Goat

I have not had goat steak. I was on a white water raft trip in Chile a few years back and one evening a local man and his son roasted a whole goat for us. Hand turned over an open fire/coals. It was slow roasted and basically pulled apart when they were done. It was very tastey especially for camping out. I thought it tasted more like pork than beef.

I had goat in Jamacia about 15 years ago and it's the only time I've sent something back to the kitchen - with my apologies for picking the wrong thing on the menu - give me anything but Goat. The taste is like lamb x 100 and to my mind the Goat was a very pungent and obnoxious flavour best to be avoided. Perhaps it's an acquired taste - that said, I'm not a fussy eater and Goat is rank!

Not exactly steak but I did have cabrito down in Texas once and it was excellant. Any idea how it would compare to a goat steak?

Scott

I've eaten goat 4 ways- cabrito (thanks to a Texan neighbor) and grilled goat steaks, goat kebabs and curried goat (thanks to a Jamaican friend) and I've found that it all tastes good, if a bit strong at times.

spfranz- Cabrito isn't the same as goat steak. It comes from a very young whole goat, so the flavor is a lot milder- like comparing veal to beef. Goat steak comes from older goats, often yearling or adult ones. Like lamb, the strong taste comes from the age of the goat- the older it is, the stronger it tastes, so I'm guessing that Mr Trat and others who found it strong were probably served older meat. Goat steak is closer to mutton than lamb.

I'll have to try cooking it myself on the grill some time. It's quite robust in flavor so some of the mutton or wild game marinades and sauces in Steve's books should work fine.

I've rotissed a few whole goats for Middle Eastern clients. It's evidently an aquired taste, and not on the typical Westerner's taste palate. The first time I expected it to smell and taste like lamb - NOT. The billy (male) has a very strong odor - the odor is stronger the older they are. The nanny (female) was a bit easier to take, it was also a younger animal. Kid was like a strong lamb. Definately NOT my favorite meat to rotis, but an experience all the same.

Ihavent tried it in awhile but didnt much like it when I did. That said, I'd give it another try.

Welcome to the board Wendy!

I've barbecue a whole baby goat, and the results were incredible. The cabrito was
moistened with olive oil, then rubbed with chile powder made from a wide variety
of chiles grown in the garden (rocoto, aji limon, aji yuqitania, bishop's crown, etc.),
the sprinkled with freshly minced garlic & mint leaves. Wrapped it up in soaked banana
leaves, and porkulated it at 200F for 12 hours. It was tender, tasty, came right off the
bones, and went well on tortillas with some salsa verde.

Best advice is to avoid anything other than kid unless you're into "adventurous"
flavors.

CharlieG

CharlieG, that sounds fantastic! And so does aidanoc's garlic-lemon butter sauce. I've done whole lambs for a Greek restaurant nearby and we use a very similar mop sauce. It's garlic, butter, lemon, olive oil, and fresh oregano and rosemary. The stuff's incredible with roast whole lamb, so I can see it being the same for roast goat as well.

And yes, the billy (male) is usually a lot stronger tasting, especially since they go into rut a good part of the year. Definitely too strong for most peoples tastes (although male moose in rut is even worse).

Darn- I drool so much when I visit this site I'm in danger of shorting out my keyboard.....

Soaking Goat meat and lamb in a vinegar solution 2 days prior to cooking them will get rid of any unpleasant smell or taste. I cook lamb and Goat on every special occasion and for many people who never had it before. They always love it. And those who had it before always ask me how I make taste so much milder. Of course, the answer is always- Vinegar!
Some Latin cultures will never cook any types of meat prior to washing it with vinegar. This also been the practice in many ancient cultures.
My favorite way to cooking goat is braising a whole leg in olive oil. I usually use plenty of garlic and fresh herbs to flavor the oil. I believe the French call this method of cooking “Confit”. It’s pronounced Cone-Feet. This method lacks the grill flavor, but produces very taste and tender meat.

You're welcome aidanoc,
Unfortunately, I can only get it at some specialty shops. The grocery stores in my area don’t even carry lamb on regular bases. We have several international markets in Atlanta, but they all require an hour drive. But When I’m in the mood for goat or lamb, I will drive anywhere.

Z, the situation is similar with us up here in Canada as well. Not a lot of supermarkets sell goat, and the lamb they sell is usually New Zealand lamb (and very overpriced). We have dozens of lamb and goat farmers in Alberta, but a lot of consumers don't seem to want to try it, which is weird for two reasons:

1) It's tastier and also cheaper than the NZ imports (no long-term cryovac and freezing- this stuff is fresh!)

2) Alberta is THE province in Canada for meat (no offense intended to the other Canadians on this board). That goes for beef, pork, lamb, goat, chicken, buffalo, ostrich, wild boar, farm raised deer, elk, moose, and just about any other meat you can imagine (although crawdads and gator might be a real stretch). I think it has something to do with the fact that we're 1/3 mountain and boreal forest, and 2/3 prairie, we have a relatively low population, and that we've got a LOT of open range pasture to spare. (Ontario and Saskatchewan run a close second and third, which also amounts to a considerable amount of stock.)

And no, I'm not going to get into the BSE discussion here. Period. There are too many questions unanswered on that issue right now....

Most of the meat that isn't chicken or beef in Canada is also free range meat, which means the flavor is incredible compared to feedlot stock. There's also a lot of free-range chicken and beef here in addition to the commercial stuff, and the free-range stock beats the feedlot stock hands-down. (Wild boar raised in mountain country is unbelievable, even if you may have to shoot it yourself......)

There are literally dozens of lamb producers in Alberta, and the same goes for the other exotic meat farmers. So, when we need a suckling pig, or a goat, or a lamb (or even a wild boar!), it doesn't take much to find a supplier. I've had considerable trouble finding suppliers east of Saskatchewan, and in B.C.- there don't seem to be as many specialty farmers.

Does this sound like BBQ paradise? It is. What may surprise you is that almost every US state and Canadian province is the same in most regards.

Here's the point I'm leading up to:: when you can't find a supplier for whole lamb, goat, suckling pig, etc., it's time to cut out the middleman and go right to the source. It's worth it, since a lot of these small producers are at the pricing whims of the big packing companies, and the farmers don't always get a good price for their stock on the market (and I'm not going to get into the price-control debate on this one, either. Suffice to say, it exists- meat is a commodity.)

If you can find a local or regional farmer for the low-demand specialty meats, it's a good idea to cultivate that relationship. The farmer usually charges a higher price than he would if he sold the stock to a feedlot or packing plant (or regional marketing board, for that matter), but in most cases that farmer will sell the meat for a lot less than retail, too, which means that the buyer (you) gets a decent price break as well. Plus, you're supporting local farmers and businessmen, which is a good idea in itself.

The idea works in Canada, and it works in several other countries I've visited. I've never been to Trinidad, but I'd assume the idea works fine there as well. I imagine it could work in the US as well (and probably does, in fact).

Sorry for the soapbox- I've worked for a few corporations in the past 10 years, and I find that they tend to offer the lowest possible quality product and service that they can get away with. Small operators tend to put more heart and soul into their product. which is why I believe their products are worth paying a bit more for, and it's also why I support small business a great deal more than big business.

This idea applies to supermarket meat just as well as it applies to any other consumer product.

Just as an aside, this is why I buy Weber BBQ products- they're a small-cap company with big ambitions and superior quality. It's also why I build my own computers and servers from stock parts bought from local dealers rather than buying from the big-name companies or national chains if I can- where the average PC or server is a Ford Taurus, mine are Shelby Cobra GT's......

It's a bit of work to make such supplier contacts, but it's really worthwhile in the long run- especially if you have a really big deep freeze (or three). I've bought whole lamb (80 lb.) for $55 CDN, wiener pigs (25-40 lb suckling or young pigs) for $15 CDN each, and a front quarter of beef for $85 CDN (fully dressed, tenderloin included, USDA Choice grade).

And if you like it, tell your friends, too; the slightly higher than wholesale price the farmer charges to you allows the farmer to add to his stock reserves, improve the quality of his facilities, and so on. Many a specialty meat farm up here has been started just by word of mouth, and exceeds the quality of similar feedlots,

There's a whole other topic waiting somewhere about buying meat from a farm without the benefit of a USDA inspection. That's the "buyer beware" part, and I won't go into it a lot here. Suffice it to say that every farm I buy meat from meets or exceeds the requirements put forth by the Canadian Dept. Of Agriculture (often stricter than USDA). The same goes for the slaughterhouses where the animals are killed and dressed. Be safe, not sorry.

Do you want goat? Or cabrito, or lamb, or suckling pig? If you can't find it at a market, find a local supplier with a good reputation, and give him some business. It can be a lot of work, but it can make all the difference.

And it's well worth the drive, too!