You'll Be Maaaaaaaad About Goat If You Follow This Chef's Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is goat in cooking? ›

Goat meat is the meat of the domestic goat (Capra hircus). The common name for goat meat is simply "goat meat", while meat from young goats can be called "kid meat", capretto (Italian), and cabrito (Spanish and Portuguese). In South Asian cuisine, mutton refers to goat meat.

Goat meat is best cooked low and slow to achieve tenderness and retain juiciness. Popular cooking techniques include braising, stewing, roasting, grilling, and even curry or stir-frying.

Since it is a relatively tough meat, it is important that you tenderize it correctly and that you cook it slowly at low temperatures. Goat meat also must be cooked with a lot of moisture. The low fat content of goat meat means that it can dry out and toughen quickly when exposed to high, dry cooking methods.

3) Loin: The loin is a tender and relatively lean cut of goat meat, perfect for quick cooking methods such as pan-searing, grilling, or broiling.

Goat meat is actually lower in calories, total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol than not just lamb, pork and beef meats, but also chicken meat. This makes goat meat the healthier red meat, even better than chicken.

Goat meat is a healthier alternative to other red meats like beef, lamb, and pork. It is naturally lean, very nutritious and has a range of health benefits. The meat has less fat, less saturated fat, more iron, and about the same amount of protein compared to beef, pork, lamb, or chicken.

Muscles that work are tough; muscles that don't are tender. Cows have both of these, goats are mainly tough. The tough meat tastes better, the tender meat is bland.

Goat meat has a strong, gamey flavor, sweeter than lamb but less sweet than beef. Cooking it with lots of flavor and spices helps complement its unique flavor.

Goat meat is called either cabrito or chevon. Cabrito is from kids harvested within the first week of birth. Chevron is from older kids. Goat meat is leaner than poultry and other red meats, low in fat and cholesterol and is a source of conjugated linoleic acid.

Goat meat is lean, which means it contains less saturated fats and cholesterol. However, while its leanness is seen as a nutritional advantage, it also means that goat meat can dry out quickly during cooking. To counter this, cooking goat meat in enough water is best to avoid an overly chewy eating experience.

Why don't we eat goat meat? ›

> Fairbanks guesses most folks simply have no experience with eating goat – or perhaps have had an unpleasant one eating curry cooked with older goat, which might have a gamey taste or tough texture. > Another hurdle for goat meat: Consumers don't see it on menus.

Use wet cooking methods as opposed to dry. Braising and stewing are good cooking methods for less tender cuts of meat like goat. Flatten the meat with a tenderizing mallet or score it across the fibers with a sharp knife. This will break up the muscle fibers making them softer resulting in a more tender piece of meat.

The meat of older goats is darker and less tender, but juicier and more flavorful than kids. The meat from male goats is lighter in color and lower in fat. The meat from female goats is more desirable for steaks and chops because it is more tender.

Cabrito: typically, roast goat kid in Latin cultures. Chevon: adopted by Angora goat producers in the U.S. in the early 1920s and recognized by the USDA. Mutton: often used in India, South Asia, Caribbean. Chivito: usually a barbecued kid in Argentina, derived from the term chivo.

Goat is classified as a red meat.

Goat is classified as a red meat.

Pepperoni is made from pork or from a mixture of pork and beef.

Meat from goat is actually called chevon. However, don't beat yourself up over being mistaken about the jargon of meat, as things work a little differently in India. Here, the word mutton is used interchangeably between sheep and goat, but since Indians mostly consume goat, it is the widely accepted term for goat meat.