The Goat Topic: Tips & Techniques

[liuzhou]

11 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

The link is instructive.    Note that prices for properly (i.e., American style) butchered goat is comparable to prime lamb, as it should be.

 

What makes you think American style butchery is "proper", as opposed to any other kind? Billions of people around the world will disagree, especially those for whom eating goat is a regular occurence.

[btbyrd]

It all depends on what the goal is. If the goal is to hack an animal up and simmer it for half a day, it can be proper to hammer it with a machete into tiny bits (or, less rustically, use a bandsaw or whatever to do the same thing). If the goal is to cook each part of the animal in ways that are tailored to that specific part of the animal, a more nuanced and time-consuming (and skilled) approach to butchery is proper. I wouldn't ruin goat chops by stewing them forever, and I wouldn't try to grill goat cube mystery bits. At any rate, neither style of butchered meat is "proper" without respect to a culinary purpose. But there is a difference in the amount of skill required to produce them.

Earlier in the thread, I referred to the "cube it up" approach as "artless butchery." I'd stand by that. I wouldn't say it's improper. I wouldn't even say that it's bad or less desirable. It all depends on what you're trying to do with it. But given my preferences and eating experiences, I don't care for that style of goat. I'd actually probably like it more if the dishes I'd tried used larger pieces of of goat instead of the small cubes that all the Indian, west African and Jamaican places I've been to seem to use. On these, the meat to bone ratio is dismal, which wouldn't be a problem on a larger bone. I don't mind boney spare ribs, for example, because even though there's a lot of bone relative to meat, it is easy and satisfying to gnaw off. I find the tiny cubes tedious and annoying; I don't enjoying having to have my "mouth radar" on all the time while dining. Again, these are statements of personal preference. YMMV.

I bet the goat cubes are great for making stock. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

@liuzhou, Proper by American butchering style.   Billions of people eat goat cut as their respective cultures dictate.    The expensive goat in the  linked article is broken down in the American style which produces/provides totally different cuts.  

The operative word was "price" and the context was comparing the price of a particularly butchered goat to similarly butchered lamb.     

Edited July 16, 2021 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[rotuts]

Goat is worth trying.

 

Just not worth pursuing. 

 

unless you live in an area that offers very young goat

 

ie cabrito

[FrogPrincesse]

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).

 

 

 

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 May 3 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

More prep pictures. It just fits in the 6-quart instant pot.

 

 

Before the long bath.

 

And after.

 

Yield was only ~500 grams of meat (the shoulder weighed 1.3 kg).

 

 

 

And here is the finished dish.

 

 

[rotuts]

@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 ?

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

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 May 3 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Anchobrie]

OMG now I need to get goat or suckling goat meat asap!

[BonVivant]

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.

 

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

 

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

 

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!

 

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

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Beautiful dishes @BonVivant, thanks for sharing!

 

Edited June 10 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

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.

 

 

 

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).

 

 

 

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

 

 

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).

 

 

 

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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Here is a link to the full recipe for those who are interested! The recipe is featured on the cover of the book.

[BonVivant]

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)!

 

 

[rotuts]

@BonVivant

 

Pics if possible ?

Edited September 18 by rotuts (log)

[KennethT]

@BonVivantGreat to see you here again. I'd also love to see whatever you wish to share.