Goat Meat: A Lean and Tasty Meat

There are many foods I have not tried as yet and many more I would like to. One food I dearly love though, is goat meat.

Living on a farm we had opportunity to produce our own stock for meat consumption and our our preferred choice for red meat was goat. At that time, it was easier for us managing a small herd of goats than cattle. Since my husband worked elsewhere as well as home on the farm, we had small children and/or I was pregnant, goats were much more 'Mum friendly' for me to handle if I had no help available.

If you are conscious of your health, goat meat is an excellent choice. It is very lean, and although similar to lamb in many other ways, goat meat is extremely low in fat content by comparison. Because of this, some care should be taken when cooking as it can become a little dry. Baked, braised or roasted, goat meat is very tasty, not a strong flavor, and can be served with almost anything.

With the ethnic population on the rise, the United States is seeing more people interested in purchasing commercially produced goat meat, and farmers are being afforded yet another avenue of diversification by doing just that. In many parts of the world, goat meat is a dietary staple and is also served in specialty dishes, particularly at festive gatherings. Back home in Australia, we had a large local population of amazing Italian folk who were constantly calling me asking if I had goat meat available. Since it was not legal for me to sell the meat, I traded for produce and eggs, homemade Italian salami, fresh goat milk during times when our small herd had kids suckling, or a crash cooking lesson on some wonderful Italian dishes from the ladies.

Goat meat is much like Venison in that it has a tendency to be tough is not slowly cooked, or cooked with adequate liquid but not covered to retain moisture. A small hind quarter of goat is a mouthwatering meal when cooked in a cast iron oven over coals, with the addition of only water.

If you have an appetite for most kinds of meat, you will adore goat meat. If have the opportunity to obtain goat meat locally please do try it. Call your supermarket and ask if they can order you a portion, or check local farmers to see if any are raising goats and strike up a relationship with them in order to find out who processes their meat.

When raising goats for meat, the best breed is the Boer Goat. These robust little creatures have a very fast growth rate and the yield is phenomenal when compared to other breeds. This is not to say the fat content rose, but more meat and less time to produce it was an economical benefit when the weather was unfavorable and hand feeding or otherwise supplementing was necessary. Since we usually had goat's milk leftover from our own household production, we kept ours suckling on milk for much longer and the subsequent growth rate was astounding, particularly with the Boer kids or first cross stock. This breed was a little more expensive when purchasing live stock. A young buck would fetch around $AUD1,000 in the market, but a young Boer buck crossed with our bush bred milkers produced great results so the expense was easily justified.

Goat meat was not readily available in supermarkets back then in Australia, at least not where we lived. These days, North Carolina and southeastern sections of the United States are becoming larger producers of goat meat due to a higher ethnic population of people who are accustomed to such a dietary inclusion. Goat meat is USDA inspected and is also known by the names Chevon, Capretto or Cabrito. It can be bought online from reputable producers.

Goat meat is a more heart healthy choice!

If you would like further information or wish to make a purchase, please visit:

http://www.goatmeats.com

Click on the "goat meat store" link.

If you are interested in raising goats you may contact the following organization for more information:

American Meat Goat Association

P.O. Box 676

Sonora, TX 76950

Phone 325-387-6100