Goat Meat Recipes: stew, ground, and roast

Winter Roots Goat Stew
Ingredients
2 lbs. goat stew meat (we prefer bone-in but boneless or a combination are also good)
3 TB. vegetable oil
2 red or yellow onion, cut into wedges
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. salt
4 carrots, thickly sliced
1 gilfeather turnip or rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (2-3
Cups)
1 winter squash (butternut, turks turban, kabocha or pumpkin) peeled
and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 TB. sugar (optional, see directions)
2 Cups stock or canned crushed tomatoes, or tomato juice. (maybe more)
1 handful a mixture of fresh mint and cilantro, minced (or 1/2 tsp.
dried of each)
1/4 tsp each: cinnamon, nutmeg or mace, ginger, cayenne
1/2 tsp each: cumin, black pepper, coriander
2-3 bay leaves
Directions
Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the meat and
cook until browned. Brown in a few batches, not crowding the meat,
and taking your time (about 10 minutes per batch), turning a few
times. Transfer the meat to a bowl and sprinkle with spices and herbs, tossing to coat.
Reduce the heat to medium and add onions and garlic to the pot, sprinkling with the salt, cook until they soften,. Add the carrots, turnip, squash and sugar, tossing until the veggies are all coated and the sugar has melted onto them. (the sugar is optional)
Add the bay leaves, seasoned meat and any juices that have accumulated and stir to combine. Add the liquid; bring to a low simmer and then cover.
Keep an eye on the liquid—with recently harvested winter vegetables
there is plenty of juice. Cook for about 2 hours. Turn off the heat, add the
fresh chopped herbs, cover and let sit for 20-30 minutes

(Hint: it will taste even better the next day). Serve with salted yogurt
as a topping and flatbread to dip and scoop.

Goatherd’s Pie

Prep. time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Serves: 4-6

Filling:
1 lb. ground goat
2 TB. vegetable oil
1 large onion, minced
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 tsp.cumin
1 TB. chili powder
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp.cayenne
2 Cups chopped tomatoes (2-3 fresh or a 14.5 oz can chopped)
1/4-1/2 tsp. salt, to taste
1/4-1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper, to taste

Crust:
1 Cup coarsely ground blue or other heritage grain cornmeal (If you possibly can, grind it yourself for the most amazing flavor!)—Bob's Red Mill and Arrowhead are widely available brands of blue corn meal
1-2 TB. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1-3 tsp. chopped jalapeno, optional
1 egg
1/2-3/4 Cup plain yogurt
1 TB. vegetable oil

Topping:
1 Cup plain yogurt
1/4 tsp. salt
chopped cilantro (optional)

Preheat oven to 450°. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat and cook until it starts turning brown. Add the onion, garlic and seasonings, and continue cooking until the meat is thoroughly browned. Add the tomatoes, reduce the heat to medium and let simmer about 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning, and add salt and pepper to taste. The mixture should be nice and moist—not dry, not soupy.

While the filling simmers, prepare the crust. In a medium bowl, combine the cornmeal, 1 TB. of the flour, salt, baking powder and jalapeno (if using). In a second bowl, combine the egg, 1/2 cup of the yogurt and vegetable oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. It should be a very thick batter consistency—you should be able to pour it with a little spatula assistance. You can add another 1/4 cup yogurt to thin it if necessary or another tablespoon of flour to thicken.

Pour the meat mixture into a roughly 8x8" baking dish. Pour the crust mix on top of it. It's OK if the batter sinks into the meat mixture a bit. Bake at 450° until the top is crusted over and just a bit browned, 20-25 minutes. Use a toothpick to test for doneness if you are unsure. While the pie cools a bit after taking out of the oven, combine the Topping ingredients. Eat in good health!

Pan-fried Goat Chops for 4

2 or 3 pkgs goat loin chops (for 2 or 3 chops per person)
coarse salt, fresh ground black pepper
2-3 garlic cloves, sliced
4 tbl chopped fresh rosemary or 2 tbl dried cut leaf (not ground)
4 tbl chopped fresh sage, or 1 tbl dried
olive oil

generously season chops with salt and pepper
combine garlic, rosemary and sage with enough olive oil to spread over chops
let sit at room temperature for 1 hour

Add 1/4 inch olive oil to a large heavy skillet.
Over medium heat, pan fry the chops till lightly browned, about 5 minutes on each side.
Doneness clue is to look for juices begin to rise on the surface, this should be medium rare.
Another minute on each side gets to medium.
We recommend not cooking past medium rare for best flavor.
We are quite partial to having chops served right from the pan onto a bed of mashed potato, mashed turnip, or polenta so the juices have somewhere nice to go.

Feast Day Roast Leg of Goat

Bone-in leg
3 tbl Dijon mustard
2 Fresh rosemary sprigs
(4-6 additional sprigs and butcher twine: optional)
6 mashed garlic cloves
4 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature
Black pepper
1 lemon
2 cups dry white wine or 2 cups light stock
2-3 carrots

Pre-heat oven to 425F

Make a dozen incisions in the fat layer of the roast
Strip the leaves from 2 rosemary sprigs
Make a paste of the butter, mustard, rosemary leaves, and garlic and rub it all over the roast, pressing it into the incisions
Optional: Lay the remaining rosemary sprigs on top of the roast, they can be tied on with butcher twine (optional)

Place carrots in roasting pan, then put roast fat side up on a rack in the pan, and squeeze the lemon over the top
Pour the wine or stock over the roast into the pan.

Roast 15 mins at 425, then reduce heat to 350.
Baste about every 20 minutes (adding more liquid if needed)
Check internal temperature, roast should be cooked 130-135F; its important to check the temperature because goat meat is so lean it is easy to overcook. A 5 lb roast will probably take 1 hr
You can put the roast under the broiler to crisp up the fat if it hasnt done so during the roasting.

Remove from oven and rack from pan, let roast rest on rack with foil over it for about 15 minutes.
During this time make the sauce: remove a few tablespoons of fat from the pan by tipping it and spooning off the top. Put the pan over medium heat and simmer, mashing the carrots up as fine as possible while simmering. Adjust seasoning, whisking in more wine or stock if needed, and adding any juices that have accumulated fromthe resting roast. Strain into a serving dish/gravy boat: this is not a thick gravy, it is a "jus".
Removing the optional rosemary sprigs, carve about 1/2" thick slices and serve immediately
Enjoy with the piping hot gravy and your favorite feast sides.