffy creatures by honouring their best bits. Sean’s Kitchen has selected the shoulder, an ideal cut for slow cooking. Select your favourite friends and share 1.1kg of succulent shoulder with liquorice gravy.

Ten hour Lamb Shoulder Seans Kitchen

Ten Hour Lamb Shoulder from Sean’s Kitchen

Zayt & Zaatar – 603 Lower North East Road, Campbelltown
The new kid of the Lebanon lot masters the mixed grill, but when it comes to satiating your craving for something a tad more exotic, order the Nayeh Platter. The collection of raw meats includes fillets and offal, vegetables and piping hot Lebanese bread to use as your fork, but the real star is the kibby nayeh. Akin to steak tartare, this national favourite is a minced dish infused with spices, herbs and burghul and must be munched on with fistfuls of fresh mint, raw onion slithers and lashings of olive oil.

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