[Fla Gal]

I'm not sure if I should post this here or on the Cooking and Crafts forum. I believe that this forum is the proper place since most of you raise goats for food.

Two local grocery stores are now carrying goat meat and I'd like to get an idea of what it tastes like before I try it.

Please... don't tell me it tastes like chicken. :no: Some tell me that frog legs and gator also taste like chicken. I don't think so. They each have their own distintive taste unless they've been deep fried in the same nasty boiling oil.

Someone told me goat tastes the same as venison. In your experience, is this true? If not, what is your definition of the taste?

 

[Ken in Maine]

Just like chicken tastes like chicken and beef takes like beef... goat tastes like goat. It has it's own unique flovor and taste. If it tasted like chicken it wouldn't be goat.

Don't worry it's very good.. I'm sure if you try it you'll like it.

 

[r.h. in okla.]

Fla Gal, last fall I attended a seminar put on by a local college agriculture professer. They talked about how goats can benefit the local farmers and ranchers by ridding brush that cattle, etc. will not eat and how there is becoming a bigger market for goat meat. Half way through the seminar they fed us a free lunch and all the meat dishes were of goat meat. They served goat burger, meat balls and spaghettie, chili, sausage links, summer sausage, jerky and various cheeses made out of goat. I would have to say that I thought it was all very edible and somewhat delicious. In fact I thought the goat burger tasted very similar to some of the hamburgers you order at some eating establishments. It made me wonder if I hadn't already eaten goat and just wasn't told what it was. So from what little goat meat I have eaten I thought it did seem to resemble deer as far as texture (very lean) and thought it was very good in dishes. Now I haven't eaten a goat steak so I have no ideal as to just what that would taste like. It maybe very similar to venison.

 

[Fla Gal]

After poking around googled sites for a bit I found this information:

Chevon is popular because it is low in fat and cholesterol. It is similar to venison in its flavor and texture, but it doesn't have that gamey taste. Goat meat from a young goat resembles veal. Meat from older goats taste more like a beef-venison mix.
http://www.wildcatranch.net/goat_farm/goat_meat.htm

Thanks Ken and r.h. for the reassurances. I do believe I'll like it. I noticed on my googling searches for recipes that goat meat is most often cooked with a moist sauce or in a stew just like venison. I guess that's because it doesn't have much fat.

I'm looking forward to trying it. I'm not sure if the two stores in my area that carry it are open tomorrow. If one of them is I'll be having goat meat for Sunday supper. The hard part will be deciding which way I want to cook it. Check out these recipes!
(r.h. the closest recipe to goat steak is for Chevon Chops Jalapeno. It sounds really tasty. It's about a third of the way down on the left.)
http://www.jackmauldin.com/goat_recipes.htm

 

[LuckyGRanch]

As a meat goat producer myself, I'm very interested in what you're paying per pound on your end in the store. I direct market everything thing myself but, I'm quite curious.

Please also let us know how you liked it....what cut you chose, etc.

 

[GeorgeK]

like everything else, it depends, on age of the animal, gender, overall health, way it was butchered, how it was aged. I think it is significantly milder in flavor than venison. More of a half way between venison and veal.

 

[Sarah J]

Chevon is popular because it is low in fat and cholesterol. It is similar to venison in its flavor and texture, but it doesn't have that gamey taste. Goat meat from a young goat resembles veal. Meat from older goats taste more like a beef-venison mix.
http://www.wildcatranch.net/goat_farm/goat_meat.htm

Personally, I don't think so. *I* like ot think of it as a cross between beef and lamb. It's lean and tastey - very tender as a young goat (under a year) and does not have a gamey flavor. The texture is closer to lamb than beef...

My 2cents worth...

Sarah

 

[Fla Gal]

The store on my way home was out of goat meat, I didn't get to go to the other one. The one on the way home told me they might or might not have it, depending on their suppliers.

I'm disappointed. This store caters to Hispanics and have had goats, beef and pigs heads. They also sometimes stock rabbit, tripe and a lot of different types of whole frozen fish. I think it depends on what they happened to have gotten shipped to them that week. I'm not up to trying to learn to cook any of the animal's heads.

One week, they had packaged racks of goat ribs and also rumps and sholders of several animals, including goat. That was what I thought I would find when I went there. I guess I'll have to start stopping there every three or four days on my way home to find out what goodies they have.

As a meat goat producer myself, I'm very interested in what you're paying per pound on your end in the store. I direct market everything thing myself but, I'm quite curious.

Please also let us know how you liked it....what cut you chose, etc.

I may not be able to try goat meat this week because I'll be going to a family reunion in Morgantown, West Virginia next week and am getting stuff ready for that so I can't concentrate on cooking much food or putting it up. I'll let you know the price per pound and how I liked it after I get back from the reunion in about two weeks.

Thanks everyone for you input. You've all made me curious as to how it will taste to me. I wish I could give more input into this thread at this time. I'll be re-reading and updating this tread after I get back from the family reunion and cook my first meal of goat meat.

 

[Dawndra]

we butchered our first goat for meat last year. I think it has the texture of deer, but the taste closer to beef. It's smooth & almost velvety like deer. We loved it...

 

[ByGraceFarms]

Believe it or not, I found Cabrito (baby goat meat) at our Wal-Mart just last week. So, we decided to BBQ it on Saturday. The outside of the meat, wasn't very tasty, but the inside had a nice texture, kinda like a good pork roast. It was very flavorful, but I am unable to compare it to anything I've eaten yet. Keep your eyes open, and you may find some just sitting around in the store. I think I paid about $10, for this little chunk of meat, but I figures, if I like it... I know where to get more very reasonably.... , but if I didn't like it, I was only out $10, and wouldn't butcher any of my own.

Hope this helps,
Alicia

 

[TexCountryWoman]

Most deer hunters try to shoot the big, old bucks with the big racks. Then that is what most people eat and that is the worst venison there is. The same goes for goats. Who would want to butcher their big ol' smelly buck. Goat meat is generally nice plump kids for choice cuts or old does and wethers turned into hamburger or sausage. Hence no "gamey" taste.

 

[Dawndra]

we bought ours in the spring as babies & butchered them in the fall.. they were big enough to bother with, yet small enough to be tasty.