Spicy slow-braised goat
Goat doesn't really figure in my culinary heritage, even goat's cheese was seen as something extremely exotic when I was growing up. There was something vaguely 'hippyish' about goats and goat produce. Might have been the fact that a lot of the germans, dutch or french that came to live in Ireland in the '70s + '80s seemed to be rather 'bohemian'; playing Irish music, wearing Aran jumpers, happy to be living off the land and - along with a love of beans, lentils and beards - were partial to goats cheese. Very odd indeed to the natives!
Since I came to live in London I've cooked goat occasionally. It breaks down wonderfully when slow-cooked, with a good flavour somewhere between lamb and beef and is lower in fat and cholesterol than chicken. Those 'bohemians' were certainly on to something.
Anyway, since Christmas I've been trying to catch up with my reading (the printed, on paper, kind of reading material as opposed to the digital, on screen, kind of reading material) and last week when working my way through a back issue of Saveur magazine came across an article on Jamaica. There was a good description of sorrel, the drink I posted about in November and a recipe for Curried Chicken which I read as Goat Curry - don't ask why - which in turn made me think again about goat (yes I know all that doesn't make much sense but it's how it happened). Hence my trip to the butchers to purchase this shoulder joint.
Around the corner from said butcher is a great West Indies shop with loads of exciting vegetables that I have no idea how to use displayed outside. I bought a few Scotch Bonnets chillies (those I do know) as they looked so happy and healthy and went home to experiment.
And, no, this isn't Curry Goat either but it is spicy.
Spicy slow-braised goat
Serves 8-10
First a word about what I'll do different next time.
I bought a small joint of shoulder on the bone and was delighted when the butcher offered to cut it up for me as I thought would be easier to handle. However next time I'll leave it as one or perhaps two large pieces. Cutting up the shoulder into medium pieces resulted in a lot of bone shards and this took a lot of time later to remove. So either buy boned cubed meat or one large piece on the bone (on the bone gives best flavour). You live and learn.
Ingredients
1.2 kg shoulder goat (preferably on the bone, read above)
2 bay leaves
250 g onions (I used 'baby' brown onions)
1 stick of celery, finely diced
3 carrots
2 peppers, different colours look good
1 large glass wine
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin coconut cream
light vegetable oil
water
Marinade
1 tsp cumin seeds1/2 tsp fennel seeds1 tsp coriander seeds5 cardamon pods, seeds only2 cloves1 tsp ground turmeric1/4 tsp ground cinnamon1/4 tsp paprika1 generous tbsp honey2 tbsp red wine vinegarjuice and zest of a lemon1 deseeded and finely chopped medium Scotch Bonnet plus1 pierced whole Scotch Bonnet2 sprigs rosemary2 crushed cloves of garlic400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
Optional
2 tblsp chopped coriander2 tbsp toasted almond flakes
Method
Begin by making the marinade.Take the first 5 marinade ingredients on the list above and dry fry them in a pan until they begin to turn colour and release their aromas. Then grind them as fine as you can in a pestle and mortar.
Add the newly ground spices together with the remaining marinade ingredients to a large non-metallic container or dish large enough to hold all the meat comfortably.
Wash the meat, trim if necessary and add to the marinade and massage the marinade into the meat. Wear food safety gloves to protect your hands from the chillies and turmeric in the marinade.
Leave the meat overnight, covered with cling film, in the fridge to allow the spicy marinade to be absorbed.
Next day wipe off as much of the marinade from the meat (to prevent it burning in the next step), discard the whole Scotch Bonnet but reserve the rest of the marinade.
Preheat the oven to 150C.
Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a large cast iron casserole dish on the hob and gently brown the meat. If using cubed meat brown in batches to allow the meat to brown and not 'boil'. Remove the meat to a plate or bowl (to gather any juices) while you continue.
Peel and slice the onions if using regular onions. If using baby onions simply peel them. Gently fry the onions for a few minutes on a low heat. Dice 1 carrot finely. Add the diced carrot, diced celery to the casserole dish. Add the reserved marinade and stir well scrapping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the dish. Add the browned meat (with any of its juices) to the dish. Top with enough water if needed so the liquid barely comes level to the top of the meat. Mix well, add 2 bay leaves and cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper. Place the lid on the casserole dish and place in the oven for 2.5 - 3 hours. Check from time to time that dish doesn't dry out adding a splash of water if needed .
After 2.5 - 3 hours the meat should be tender and falling off the bone. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to cool till easy to handle. Skim off any excess grease. Using food safety gloves as before, remove the meat off the bone. Return the meat to the sauce in the casserole.
Peel and chop the remaining carrots. Add the carrots with a tin of chopped tomatoes and the glass of wine to the casserole. Slice and add the peppers. Stir in coconut cream to personal taste (I used 3/4 tin). Return the goat casserole to the oven and cook for a further 45 minutes at 150C until the carrots and peppers are cooked.
Serve with rice.
Sprinkle with chopped coriander and toasted almond flakes (optional).