I’ve mentioned before that I have a very adventurous appetite. I love to try new things. In the same post I mentioned that my family used to go to a game feast every year, hosted at a local restaurant. One of the meats the I never managed to try in all the years going to the event was goat. I’ve always known that goat was a popular ingredient in Caribbean cuisine, and after seeing it as the secret ingredient on Iron Chef America, I’ve really wanted to try it.
It should be no surprise, then, that when I was out to lunch today at a (very) authentic Mexican taqueria, and saw goat on the menu, I jumped at the opportunity to give it a shot.
The goat was not exactly what I was expecting it to be. I was expecting a very gamey, maybe even tough read meat. The menu said that the goat was “steamed” and I wasn’t really sure what that meant. What I ended up with in my burrito was a shredded, fairly tender meat that was not all that gamey. In fact, it tasted very much like lamb. I suppose some would consider that to be gamey, but I’m not one of those people. I’m guessing that the “steaming” helped to break down and tenderize the meat.
It was in a very tasty burrito which didn’t hurt matters. Stuffed with rice, onions, cheese, meat, guacamole, and cilantro the burrito was good. It was also served with a couple different homemade salsas.
All in all, I thought that the goat was really good. I wouldn’t hesitate to try it again. I also have something to add to all the food I’ve tried, which makes me very happy.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Feb 05, 2009 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
OK, Keith and I had goat several years back not in a Caribbean stew at the Chicago Food Festival. We had very different experiences, because the goat we had was tough, and pretty tasteless. The stew itself was wonderful, but the goat … not so much. It wouldn’t prevent me from trying it again prepared differently though.