Goat Stew

In an effort to eat what's in my freezer, I'm slowly working my way through the various meats I've been hoarding from my CSA meat share last year. In this post, I'll share my experience making goat stew. Yep, that's right - GOAT! Poor little goat... If you've ever been to see the goats at Simmons Farm in Middletown, RI, then you may have met my dinner. I don't know how they decide which goats to slaughter, but I'm sure it's not an easy choice. Anyway...before I get too far off topic... I had about a pound of "goat for stewing" from Simmons Farm, and I had no idea what to do with it. I looked at several recipes and decided on this one for goat stew.

Mmmmm..."goat for stewing!!!"

The directions say to make a "marinade" of carrots, onions, garlic, celery, jalapeño (since I didn't have the other fancy pepper), salt, and pepper and allow the meat to sit in this "marinade" in the fridge over night. As a couple of comments stated, I've never heard of such a "marinade." Although it was pretty and smelled wonderful, I don't really know how much the flavors actually integrated or how much was absorbed by the meat. If I ever make this again, I will rub the meat with spices and allow THAT to marinate over night! Those little packets of Indian spices are perfect for recipes like this. I was actually surprised by the lack of spices, and unfortunately the dish was pretty bland (except for the heat from the jalapeño).

Ho hum...just another bland "marinade."

After much deliberation, I decided to try making the stew in my slow cooker, as the author notes at the end of the recipe that this is a viable option. As always, this was a learning experience. It turned out ok, but I have ideas about how to make it much better. Read on!

All set in the slow cooker!

So, the choice to use vegetable stock or wine was given (really? is that even a contest?), and I chose wine. What's the point in vegetable stock, anyway? Unfortunately, I come from the school of Cathryn Tibbett, which says that "if a little is good, a lot is better!" I measured the one cup of wine, poured it over the meat and veggies, and decided that didn't seem like enough liquid. I poured another healthy "gluck" of wine in and had a sinking feeling that was probably too much. While it didn't do any damage to the dish, it didn't really help anything, either. The stew ended up with a bit more liquid than I think it should've, but no big deal.

The other thing I learned had to do with the part of the recipe that called for the meat to be browned in oil then simmered. Since I chose to use the slow cooker, I wasn't sure if I should brown the meat first or just toss everything in. I decided that browning wasn't necessary (although people do this with things like pot roast...I guess it helps seal in the juice or something?), but I wasn't sure if I should still add the oil to the slow cooker. I decided to try it, and what I learned was that I don't think that was necessary. So, if I ever make this again I will either put no oil or just 1/2 the amount of oil into the slow cooker. I don't think it served any real purpose in the recipe other than to facilitate the browning of the meat, which is unnecessary using the slow cooker. I suppose I could've browned it in oil before putting it in the slow cooker, but why dirty another pan?!?!

The finished stew, over rice.

 So, I made some brown rice to compliment the stew. It was good but not great. It was pretty bland except for the heat, and it really could've used some real spices. The meat was very tender though, and that is a definite plus for using the slow cooker. I would make this again, with some modifications.