A Glug of Oil

Easy and delicious recipes including midweek dinner ideas, English and world cuisine.

Goat Recipes to try this Easter

While most of the UK has accepted and loves goat’s cheese such as Feta, a lot of people here are put off at the mention of goat meat. It can have a strong, game-like flavour, but it does vary in taste depending on how it was raised. If you see the words ‘cabrito’ which is older goat meat or ‘chevon’ (younger goat meat), it’s actually just goat meat but with a fancy name. Kid goat is a young goat and will be tender with a delicate flavour.

Goat meat rogan josh
© Can Stock Photo / MBahuguna

The staple ingredient in African, Asian and South and Central American recipes is goat meat. In some parts of Asia, such as India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, goat can be referred to as mutton but this is not to be confused with the English use of the word, meaning the meat of an adult sheep.

Where to buy Goat meat:
Unavailable at many of the major supermarkets, you can buy goat meat from online butchers Graig Farm. If you happen to have a butcher near you that provides meat for Caribbean or Muslim communities, then you’ll definitely have no problem finding goat meat, although it is rarely sold off-the-bone. But those bones have a lot of flavour which will add depth and body to your finished dish.

Did you know?
Goat is classified as red meat and has fewer calories than beef, pork, lamb and even chicken, since it is a very lean meat, and it’s also high in potassium and has twice as much iron as beef.

Goat meat also contains less cholesterol, fat and protein than lamb and beef. So because it’s lean, with very little fat, it will toughen up if cooked at high temperatures without moisture. For that reason, it is best cooked low and slow or it will be tough; however ribs, loin and tenderloin are suitable for quick cooking.

According to The Independent online, Goat meat is set to be the next big food trend; they say it is not just tasty but ethical too. Goat meat makes up 60 percent of red meat worldwide and until now the UK is one of the few places in the world where it’s not commonly eaten. Yep, goat meat is in fashion!

Goat recipe ideas:
The most common goat meat dishes are Caribbean curry and Moroccan Tagine. Of course you don’t have to have a tagine to cook Moroccan dishes because slow cookers are a great way to cook anything that requires low and slow cooking.

I came across a lovely looking Goat Biryani recipe over at the BBC website; written by Nadiya Hussain the winner of the Great British Bake Off in 2015. Nadiya tops her Biryani with a fried duck egg and decorates with coriander and I must say it does look delicious.

Goat mince is leaner than lamb or beef mince and can be used to make lower fat Lasagne or Cottage Pie. Graig Farm also sells goat mince which can be used instead of lamb to make my Kofta Kebabs. 

Cooking in the oven:
If you want to roast goat meat, cut it into cubes and thread onto skewers. Marinade the meat in the fridge for at least 4 hours but better still, overnight in natural Greek yogurt. This makes the meat much more tender, but be sure to cover it up completely.

You can add spices if you wish but don’t add any citrus such as lime or lemon at this point since that will have the opposite effect as it will start to ‘chemically’ cook the meat.
When you’re ready, remove the meat from the fridge and, as with any meat or poultry, allow it to come to room temperature before cooking.

Now wrap in good quality kitchen foil and gather the edges together to make a parcel; this will stop the meat drying out while it cooks.

Cook on a low heat 150C or 300F Gas 1 because remember, low and slow is the way to go! 
After the hour is up, open the parcel carefully as the steam will be hot. Check to see if the meat falls apart.

If it doesn’t, return to the oven for another 30 minutes and this time it should breakaway easily when using two forks.

Roasting a goat meat joint:
Is easy, just cook it much as you would a joint of lamb but do remember to keep it moist as it has less fat. It’s a good idea to baste regularly during cooking to keep it from drying out.
So why not give goat meat a go this Easter?

No comments

Post a Comment

I love to hear from everyone so thanks for taking the time to comment. Please note comments containing links will NOT be published.

Cheers
Jan