What to do with goat?

February 5, 2016 4:04 AM

I have a boneless leg of goat. My original idea was to marinate it and cook it on my gas bbq using a rotisserie. I was thinking buttermilk but would like some more suggestions. I'd be open to other cooking options as well.

Unfortunately I can't eat onions, garlic, tomato or citrus fruit at the moment but am happy for recipes that include these as long as they are not vital to the recipe (I'll just leave them out).

posted by poxandplague to Food & Drink (12 answers total)

Indian recipe marinated in yoghurt and spices would be the go-to for me, but with the bone out and your food restrictions I'd be more inclined to lay it out flat and grill it fast, serving it charred on the outside, and slightly pink inside. Marinade of red wine / rosemary for a bit beforehand would help, as would a thorough dry and a massage with olive oil before cooking. Shame about the no garlic rule. :(
posted by bifter at 4:56 AM on February 5, 2016

If you're going to rotisserie it, I would consider marinating first (instead of just doing a dry/oil rub). Buttermilk, yogurt, or coconut milk would be good (at least in my experience with pork, beef, and poultry). bifter's suggestion of red wine and rosemary sounds good, too. You might consider brining as well. (I often do a maple syrup brine for pork and poultry).

But another cooking option might be to slow cook in the oven and make pulled goat!

I make a lot of oven-pulled pork/beef this way and it's an awesome no-muss/no-fuss but super tasty way to cook a big hunk of meat.

I oil the meat then use a salt and pepper dry, and occasionally add 1/4 cup of brown sugar or coconut sugar. You can vinegar, too, if you like that kind of taste. Put the meat in a pan of water and cook uncovered for 45 minutes at 450F (to create a 'bark'). Then, cover with foil and put back into the oven at 350F for another hour. Afterwards check, every 40 minutes or so, depending on the weight of meat, to see if the meat pulls apart easily (there should be no resistance!!!) with two forks. The internal temp should be around 190F or so for a long while to get the muscle fibers to break down.

I typically find that it takes about 45 minutes + 2.5 hours for the cuts of pork and beef that I typically use (usually about 5-7lbs). With goat, I would play it by ear, but assume at least 1.5 hours. There are a bunch of pulled goat recipes online, though, so you might take a look and see if there is one that comes close to what you have. The old "low and slow" adage is helpful here.

Good luck, good eating, and let us know how it turns out!
posted by skye.dancer at 5:55 AM on February 5, 2016

So goat is probably most analogous to lamb. It's tougher and some people think gamier. For that reason you definitely want a marinade.

I recently made lamb shanks braised on pomegranate juice with mint, and it was really amazing and not something I'd had before. I would suggest marinating the leg in pomegranate juice with perhaps some spices along the lines of garam masala (coriander/cumin/nutmeg/pepper/cinnamon or some variation thereon). Then rotisserie it as planned, and serve with pomegranate seeds and mint leaves on top.
posted by mchorn at 7:11 AM on February 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've made somsa with goat before (like samosa). Here's a good recipe. If you don't have time to make the dough yourself, you can roll out refrigerator-case pie crusts and cut them into small rounds. Serve with a tomato+cucumber+vinegar+oil salad on the side.
posted by scrambles at 8:04 AM on February 5, 2016

'Gamey' doesn't even begin to cover goat, just in case you haven't eaten it before. It has a pretty intense flavour all its own. I would definitely marinate it before cooking.
posted by Kreiger at 8:31 AM on February 5, 2016

In my experience, goat is extremely tough and requires pressure-cooking to get nice and tender. Maybe the butchers here just go for the triathlete goats and yours will be a couch potato softie, but I'd still advise pressure-cooking to be safe. (I've also found goat to be the most flavorful lamb I've ever eaten - I love that gamey lamb taste!)

So, pressure-cooking suggests a nice luscious curry or birria stew. There are Indian curries based on yogurt but I don't have any recipes for you that omit onions and tomatoes and garlic, sorry. (Hint: google "mutton" instead of goat to get a lot of additional choices - the cooking approach will be the same.)
posted by Quietgal at 9:38 AM on February 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

My experience also is that goat is very tough, but I love the flavor. I would either braise it for several hours in a dutch oven or cook it in a crockpot. A pressure cooker would probably work fine as well. Even well cooked, I like it best pulled apart into small bits (a la pulled pork) and served as a sloppy joe. If you want to chop it or have a meat grinder, it makes good burgers as well, and they don't need to cook super-long like the larger pieces do.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 5:11 PM on February 5, 2016

My experience with goat is that it is sweeter and much less gamey than lamb. If it is cooked long and slow it will be tender. Plum or pomegranate marinade sounds good, bake it in a tall dish, surround it with slices of sweet potato, cumin is good with goat, and sliced red peppers.
posted by Oyéah at 10:06 PM on February 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'd pick one of the countless Caribbean curry goat recipes that are out there, adjust to leave out the ingredients you can't eat like onions, and go to town. The flavor is phenomenal.
posted by Dip Flash at 10:23 PM on February 5, 2016 [2 favorites]

Here's a non-marinating suggestion:

A common leg of lamb recipe is just salt, pepper, and poke a whole bunch of rosemary into little cuts in the meat (image), and roast it that way.

Leg is nice and fatty, so any low and slow cooking will be great if you're patient.
posted by colin_l at 7:37 AM on February 6, 2016

I would soak it in buttermilk overnight then marinate in oil and vinegar with cumin, oregano and chili powder for a few hours. Then cook low and slow. Make tacos. I've found that goat is really variable based on the breed. But I prefer Mexican goat.
posted by kamikazegopher at 12:57 PM on February 6, 2016

I've just slow-braised chunks of goat with oil, salt, large quantities of onions and an equal amount of ground scotch bonnet pepper and its one of the most delicious things I've ever made. You could add a desertspoon of curry powder too. At least 4 hours to get it tender, add a bit of water if it starts to catch on the bottom of the pan. Or cook it in the oven slowly with a flour seal round the lid. Or in a bed of coals same way. If you like the taste of goat you don't want to disguise it too much, if its too 'goaty' for you go with the buttermilk and spices...but disguising the taste of goat is, um...I can't see how that would work.

Principle: oil, salt, handfuls of two strong, savoury flavouring agents, slow cook. And hey, you said 'at the moment' so maybe you can have onions next time you cook goat? What they do is add to a good rich gravy.

Also scotch bonnet is less peppery and more flavourful when you heat the meal up the next day.
posted by glasseyes at 8:50 AM on February 7, 2016