Cooking Delicious Goat Meat Takes Practice

Goat meat is becoming increasingly popular with health-conscious Americans. It is lower in fat than chicken but has a higher protein content than beef. In fact, when compared to other traditional sources of meat, goat meat has fewer calories, fat, and cholesterol. It also is iron-rich.

Still, many people are unsure how to cook this leaner, healthier alternative to chicken, beef, or pork. The fact is, chefs will tell you that goat meat can be delicious but is also easy to ruin. 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. Pressure or slow cookers and roasting bags are popular ways to prepare goat meat.

The more tender cuts of goat meat are the legs, ribs, parts of the shoulder cut, loins, roasts, and breasts. These cuts are best cooked with dry heating methods such as roasting, broiling, or frying. Less tender cuts – stew meat, riblets, and shanks – should be tenderized by cooking with moist heat. This method of cooking includes braising and stewing.

One common mistake when it comes to cooking goat meat is to treat it like lamb. Goat meat should never be served rare and it must always be cooked thoroughly.

Goat meat works well with bold flavors. This is what makes cooking it with Middle Eastern or Indian flavors so tasty. Experimenting with different flavors is important, and once you are more comfortable cooking with goat meat you likely will be hooked on it. While many Americans mistakenly believe that goat meat will be tough and stringy, and taste gamey, this is definitely not the case.

It may be a while before goat meat becomes mainstream in the United States. Major grocery chains do not currently sell goat meat but that doesn’t mean you should give up the search. Many goat farmers and breeders sell butchered goat meat to the public and can be found online. Many of these farmers and breeders may use terms like cabrito or chevon, but these are just fancy ways of saying goat meat.

Goat meat is a healthy alternative to beef, including grass fed beef, and poultry. And with a little practice you can use it in many of the same recipes.