Is there a troll under this bridge?
If you say to someone ('round these parts), "Hey, let's go eat some goat meat." they're gonna look at you like you have three fucking heads. Americans, at this stage of the game, aren't digging on goat. It's funny because goat is the most widely consumed meat on this planet and we are a group of folks who love to rip off any and every other culture and claim it as our own. It's a staple of authentic Mexican, Indian, North African, and Jamaican cuisines. What makes goat different? The answer to that question boggles even my food-lovin' mind.
Say "goat cheese" and you get tons of agreement. Everyone has hopped on the goat cheese bandwagon in the last 20 years and now it seems pretty standard. "Goat milk"? Still not too far off base, but goat meat is a whole 'nother ballgame. People seem to understand lamb pretty well, from leg of..., to chops, to sausage, even lamb burgers. But mention goat, and people look as though you are holding a turd under their noses. Just take a good, close look at both animals, pretty darn similar huh? Anything you can do to a lamb, you can do to a goat. Food speaking of course you sickos! ;)
I was cruising through Myrtle Beach the other day and saw a Jamaican flag flying and instantly I started looking for a restaurant. It was lunchtime and I was starved. Sure enough there it was. I pulled a u-turn and rolled into the parking lot. I'm a sucker for Jamaican food because they always have Curried Goat. Now I know that those two words together throw up a couple of red flags for many. As a former curry hater, I have come to love what I once despised. As with most food I have found in recent years, if I didn't like it before, it was because I hadn't tried it prepared correctly. Curry is one of those things. (More on that later in a future post. Wait for the Curried Bananas a la Pete Vanstory. Sure to be a winner!) Jamaican curry is a wet, green curry that packs a ton of flavor, but is not overly spicy. The meat is full of bones and is stewed down so that it's falling off those said bones. The flavor will set you free! BE CAREFUL!!! You can easily crack a tooth if you are not paying attention. Serve that with some rice and peas, along with some greens, mmmmm Good Lawd, that's some good eatin'!
The July issue of Bon Appetit magazine has a bit in "The Foodist" section about the rising appeal of goat in the US. To paraphrase a bit, many high-end restaurants in the states have started putting goat on the menu beacause chefs know it's really healthy, sustainable, and delicious. It's regarded as the next big thing. Now I understand that you just can't go to the local Piggly Wiggly and pick up a bunch of goat meat, but if you have ever taken to heart anything I have ever written in this damn blog, you know that when you are buying meat at the farmer's market, ask those folks if they have a lead on any goat. Chances are high that they do. Plus, it's pretty inexpensive. Also, you can mail-order it or ask a restaurant friend to special order some for you. BA goes on to mention a book that I'm dying to find called Goat: Meat, Milk, Cheese by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. BA says that "if in five years we are all eating goat burgers and goat chili, it will be because of this book." Maybe that troll under the bridge was on to something?
Ciao down!
Penn
Say "goat cheese" and you get tons of agreement. Everyone has hopped on the goat cheese bandwagon in the last 20 years and now it seems pretty standard. "Goat milk"? Still not too far off base, but goat meat is a whole 'nother ballgame. People seem to understand lamb pretty well, from leg of..., to chops, to sausage, even lamb burgers. But mention goat, and people look as though you are holding a turd under their noses. Just take a good, close look at both animals, pretty darn similar huh? Anything you can do to a lamb, you can do to a goat. Food speaking of course you sickos! ;)
I was cruising through Myrtle Beach the other day and saw a Jamaican flag flying and instantly I started looking for a restaurant. It was lunchtime and I was starved. Sure enough there it was. I pulled a u-turn and rolled into the parking lot. I'm a sucker for Jamaican food because they always have Curried Goat. Now I know that those two words together throw up a couple of red flags for many. As a former curry hater, I have come to love what I once despised. As with most food I have found in recent years, if I didn't like it before, it was because I hadn't tried it prepared correctly. Curry is one of those things. (More on that later in a future post. Wait for the Curried Bananas a la Pete Vanstory. Sure to be a winner!) Jamaican curry is a wet, green curry that packs a ton of flavor, but is not overly spicy. The meat is full of bones and is stewed down so that it's falling off those said bones. The flavor will set you free! BE CAREFUL!!! You can easily crack a tooth if you are not paying attention. Serve that with some rice and peas, along with some greens, mmmmm Good Lawd, that's some good eatin'!
The July issue of Bon Appetit magazine has a bit in "The Foodist" section about the rising appeal of goat in the US. To paraphrase a bit, many high-end restaurants in the states have started putting goat on the menu beacause chefs know it's really healthy, sustainable, and delicious. It's regarded as the next big thing. Now I understand that you just can't go to the local Piggly Wiggly and pick up a bunch of goat meat, but if you have ever taken to heart anything I have ever written in this damn blog, you know that when you are buying meat at the farmer's market, ask those folks if they have a lead on any goat. Chances are high that they do. Plus, it's pretty inexpensive. Also, you can mail-order it or ask a restaurant friend to special order some for you. BA goes on to mention a book that I'm dying to find called Goat: Meat, Milk, Cheese by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. BA says that "if in five years we are all eating goat burgers and goat chili, it will be because of this book." Maybe that troll under the bridge was on to something?
Ciao down!
Penn
Comments
Post a Comment