Doing a leg of goat Help!

[Smokin Don]

My butcher called this am and said he had my leg of goat ready! It is 6 lbs. and cost me $60 so I better do it justice. I got some good pointers from Kevin (Stalag) on seasonings and cooking. Any other help would be greatly appreciated! I will be doing it on my Traeger low & slow. Don

[TMB]

I have smoked goat with good results.  I used Tims Fine swine and bovine rub smoked for 12 hrs before letting it rest with an IT of 200

[teesquare]

Don - it kind of depends on what you want the finished product to be like...

I have cooked a goat leg that was SOOOO strong smelling - I was glad that no one was home when I was prepping it.  SO, I resorted to an old tried and true recipe for taming the wild aroma and flavor that can come from goat - and some are game.

Get some REAL buttermilk.  And cut it 50/50 with filtered or distilled water. Now - I add some salt, pepper, garlic, coriander and rosemary to smell and taste. - then put the goat meat in it for 24 hours. I put mine in a cooler, then double bagged ice and placed it on top of the goat in the buttermilk. Remove, rinse - and apply rub of your choice - and smoke it like a pork shoulder. It will be mild - even fooling people into thinking it is pork - but it has a texture more like pulled beef.

[muebe]

The best tasting goat I have had was done on a rotating spit over hot wood coals. Then carved every few minutes as it cooked.

Can't wait to see your finished product!

[hikerman]

Don - it kind of depends on what you want the finished product to be like...

I have cooked a goat leg that was SOOOO strong smelling - I was glad that no one was home when I was prepping it.  SO, I resorted to an old tried and true recipe for taming the wild aroma and flavor that can come from goat - and some are game.

Get some REAL buttermilk.  And cut it 50/50 with filtered or distilled water. Now - I add some salt, pepper, garlic, coriander and rosemary to smell and taste. - then put the goat meat in it for 24 hours. I put mine in a cooler, then double bagged ice and placed it on top of the goat in the buttermilk. Remove, rinse - and apply rub of your choice - and smoke it like a pork shoulder. It will be mild - even fooling people into thinking it is pork - but it has a texture more like pulled beef.

I have never cooked goat but lamb seems to be similar. Could the gamey smell/taste be from an older goat? I've had mutton and it's quite gamier than lamb!

[teesquare]

I have never cooked goat but lamb seems to be similar. Could the gamey smell/taste be from an older goat? I've had mutton and it's quite gamier than lamb!


Yep..in my case the goat was an old "retired" former milk goat..... And - it STUNK......

But - the brine in buttermilk was a near miracle. Have used it on on venison that was gamey - and it is a tried and true method for me....

[stalag]

I have been answering a few questions behind the scenes.... Smoking Don is welcome to share if he wishes.

[Smokin Don]

I have been answering a few questions behind the scenes.... Smoking Don is welcome to share if he wishes.

Kevin gave me a few ideas then I ask him about using a mop, these are the ideas he shared with me and I will pretty much go with them. His goat burgers and the seasoning at the Ohio gathering was delicious!

Stalag, (Kevin’s) ideas on fixing goat

seasoning is to taste.  I prefer cumin, garlic, black pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, and if you have it some dill.  If roasting I surround with carrots, onions, and Celery.  I use noniodized salt on all meats.  If you are smoking, I would suggest that you consider adding a little brown sugar into a rub made from garlic (smashed or powder, onion (fine diced or dried or powdered), cayenne pepper, Celery salt, cumin, and thyme with olive oil to bind the rub together a bit.  Goat is a strong tasting meat so go strong on the pepper and cumin.  The thyme if added in the right amount offsets the cumin a bit.  I do not have exact amounts as I would do to taste.  What I suggest should also work for lamb or grass fed beef that has a stronger flavor than corn fed beef.

I would avoid the brine, but use instead some sea salt in the mix of spices.  The mop of butter, apple cider, and lemon sounds good.  However I think the mop might overdo it.  If you do go to roasting, the roast should be covered and the added wine would be more than sufficient.  Goat is strong enough in flavor that you could use a dry red cooking wine and it would do well with the pairing.  Cook with the fat side up low and slow as well.  Goat tends to be tough and will need gentle cooking to make it tender.  If the fat content is low, the only reason I would do the mop you suggested.  I would first add salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper to the smoking portion (mop here if you wish), then when you switch to the roast, add the garlic, cumin, thyme, rosemary, white pepper spices with plenty of celery, carrots, onions surrounding the roast in the roasting pan, add the cooking wine and a little of the mop, cover and continue the cook low and slow until you reach an internal temperature of 160.  Key is low and slow!  I recommend on the roasting portion a temperature of 250.

[muralboy]

Whatever you end up with Don, I'm sure it won't be B-a-a-a-a-a-a-d.
(sorry - couldn't resist.)

[teesquare]

Still...
 I think it depends on how receptive you are to the flavor and smell of goat. And - how old the goat was..... Some people are o.k. with it, and some are not.

Thus the evolution - thru the ages - of buttermilk brines. It is chemistry and it works. Personally - I would never cook goat without brining - but, that is my sense of smell and taste. And - goat does have a tendency to be dry and "stringy" if not dealt with in a brine or tenderizer. Your mileage will vary based on what you can smell and taste - and what your personal preferences are.

Here is some good information about it: https://naturalsciencecitizen.wordpress.com/the-kitchen/venison-tenderizing-marinade/

You can ask ACW3 about he goat that I made . He came and helped me hand out case to 1000 samples of various smoked and grilled meats that day.

The NUMBER ONE item people kept coming back for - was the goat.  Again - the buttermilk tenderizes, and - tames the flavor/aroma profile to make it far more acceptable to a large group. That was my incentive for this method.

[stalag]

Still...
 I think it depends on how receptive you are to the flavor and smell of goat. And - how old the goat was..... Some people are o.k. with it, and some are not.

Thus the evolution - thru the ages - of buttermilk brines. It is chemistry and it works. Personally - I would never cook goat without brining - but, that is my sense of smell and taste. And - goat does have a tendency to be dry and "stringy" if not dealt with in a brine or tenderizer. Your mileage will vary based on what you can smell and taste - and what your personal preferences are.

Here is some good information about it: https://naturalsciencecitizen.wordpress.com/the-kitchen/venison-tenderizing-marinade/

You can ask ACW3 about he goat that I made . He came and helped me hand out case to 1000 samples of various smoked and grilled meats that day.

The NUMBER ONE item people kept coming back for - was the goat.  Again - the buttermilk tenderizes, and - tames the flavor/aroma profile to make it far more acceptable to a large group. That was my incentive for this method.

Buttermilk with its lactic acid does help to mellow the smell of certain meats.  However so does a long and slow cook do the same thing.  I would use buttermilk if I had time to marinade, but if you don't my ideas above will help skirt that.  I have deceived people before with cooks, and I can tell you the goat burger was cooked low and slow by TentHunter when he did it at our gathering for me since I don't yet own a cooker.    If so inclined Teesquare is not wrong and his suggestion if followed will modify the taste of any strong smelling meat.

[TentHunteR]

...and I can tell you the goat burger was cooked low and slow by TentHunter when he did it at our gathering for me since I don't yet own a cooker.   

I love goat meat! Before the Gathering Kevin and I talked about what to bring and we thought Goat would be something that most people probably hadn't tried before, and I thought burgers would be a good easy way to introduce goat.  So Kevin got some ground goat from his butcher, and I seasoned and cooked the goat burgers at the gathering.

They seemed to go over pretty well with the crowd too.  They reminded me a lot of venison burgers.


Don, don't get too complex on the seasoning. Goat doesn't need it!  The seasoning I used for the burgers was simple: Salt, Pepper, a little granulated Garlic and some dried rosemary.  I think rosemary stands up really well to the rich flavor of goat.  Thyme and Mint also work really well with Goat. 



Tim already eluded to the first piece of advice I would give about goat and that is ignore the smell!   The first time you smell goat you think the meat has gone bad. 

If you want to tame down the smell, then yogurt (with or without seasonings) is a very traditional goat marinade, and you don't need much as it will stick to the goat.  It can be rinsed off (the same as buttermilk) or just leave it on when you roast it.






A little FYI about the term "Mutton"

In much if the English speaking world Mutton refers to a grown sheep, but in the East  "Mutton" means goat.  So if you're in an Indian, Pakinstani, etc., restaurant and see "Mutton" on the menu, then it's most likely goat.

[Hub]

Many years ago when I lived out in western Oklahoma there was a truck dealer who staged an annual goat BBQ at his ranch.  Much goat was consumed and given rave reviews.  The secret ingredient was beer.  Lots and lots of beer.  I don't remember how the goat tasted but I remember that the beer was plentiful and very, very cold.

Hub

[teesquare]

Good point Tent....I have used live culture yogurt when I could not get buttermilk. A similar product in this usage except that it can be left on easily.

[Savannahsmoker]

I marinate a leg of lamb for 24 hours in yogurt and Greek seasonings.
Sear it on the grill  on all sides and put it in the pellet smoker at 225 until an internal temp of 135 in the large end is achieved.
Tent in foil and rest for 20 minutes, slice to serve.

Wonder if this would work for goat which I think is much tougher.
Only time I had goat was in a Irag / Saudi boarder town and it seem to have been brazed for hours because it was tender but the taste was gone.