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Posted (edited)

I cooked goat for the first time this week. I am making birria this weekend for cinco de mayo, and wanted to make sure I liked the meat before committing to a large amount for the birria. So I bought 1/2 "shoulder" from a middle eastern shop - here is what it looked like. The meat is from Australia according to the package (Thomas Farms).

 

Goat

 

Goat stew

 

I have lots of cookbooks but not too many have recipes using goat meat. Eat Your Books tells me I have > 23,000 recipes, but only 13 using goat (that is 0.06%)! I picked a recipe from Hugh Acheson's The chef and the slow cooker that I borrowed from the library, goat & garlic with couscous. It's a northern African-inspired stew with lots of garlic, sweet onions (I used cipollini onions), carrots, tomato, coriander seeds, lemon, and bay leaves. 

 

I seared the meat on both sides in a cast iron pot, cooked the garlic and transferred to the instant pot together with the other ingredients and the broth, and cooked it in slow cook mode. I found out that the lowest setting isn't equivalent to a slow cook, it's lower and closer to a warming setting. Anyway, it cooked for 5 hours at that low setting, then increased it to medium and cooked for an additional 11 hours. The meat was very tender at the end, pretty much falling apart. I let it cool and separated the meat from the sauce, removed all the bones. The next day, I reduced the sauce and added honey to it, added the meat back and served the stew on top of couscous with a generous sprinkle of fresh oregano. I found the flavors on the milder side so having the fresh oregano on top was key. I would probably use more of everything next time (more garlic, more coriander seeds, etc). 

Edited by FrogPrincesse (log)
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Posted

@FrogPrincesse

 

very interesting.

 

how did you like it ?

 

would you do this again w goat ?

 

or 

 

Lamb ?

 

or a most lamb is young

 

 , older lamb ? 

 

probably hard to find oder lamb.

 

so , goat or lamb ?

 

 

Posted (edited)
12 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@FrogPrincesse

 

very interesting.

 

how did you like it ?

 

would you do this again w goat ?

 

or 

 

Lamb ?

 

or a most lamb is young

 

 , older lamb ? 

 

probably hard to find oder lamb.

 

so , goat or lamb ?

 

 

I like goat meat. I had had it in curries and other dishes in restaurants before. I find the flavor of the meat to be a bit milder than lamb. I would do this again with goat for sure. I like lamb a lot as well, they are just different and it's nice to have variety. Also, as an extra plus, my daughter who doesn't eat lamb (because they are babies (she doesn't eat veal either)) is ok with goat. :)

 

Edited by FrogPrincesse (log)
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Posted

Your goat is quite meaty, Frogprincesse.

 

I also like goat. Readily available here, lucky me. However, the goats sold here are rather bony. I have SV'ed them and finished in the oven, or cooked on low heat in a covered pot (in the oven)/Cretan-style.
QkHQUie.jpg

 

Cretan-style (slow-roasted in red wine, olive oil and lemon juice/vinegar)
hPoZ7Mh.jpg

 

The heart and liver (seared like a steak) are even better.
1cAeLV1.jpg

 

The same goat dish as above, but eaten in the Cretan capital, at a lovely traditional restaurant whose cooking is approved by locals. Oh, I miss Crete! The best!
I1RM59T.jpg

 

For sashimi, young goats are probably preferred. Tried it 2 days in a row on Kikaijima (Kikai island) last October.
V357LkPt_o.jpg

 

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  • 1 month later...
Posted (edited)

The goat birria turned out great! It was a bit of work but totally worth it. I used the recipe from Rick Martinez's Mi Cocina but also consulted this video by Rick Bayless (next time I may try his cooking method as it is quite simple).

 

Back to Rick Martinez's version, birria estilo Aguascalientes. He explains that this recipe uses tomatoes which results in a thicker broth. The tomatoes' acidity counterbalances the richness of the goat meat, while their sweetness tames the heat of the chiles.

 

I got 2 goat shoulders from my local middle eastern market. Like last time, the meat was frozen, from Australia. Each shoulder was about 4.5 pounds.

 

Goat

 

Goat

 

The shoulders were rubbed with salt, transferred to a ziplock bag, and refrigerated for a couple of days. For the sauce, tomatoes, onions, chiles (guajillo, cascabeles, moritas), garlic, raw cashews or peanuts (I used fresh peanuts I had just bought in Hawaii), peppercorns, allspice, canela, and cloves are roasted in the oven (he also calls for 1 corn tortilla but I didn't have any on hand and skipped).

 

Chiles

 

Birria prep

 

The herbs and spices are added (oregano, thyme, cumin, and the goat is added on a rack above the roasted vegetables.

 

53698506133_a4f93d7c69_b.jpg

 

Water is added to the pan, which is covered tightly with foil, and the goat is baked for 4.5 to 5 hours (mine took about 6 hours to get tender). Once cooked, the meat is shredded into small pieces, and the liquid blended to make a smooth puree (the consommé).

 

Birria

 

Birria

 

It's served topped with onion and cilantro, with lime wedges. salsa de chile de arbol, and tortillas. The consommé was rich and complex in flavor - absolutely delicious! :D

 

Birria

 

 

 

Salsa de chile de arbol

 

Birria

 

Edited by FrogPrincesse (log)
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  • 3 months later...
Posted

Ate goat 2 days in a row here on Samothraki island (where goat, always free-range, is the island's speciality, not seafood). "Young goat in the oven" is a popular meal here but today I had goat chops for the first time. Tender, juicy and succulent just like young lamb. The goats from Islamic butchers at home are small and bony!

 

Gonna eat it every day till I leave the island (in 4 days time)!

 

 

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2025 MY: Return to (durian) paradise ❤️ Pulau Pinang 2001-2025 / 2025 GR: ATHENS (again) / 2025 MX-GRACIAS MEXICO!/ 2024 IT: The Other Italy / 2024 PT-Lisbon (again, almost 2 decades later) / 2024 GR: The Other Greece - 2024 MY:The Other Malaysia / 2023 JP: The Other Japan - Amami-Kikaijima-(& Fujinomiya) - My Own Food Photos 2024 / @Flickr (sometimes)

 

 

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