Goat meat
Encyclopedia
Goat meat is the meat
of the domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus). It is often called chevon or mutton when the meat comes from adults, and cabrito or kid when from young animals. While "goat" is usually the name for the meat found in common parlance, producers and marketers may prefer to use the French-derived
word chevon (from chèvre), since market research
in the United States
suggests that "chevon" is more palatable to consumers than "goat meat". Cabrito, a word of Spanish
origin, refers specifically to young, milk-fed goat. In the English-speaking islands of the Caribbean
, and in some parts of Asia, particularly Bangladesh
, Nepal
, Sri Lanka
, Pakistan
and India
, the word “mutton” is often used colloquially to describe both goat and lamb meat, despite technically only referring to sheep meat.
s. The cuisines best known for their use of goat include Middle Eastern
, North African
, Indian
, Mexican
, and Caribbean
.
Goat has historically been less commonplace in American, Canadian and Northern European cuisines, but is finding a hold in some niche markets. While in the past goat meat in the West was confined to ethnic markets, it can now be found in a few upscale
restaurants and purveyors, especially in cities such as New York
and San Francisco. Bill Niman of Niman Ranch
has recently turned to raising goats and he, along with other North American producers, tends to focus on pasture
-based methods of farming.
Goat can be prepared in a variety of ways, such as being stewed, curried
, baked, grilled
, barbecue
d, minced, canned
, fried
, or made into sausage
. Goat jerky
is also another popular variety. In Okinawa (Japan), goat meat is served raw in thin slices as yagisashi. In India, the rice dish mutton biryani
uses goat meat as a primary ingredient to produce a rich taste. "Curry goat
" is a common traditional Indo-Caribbean
dish. Cabrito, a specialty especially common in Latin
cuisines such as Mexican, Peruvian
, Brazilian, and Argentine, is usually slow roasted. Southern Italian
and Greek cuisines are also both known for serving roast goat in celebration of Easter
; goat dishes are also an Easter staple in the alpine regions of central Europe, often braised (Bavaria
) or breaded and fried (Tyrol
).
, goat is leaner and contains less cholesterol
and fat
than both lamb and beef
; therefore, it requires low-heat, slow cooking to preserve tenderness and moisture.
mentions in his book on India a commentary by Galenus wherein Galenus considers that too much goat meat produces epilepsy
.
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
of the domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus). It is often called chevon or mutton when the meat comes from adults, and cabrito or kid when from young animals. While "goat" is usually the name for the meat found in common parlance, producers and marketers may prefer to use the French-derived
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word chevon (from chèvre), since market research
Market research
Market research is any organized effort to gather information about markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
suggests that "chevon" is more palatable to consumers than "goat meat". Cabrito, a word of Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
origin, refers specifically to young, milk-fed goat. In the English-speaking islands of the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and in some parts of Asia, particularly Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the word “mutton” is often used colloquially to describe both goat and lamb meat, despite technically only referring to sheep meat.
In cuisine
Although cited in a New York Times article as "the most widely-consumed meat in the world", in total consumption goat is a distant fourth globally behind pork, beef, and chicken. Goat is a staple of Africa, Asia and South/Central America, and a delicacy in a few European cuisineEuropean cuisine
European cuisine, or alternatively Western cuisine, is a generalised term collectively referring to the cuisines of Europe and other Western countries...
s. The cuisines best known for their use of goat include Middle Eastern
Middle Eastern cuisine
Middle-Eastern cuisine, West Asian cuisine, or in some place in the United States, Persian-Mediterranean cuisine is the cuisine of the various countries and peoples of the Middle East . The cuisine of the region is diverse while having a degree of homogeneity...
, North African
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, Indian
Indian cuisine
Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterised by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society...
, Mexican
Mexican cuisine
Mexican cuisine, a style of food that originates in Mexico, is known for its varied flavors, colourful decoration and variety of spices and ingredients, most of which are native to the country. The cuisine of Mexico has evolved through thousands of years of blending indigenous cultures, with later...
, and Caribbean
Caribbean cuisine
Caribbean cuisine is a fusion of African, Amerindian, British, Spanish, French, Dutch, Indian, and Chinese cuisine. These traditions were brought from the many homelands of this region's population...
.
Goat has historically been less commonplace in American, Canadian and Northern European cuisines, but is finding a hold in some niche markets. While in the past goat meat in the West was confined to ethnic markets, it can now be found in a few upscale
Luxury good
Luxury goods are products and services that are not considered essential and associated with affluence.The concept of luxury has been present in various forms since the beginning of civilization. Its role was just as important in ancient western and eastern empires as it is in modern societies...
restaurants and purveyors, especially in cities such as New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and San Francisco. Bill Niman of Niman Ranch
Niman Ranch
Niman Ranch is an Alameda, California based network of more than 680 U.S. family farmers and ranchers who raise livestock traditionally, humanely and sustainably to deliver the finest-tasting proteins in the world. The Independent family farmers practive the highest standards of animal husbandry...
has recently turned to raising goats and he, along with other North American producers, tends to focus on pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
-based methods of farming.
Goat can be prepared in a variety of ways, such as being stewed, curried
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
, baked, grilled
Grilling
Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...
, barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
d, minced, canned
Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
, fried
Frying
Frying is the cooking of food in oil or another fat, a technique that originated in ancient Egypt around 2500 BC. Chemically, oils and fats are the same, differing only in melting point, but the distinction is only made when needed. In commerce, many fats are called oils by custom, e.g...
, or made into sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
. Goat jerky
Jerky (food)
Jerky is lean meat that has been trimmed of fat, cut into strips, and then been dried to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt, to prevent bacteria from developing on the meat before sufficient moisture has been removed. The word "jerky" is a bastardization of the...
is also another popular variety. In Okinawa (Japan), goat meat is served raw in thin slices as yagisashi. In India, the rice dish mutton biryani
Biryani
Biryani, biriani, or beriani is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word beryā which means "fried" or "roasted"....
uses goat meat as a primary ingredient to produce a rich taste. "Curry goat
Curry Goat
Curry goat is a dish originating in India and has become very popular in Indo-Jamaican cuisine. This dish has spread throughout the English speaking Caribbean and also the Caribbean diaspora in North America and Great Britain....
" is a common traditional Indo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbean people or Indo-Caribbeans are Caribbean people with roots in India or the Indian subcontinent. They are mostly descendants of the original indentured workers brought by the British, the Dutch and the French during colonial times...
dish. Cabrito, a specialty especially common in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
cuisines such as Mexican, Peruvian
Peruvian cuisine
Peruvian cuisine reflects local cooking practices and ingredients—and, through immigration, influences from Spain, China, Italy, West Africa, and Japan. Due to a lack of ingredients from their home countries, immigrants to Peru modified their traditional cuisines by using ingredients...
, Brazilian, and Argentine, is usually slow roasted. Southern Italian
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
and Greek cuisines are also both known for serving roast goat in celebration of Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
; goat dishes are also an Easter staple in the alpine regions of central Europe, often braised (Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
) or breaded and fried (Tyrol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
).
Characteristics
Goat has a reputation for strong, gamey flavor, but can be mild depending on how it is raised and prepared. Despite being classified as red meatRed meat
Red meat in traditional culinary terminology is meat which is red when raw and not white when cooked. In the nutritional sciences, red meat includes all mammal meat. Red meat includes the meat of most adult mammals and some fowl ....
, goat is leaner and contains less cholesterol
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a complex isoprenoid. Specifically, it is a waxy steroid of fat that is produced in the liver or intestines. It is used to produce hormones and cell membranes and is transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes...
and fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
than both lamb and beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
; therefore, it requires low-heat, slow cooking to preserve tenderness and moisture.
Literary mentions
Al-BiruniAl-Biruni
Abū al-Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-BīrūnīArabic spelling. . The intermediate form Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī is often used in academic literature...
mentions in his book on India a commentary by Galenus wherein Galenus considers that too much goat meat produces epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
.
External links
- "Gourmet goat debuts in metro", by Tom Perry, Metromix Des Moines, July 9 2008