Last nite at home I cooked the last of Albert’s goat that we killed in June. I cooked it according to directions I got from Max. A couple people asked me about it, so I thought I’d share what we did. It was a pretty big piece of goat including bones, the loins, ribs, and the back. I’m sure this method would work for lamb, too.
I used a Le Creuset dutch oven, which seemed to be perfect for the task. I put some olive oil and onions in the bottom, and put it on the range at high heat. Then I fried the goat for about 5-10 minutes per side, just enough to get it a little texture. At that point, I added a bunch of water, along with cilantro, onions, celery, salt, pepper, and a touch of chili pepper, brought the heat to about 180F, and cooked it for several (maybe 5?) hours until the meat was juicy and falling apart.
At the end, we removed the goat meat and saved the broth to use for stock later. We pan-fried some of the pulled goat (using a little broth to keep it moist) for tacos, and the rest of the goat we put in the fridge to use during the week, for pastas, flatbreads, and/or sandwiches.
The whole thing was very easy, and I’d recommend it to anyone who has lamb or goat from their CSA or a farmers market. Thanks to Max for the cooking instructions!
I had been thinking quite a bit about your post from summer about the goat. I just finished Eating Animals and it changed the way I thought about the goat a lot. When I first read the post back in July I was pretty shocked-not necessarily in a bad way-just hard to imagine killing a goat. Thinking of how most animals are slaughtered changes how I see it, though I still don’t think I could kill a goat.
Thanks Jen for commenting, I’m glad the goat story has been meaningful to you.
I’m really appreciative to have been there when Martin killed the goat, and to have personally cooked and eaten it with my friends. It is really a good way to live.