5 Ways to Love Sustainable, Delicious Goat Meat

If you're a meat eater who never ventures beyond chicken, beef or pork, you're missing out on a world of flavor from versatile, nutritious goat meat. This is a trending protein that not only tastes great, but is a leaner, healthier meat option, since it has fewer calories and less fat and cholesterol than other meats.

If you're eating with the planet in mind, goat is always a good choice. Goats, literally, leave a small footprint on the environment. They're browsers, not grazers, which means they eat weeds and noxious plants that other livestock avoid. And because they only thrive when allowed to roam, any goat you're eating is guaranteed to be free range.

Cook's note: While goat can be some of the tastiest meat you'll ever eat, it has earned a reputation for a tough, chewy texture. As long as you cook goat slowly, at a low temperature and with plenty of moisture, you'll have terrific results. Goat is not safe to serve rare, so use a food thermometer to make sure goat beef steaks, chop, and roasts have a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F and that ground goat meat is 160 °F.

Goat is a superstar in Mediterranean and West African cooking, but you'll find it in other cuisines as well. If you'd like to get your goat on with some new recipes, you'll be able to travel the globe and find terrific ideas for goat meat in just about every regional cuisine. From cabrito (baby goat) burgers to goat head soup, there's a world of good eating waiting for you when you start cooking with goat. Let's get started!

Goat Stew

This highly rated recipe is inspired by the traditional Filipino stew recipe, caldereta. A long marinade in vinegar, soy sauce and garlic bring out the best in a bone-in cut of goat. "The serving size is 2 to 4, depending on how much bone the meat has." -- Olivia Tuggle

Birria de Chivo Estilo Jalisco (Mexican Braised Goat)

Goat meat takes well to braised preparations like this one. This traditional Mexican feast entrée calls for an overnight marinade in a sauce of ancho chiles and spices. The next day, it's slowly braised until meltingly tender. "It's always accompanied with refried beans and corn tortillas." – HildaM

Jamaican Goat Curry

Because goat meat takes so well to strong spice blends, it's a natural ingredient in spicy curries. This incredibly flavorful recipe calls for the addition of Scotch bonnet peppers, but you can adjust the heat -- add more or add fewer -- to suit your own taste. "You never knew how good goat could be!" -- Cook and a half

Mutton Varuval (Malaysian Indian-Style Goat Curry)

Just about every culture has a winter festival to celebrate the presence of light in a dark time. The Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. Feasting is a major part of the festival, and goat is often served at gatherings.

"This recipe is the star dish every Diwali at my Indian relative's home in Malaysia. I had to beg my husband's aunt to give up her secret recipe so we could make it for our wedding. Serve over rice or with Indian breads such as naan or chapati." --Lydia Parison

Goat and Butternut Squash Stew

If you're hoping to eat leaner meats and add more vegetables to your diet, this dish is for you. Take a long Sunday afternoon to simmer it, or use your instant pot to make it an easy weeknight meal. The spice blend, which includes cumin, ginger, paprika and coriander, perfectly complements the tender meat. "This is a tasty, spicy dish for a cold fall or winter evening and can be a good way to introduce goat to people who think they don't like goat." -- NMHeckel

Check out our collection of Goat Recipes.

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