Goat meat

[Bugged]

I was surprised to learn that goat meat makes up over 80% of the meat that is consumed around the world. However, after looking at the demographics, it makes perfect sense that this is the case. After seeing the trend of sales numbers in the US, buying goat futures is probably not a bad idea.

I've done some online research and found out that goat meat is lower in fat than chicken and higher in protein than beef. What surprises me is that, unlike beef, pork and chicken, goats are not pumped full of growth hormones and antibiotics.

I'm already substituting bison for beef whenever possible, and now I'm thinking of incorporating goat meat into my diet as well. Does anyone here want to share their thoughts about goat meat or maybe share a favourite recipe?

[Wicky]

Just down the road from me is a goat farm - Often blat down the coast on the bike for a Mersea seafood platter and on the way home pop in for a goat flavoured icecream *yummy*

http://www.butterflylodge.co.uk/index.htm

http://www.caprilatteicecream.co.uk/

[dieseltaylor]

I am not only surprised but totally disbelieving!

This from April 1st

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/dining/01goat.html

The figures seem to put pork ahead of goat by a small percentage, both in the 30% + area. however there does seem to be some pussyfooting abou the most eaten and the most produced which is interesting. So further research:

Nothing like rummaging around the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization for a lovely morning exercise. The info I gleaned below is based on 2006-8 data.

FAO says:

The most common sources of meat are domesticated animal species such as cattle, pigs and poultry and to a lesser extent buffaloes, sheep and goats. In some regions other animal species such as camels, yaks, horses, ostriches and game animals are also eaten as meat. To a limited extent, meat is also derived from exotic animals such as crocodiles, snakes and lizards...

Pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world accounting for over 36% of the world meat intake. It is followed by poultry and beef with about 33% and 24% respectively. [ovine (sheep & goats) are 5%]

But they also note "The utilization and subsequent consumption of different animal species vary as cultural preferences and religious beliefs are observed."

These stats, however, are based on pounds of meat, not the number of people eating meat. It's entirely possible that goat is the favorite meat of a lot of people who are only able to eat meat on rare occasions. Pork comes out at the top primarily because of China, where about half of the world's pigmeat is consumed.

Ovine (sheep & goats not separated) is primarily produced & eaten in developing countries. China again accounts for a lot, but I'll be it's mostly sheep.

I may have found the basis for the notion. "Some 63 per cent of red meat consumed worldwide is goat meat." One source is Raising Meat Goats for Profit by Gail Bowman, Bowman Communication Press. The author also claims that "70 percent of the world’s population eats goat meat" You can find these numbers repeated all over the place, attributed and not attributed.

However I do approve of the idea - "clean" meat.

[Affentitten]

In the 3rd world, animals are usually only killed for their meat when they have no further contribution to make in any other form. So when people eat goat, it's usually a female that is past its prime or a young male. The beauty of goats (and pigs) is of course that they are not fussy eaters and don't require the volume of water and forage that cows do.

I don't mind eating goat, as long as it's tender!

[JonS]

Random story: I had a really nice Nepalese goat curry on some long-forgotten backstreet in Sydney several years ago.

[Michael Emrys]

I remember that about 15 years ago it looked like ostrich meat was the up and coming thing. Several places in the Pacific Northwest began raising them for sale. Now one never hears of it, at least I don't. Don't know what happened. Maybe the market never developed or the birds didn't thrive in this climate.

Michael

[Affentitten]

Random story: I had a really nice Nepalese goat curry on some long-forgotten backstreet in Sydney several years ago.

And I had a very nice possum stew in Auckland once. That would land me in gaol in Australia.

[Michael Emrys]

That would land me in gaol in Australia.

Even if you did not kill the animal or even cook it?

:confused:

Michael

[Affentitten]

Even if you did not kill the animal or even cook it?

:confused:

Michael

Well they are a protected species here, so I think any involvement in an AUSTRALIAN possum death as either the perpetrator or the end user would be frowned upon, particularly with a commercial context. But they are a pest in NZ so hence my eating it there.

[REVS]

Here where I live in inner-city Sydney we had a Vietnamese restaurant with the snappy name of 'Goat Meat Restaurant'. It failed. But I went there a few times and it was pretty good. Apparently the Vietnamese love their goat meat, but the Aussies don't and the people running the restaurant were good cooks, nice people, and hopeless restaurateurs (service was slow!).

I've cooked goat meat a few times (the Vietnamese butchers have plenty!) and it's as Bugged describes it –*low in fat and also a bit sweet. It's its own meat in terms of flavour and texture, but the flavour is mild, not strong. It's a red meat, roughly between lamb and beef if you like, but nowhere near as fatty as lamb.

It's not an easy meat to cook, either. It needs slow cooking, and lots of liquid too. So it's naturally suited to curries and casseroles. And that's how I eat it most often, as a curry at an Indian or Pakistani restaurant most often, or occasionally as a casserole at restaurants ranging from Greek through to Persian to Vietnamese.

As for a recipe, Bugged, they're all long and full of spices and stages (typical curries). This Moroccan one from Australia's multicultural broadcaster SBS, which gets most of its ethnic food from real ethnic mumma's kitchens for its TV shows, sounds pretty good to me, but I haven't cooked it. Remember, lots of liquid and slow cooking...

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/398/Moroccan_goat

[dieseltaylor]

I had ostrich last month - very tasty but not cheep.

[Michael Emrys]

I had ostrich last month - very tasty but not cheep.

Was that a deliberate pun?

Michael

[Michael Emrys]

This Moroccan one from Australia's multicultural broadcaster SBS, which gets most of its ethnic food from real ethnic mumma's kitchens for its TV shows, sounds pretty good to me, but I haven't cooked it. Remember, lots of liquid and slow cooking...

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/398/Moroccan_goat

That sounds pretty good, but I don't know where I can find goat meat around there. I'll keep my ears open though.

Michael

[Bugged]

It's not an easy meat to cook, either. It needs slow cooking, and lots of liquid too.

That's pretty much on par with what I've read on the net. I suppose I should dust off the slow cooker for this meat.

As for a recipe, Bugged, they're all long and full of spices and stages (typical curries). This Moroccan one from Australia's multicultural broadcaster SBS, which gets most of its ethnic food from real ethnic mumma's kitchens for its TV shows, sounds pretty good to me, but I haven't cooked it. Remember, lots of liquid and slow cooking...

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/398/Moroccan_goat

Curries and the like will work well with the cut of meat that's offered at the large grocery store because it's frozen, cubed goat meat. There's also a Halal grocer near where I live but I think I'll try my hand at the cubed meat before I attempt cooking proper cuts of it.

[Bugged]

... goat flavoured icecream *yummy*

Interesting. I've only ever seen cheeses made from goat's milk, never ice cream. If I see a goat's milk ice cream, I'm definitely going to try it.

[Bugged]

I am not only surprised but totally disbelieving!

This from April 1st

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/dining/01goat.html

It seems there are a lot of different numbers floating around out there. I've seen a few sites that put goat meat consumption in the 60-70% range, others say 80%, and yet others say far, far less than that.

From the third paragraph of the link you provided...

"Admittedly, I’m late to the party: goat is the most widely consumed meat in the world, a staple of, among others, Mexican, Indian, Greek and southern Italian cuisines."

However I do approve of the idea - "clean" meat.

That's the selling feature for me. I'm going to give the meat a taste and go from there.

[dieseltaylor]

A County Tyrone woman who almost died after having an allergic reaction to an ice cream she ate on holiday is having to learn how to walk and talk again.

Rachel Devine, 24, went into anaphylactic shock and suffered heart failure minutes after eating the ice cream, which contained goat's milk.

She was in Turkey with her boyfriend when the incident happened in August.

Her father, Stephen Devine, said her life had been saved by the quick actions of her boyfriend and locals.

Mr Devine said his daughter first realised she was allergic to goat's milk about two years ago and had taken an EpiPen with her on holiday. But he said she did not know it was an ingredient in the ice cream.

Well just so you know ...

[Bugged]

Well just so you know ...

Weird. I've had goat's milk cheese so I doubt that I would have an allergic reaction to goat's milk ice cream. At least not because it's made from goat's milk, that is.

[REVS]

Never heard of an anaphylactic shock to goat's milk. Must be extremely rare. Sure it wasn't some traces of nuts, as Turks are big fans of nuts with sweets?

Bugged, if you've ever eaten Greek feta cheese some of that is made using goat's milk (the other type of feta is sheep's milk).

I say go for the goat curry. It'd also be a good idea to thaw the frozen meat slowly, leaving it in the fridge for a day or so, rather than speed-defrosting it in a microwave or just leaving it out on the bench. Rapid defrosting could affect the meat's level of tenderness, while slow defrosting should see the meat in top condition.

[Spinoza]

Halloumi , mix of goat's and sheep milk , its delicious in salad when fried. It can be also grilled. my children love goat milk with they cereal. eating meat ? that is so passe :-)

[Lt Belenko]

Yum goat milk.

The old TV show Fear Factor once had a contest to milk a goat. No hands permitted, mouth only. Yup, sucking on a goat teat.

<wretches> I changed the channel.</wretches>

[costard]

Surely more fish than land meat?

Well cooked goat is great stuff (and some of the cheeses are superb), but goat farming is little more than fencing off some land and watching it turn into desert.

[Michael Emrys]

There is a brief article in the latest issue of The Atlantic about how some Aussies are pushing camel meat. Also a mention of kangaroo meat. The camel meat is touted as very good; not much information on kangaroo yet.

Michael

[costard]

Roo is ok - an acquired taste (quite sweet and strong) and needs care with cooking or it's like eating a well marinated boot. It looks like we're exploring the feral meat export market - watch out for buffalo and toad wings.

[REVS]

Had a buffalo burger when I was in the Northern Territory of Australia recently, and it was my burger of the year –*excellent. Crocodile is a bit like chicken but I found it a bit bland. Roo is very lean meat, can turn dry and tough if you overcook it, so you need to undercook it to get it right, and some people don't like that red, bloody meat look. Emu is also a dry and stringy meat, but when cured and sliced finely it makes quite a nice pastrami-like deli cut. Haven't tried camel, tho, but if it comes my way of course I'll give it a go.

However, I still reckon all the old-fashioned favourites – beef, lamb, veal, pork – are way superior to any of these newcomers.