Goanna and Reptile Cookery: Open Pit and Coals

Goanna (monitor lizard, primarily Varanus species) was one of the most important protein sources across arid and semi-arid Australia. The cooking method — whole, in the coals or in a shallow pit — is one of the simplest and most effective techniques in the Aboriginal repertoire. It is also one of the most confronting for non-Indigenous observers, which is precisely why it was dismissed by colonial commentators who could not see past their own cultural assumptions to recognise a technique perfectly adapted to its context.

The goanna is killed, gutted (the fat deposits around the organs are prized — goanna fat was one of the most valued substances in Aboriginal trade), and placed directly into hot coals or a shallow pit lined with coals. The skin chars and forms a natural casing that protects the flesh. Cooking takes 20–40 minutes depending on size. The charred skin is peeled away to reveal tender, white-to-pale meat that tastes somewhere between chicken and fish — mild, slightly sweet, with a faint gamey depth.

Goanna from the coals, with bush tomato and a handful of warrigal greens — this is one of the oldest meals on Earth, virtually unchanged for tens of thousands of years.