Goat Stew

If you've ever wondered what people do with a 2 1/2 pound bag of meat labeled, "Goat Chunks", well here's one possibility!

I really had no idea what to do with these (as I wasn't ever sure what part of the goat the "chunks" came from). The meat was very lean, and full of sharp, tiny bones so I opted for cooking it alone first, then removing the meat before adding it to a stew. This was a good decision. It also gave me an opportunity to de-grease the broth (though it really wasn't terribly fatty) and re-use a bit of it in the stew.

I realised there's a good reason that so many recipes talk about goat and mutton interchangeably. They are similar in many ways, though as I already noted, the goat meat is quite lean. I could see using the meat in a Scotch Broth, or Pot Pie as easily as in the Mediterranean style stew I made. I suspect it would make interesting chili as well.

If there's one thing I really want to stress it is to cook slowly. The meat is quite tough and will really benefit from long, slow cooking. What you don't want to do with meat like this is boil it-so if your stove is prone to flame-ups, keep an eye on the pot.

Would I buy it again? I have no idea. It wasn't exactly cheap (imported from Australia) and honestly, not terribly special. I suppose if my husband had gone dancing through the house chanting, "More goat! More Goat!" well, then I'd have to reconsider. He was home from work today and pretty excited when he saw what I was making, but less than blown-away when he tried a bowl. Maybe it improves after a day of sitting in the fridge.

I didn't have a recipe and I was a bit low on staples (note the absence of both chick peas and carrots, both of which I think would improve the dish) but here's what I ended-up doing.

You Will Need:

2 1/2 pounds of goat meat (or, "chunks")

flour

salt and pepper

oil for browning

2 large onions, sliced

4 large garlic cloves, smashed

4 tablespoons ground cumin

4 bay leaves

1 bag frozen lima beans

1 tin while beans, drained and rinsed

1 large tin Italian tomatoes, drained and chopped

3 tablespoons dried mint

Additional salt and pepper

Wash meat and dry well. Dredge in flour with a bit of salt and pepper and brown in oil in a large dutch oven. Remove browned pieces to a plate. Add a bit more oil if needed and fry the onion and garlic for a few minutes until softened. Stir in the cumin, salt and pepper. Add the bay leaves and stir well. Add the goat meat back to the pot and add enough water to cover everything. Bring to just below a boil and then reduce to simmer. Cook uncovered for about two hours or until the meat is fork-tender. You want this to go at a very slow simmer, so keep an eye on the pot to make sure it does not begin to boil as water evaporates.

Drain through a cheesecloth lined sieve and reserve the liquid. Let meat cool (really, don't be an idiot like me trying to pull hot meat away from bones).

In the same pot (you don't need to wash it) add the frozen lima beans, the tinned white beans (or chickpeas) and everything else. When meat is removed from bones, add it as well. Pour in enough of the reserved broth to cover everything and then bring again to a boil. Reduce to very low heat and cover, leaving about 1 inch open at the lid. Cook another 1-2 hours until everything is quite soft.

Serve over rice.