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Goat


DanCole42

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Lately I've been seeing a lot more goat at farmers' markets. That might just be because it's only now that I'm actually going to farmers' markets regularly, but that's neither here nor there.

The point is: goat.

Specifically, goat shoulder.

I have a 3.5-4 lb goat shoulder. What should I do with it?

Specifically, how do I make it as feast-a-riffic as the goat shoulder at Komi?

This thread is also good for one's general feelings on goats.

Specifically, goats as foodstuffs.

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All of my goat experience came from the Dunster House Goat Roast (I was not a Dunster resident, but we often had rehearsal there and would walk through the courtyard during the Roast).

I should like to quote the history of this event:

"Dunster House is noted for its long-standing tradition of the annual goat roast, which dates back to the 1980s. (Ed. note: since when does something started in the '80s qualify as "long-standing" and what does that make those of us who did ourselves start [life] earlier? Oy.) The goat roast was started as a lesson in primitive survival by former House tutor Daniel Lieberman, now a professor of anthropology. Students are taught to skin a goat with sharp-edged stones, the way our ancestors did it in the Stone Age."

...Good to know my alma mater is preparing its future alumni for survival in the wild. Definitely one of its primary selling points. :rolleyes:

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You mean the new red meat, right?

Unless you're implying something like cultural appropriation.

Brought home a goat shoulder chop from the market yesterday and plan on marinade involving either rosemary and olive oil or lemon juice and pomegranate molasses; I bet thick, strained yogurt, salt-mashed garlic, mint or cumin would be great, too, especially with w pilaf and okra. Chose that over sirloin since I love the texture.

Salad of arugula and sautéed Royal Trumpet mushrooms, and roasted potatoes: herby Nicola cubes and spice-rubbed rounds from a long and very, very skinny sweet potato.

Had I more, I'd consult Paula Wolfert's great recipes for lamb shoulder, especially a favorite stew smothered in leeks from Eastern Mediterranean. Another way to go besides Komiism.

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Specifically, how do I make it as feast-a-riffic as the goat shoulder at Komi?

I asked about how the goat shoulder at Komi was prepared. If I recall correctly, it was braised overnight in a very slow oven. Before serving, it was crisped on a flat top. Those who have better knowledge or memory than I have are requested to correct me, if I have mis-stated the above.
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...This thread is also good for one's general feelings on goats.

Specifically, goats as foodstuffs.

Feelings on goats? The ragin' T in my Myers-Briggs knows not of such emoti-talk...

But goat and I are good pals. My daily coffee includes low fat goat milk. I find it sweeter and easier to digest than bovine. I also try to compose a goat-based dish at home at least a few times a month.

In fact, just last night, I made another goat curry. Based it off of the "Smothered Lamb" recipe in Madhur Jaffrey's "Quick & Easy Indian Cooking" book. I doubled it for a crowd, upped the garlic (CSA), used two kinds of fresh chili peppers (CSA), and incorporated curry leaves into the base mixture (they freeze so beautifully!).

20 minutes at high pressure, a vigorous boil to reduce the sauce, and a liberal dose of freshly ground black pepper later, I was literally playing referee between guests fighting for the last portion. Next time, I'll think of some goat-based Gladiator challenge and make them duke it out for the final serving.

Locally raised goat is always my preferred option. But as Farmer's Markets close for the season, consider the Lebanese Butcher in Falls Church as an outstanding source. When I visited there yesterday, the quality of goat was beyond exceptional. Sunday seems to be a prime day to go.

*insert goat sound of your choosing*,

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Think lamb, only not...think lamb, only bigger, better, more robust, more what you really want lamb to be, but almost never is. Passage to India served a goat curry that was one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted. I've also had it served in the style of Tex-Mex chili - braised for hours in tomato and chili and onion. Think assertive flavors. I've done the ribs slowly on a smoker/grill, stopping occasionally to brush them with a sauce based mostly on paprika and cider vinegar and garlic. I've had it marinated in yogurt and rosemary and lemon juice, then browned and put into a cazuela and slowly braised in wine with leeks until tender.

Does this give you some ideas? Now you've given me some, and I'm going to go get some goat this weekend.

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Think lamb, only not...think lamb, only bigger, better, more robust...

Would this depend on the way it's raised, fed and processed?

I waited almost a week before cooking the shoulder chop (Eco-Friendly) that I left in the fridge. Still very fresh despite fact that it hadn't been frozen. Because of the delay, I ended up slathering it w Greek-style yogurt to marinate; mixed in a garlic-salt paste, pepper and sumac and then wiped that off to pan-sear quickly until medium rare.

As said before, I do like chewy meat, so I don't think you necessarily have to braise the shoulder when it's cut this way (vs. the large piece Dan purchased).

Lovely w okra and pilaf, squirted w lemon. Only chewy around the sinew, otherwise, easy to eat, as subtle as grass-fed lamb, that is, the meat itself was neither flavorless nor as "robust" as the lamb flown in from Australia and New Zealand that you could imagine acting rowdy after a couple of beers back when it was still attached to its source, wooly and alive.

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Would this depend on the way it's raised, fed and processed?

...

Lovely w okra and pilaf, squirted w lemon. Only chewy around the sinew, otherwise, easy to eat, as subtle as grass-fed lamb, that is, the meat itself was neither flavorless nor as "robust" as the lamb flown in from Australia and New Zealand that you could imagine acting rowdy after a couple of beers back when it was still attached to its source, wooly and alive.

See, I think the grass-fed lamb I get locally has much more "lamby" flavor than ANZAC lamb, which I find to be like eating darker and more tender beef. I don't mind the imprted stuff, but I like the local better - more "muttony", I guess. And I've never had kid, or even young goat - mostly I've had used-up dairy goat, which is tasty, but pretty tough.

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FINALLY goat [sic] around to making the goat I bought back in September. Here's what I did:

  1. Salt.
  2. Crisp up in olive oil in casserole pan. Remove from pan. Discard oil.
  3. In pan,add more olive oil. Saute: onion, fennel, tomato, garlic, parsnip. Remove vegetables and oil.
  4. To pan, add goat. Add sachet with: cinnamon, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, rosemary, oregano, black pepper (all crushed). Cover with vegetables. Add white wine, water, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest.
  5. Braise at 200 degrees for twelve hours.
  6. Braise at 250 degrees to two hours.
  7. Discard veggies and herbs. Cool goat in liquid.
  8. Remove goat from liquid. Remove bones.
  9. Strain, strain, strain and reduce liquid to demi-glace.
  10. Roast goat over indirect heat on grill. Baste with reserved demi-glace.
  11. Transfer goat to direct heat (preferably to cast iron griddle attachment on grill) and sear on both sides.

Serve with the following:

  • Oregano salt
  • Habanero parsnip sauce (habanero, parsnip, garlic, yogurt)
  • Tzatziki
  • Just-out-of-the-oven pita bread

Sides:

  • Sauteed spinach with onion and garlic
  • Eggplant confit with oregano and lemon

A feast for Zeus!

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One thing led to another and I found myself walking out of a halal butcher with two pounds of baby goat shoulder (cut up, with bone). The above posts are giving me some ideas, but has anyone done anything new and interesting since the last post? I really need to make a dish with lots of sauce, because MrP won't eat the meat (don't ask).

The clerk at the shop recommended browning the meat, then browning some onions, add boiling water and bay leaf, cook until done, then discarding everything but the meat and serve over vegetables (eggplant or okra). He said this was to get rid of the smell. Any of you experts think this is necessary, or can I just build a sauce around the browned meat?

If I go with a brown and braise, how long will the meat take to cook?

Thanks for any help.

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I think it would be nice to do in the smoker, maybe with a water pan filled with miscellaneous mediterranean aromatics steeping in the fluid of your choice (beer? white wine? chicken stock spiked with ouzo?) below it. I'll bet the Jamisons have a recipe, in Smoke & Spice, or the follow up Sublime Smoke...

A DUI client of mine, a cook from down around Pueblo CO, was known throughout Southern Colorado, according to him anyway, for his barbecued whole cabrito. He was, he said, routinely & regularly summoned by various politicians to do this, for the local versions of Virginia's Shad Planking. As he explained it to me while we were waiting for his case to be called, it sounded like what he did was spice it (salt, pepper, cumin, a lot of various chile powders and garlic IIRC), cover it in a yogurt based paste, wrap it in banana leaves, and cook it over a wood fire, sufficently far away as to impart low heat, for a good long while, in a homemade rig suspended over a cinder block fire pit, that sounded a lot like that Cuban "Caja China" thing, so he could turn it periodically. I think maybe at the end he removed the leaves and browned the thing up over more direct, hotter fire. If I understood correctly, for large (300+, he said he sometimes cooked for) parties he might do 5-6 of these simultaneously; a whole kid isn't all that big, maybe 25-30 lbs butchered.

But we were whispering and he was sitting on my half-deaf side, so...

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I ended up following a recipe for Kaaju Korma Gosht (Mughlai lamb curry with cashews and coconut milk), though I cooked it about twice as long as the recipe indicated. Quite tasty. MrP even ate some of the meat. My plans for vegetable side dishes were foiled by running out of cumin and coriander, but that left enough carrots for dessert (gaajar halva).

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4 hours ago, Simul Parikh said:

Closest place to Alexandria to get goat meat? I think there was a place by Curry Mantra, but that's so darn far from me. 

Let's Meat on the Avenue in Del Ray, perhaps.

---

Note: Since I posted this, someone else wrote me and said that the older Australian gentleman has left Let's Meat on the Avenue, and it's a shadow of what it used to be. I can't confirm this, but wanted to at least make people aware.

---

I know The Lebanese Butcher restaurant closed, but is their butcher shop still open?

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Not close but Medina Market in the K-mart shopping center in Herndon has goat meat particularly goat leg which is good for goat curry. Been going there for over a decade. Its not organic quality level but it's still pretty good. 

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37 minutes ago, Rhone1998 said:

There's a little Bangladeshi grocery store in Arlington called Asia Halal Supermarket (5171 Lee Highway) that carries it.  703-533-0606.

This got me to thinking: Try a Halal restaurant, and ask them if they'll sell you some (or give up the name of their supplier). It may be worth buying in bulk and freezing, if it's high-quality goat, which might even be butchered to order.

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18 hours ago, DonRocks said:

This got me to thinking: Try a Halal restaurant, and ask them if they'll sell you some (or give up the name of their supplier). It may be worth buying in bulk and freezing, if it's high-quality goat, which might even be butchered to order.

Look for the Halal markets that have butchers associated with them. They will cut the goat accordingly to what you plan to cook. 

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