Organic Goat Meat
Why Goat?
We had been thinking about goats for a little while… Goats have been increasing in popularity and more and more people are talking about them. Goat meat was announced as the Food Trend of 2019 by the BBC Good Food magazine. We didn’t want to go down the milking route so meat goats it was.
In January 2019 we bit the bullet and bought 14 Boer goat, 5 in kid, and 9 younger does from a farm in East Devon. Boer goat is a South African meat goat breed. Boer goats are the suckler bred beef equivalent, compared to a Jersey cross. They are more muscular and thicker fleshed than the dairy goats. More than 100,000 dairy billy kid goats are culled every year, and we could have gone into rearing them. But the meat goats provides a superior product, can be grazed outside and fits in well with the organic free range system.
Plus a very scientific reason… We fancied doing something different! Our organic beef and lamb going to Riverford is working extremely well. But we were looking for a new challenge, but something that would fit along side what we are already doing. Selling meat direct is not something we had done before and a new, niche product we thought would work well.
We then had crazy few minutes and an organic herd of Boer goats came on the market…. We went to Dorset on a very wet Sunday and purchased the lot! We are now the only organic herd of meat goats in the country. We now have 33 breeding females, 40 kids and Boris the buck.
Let's Talk Goat Meat
One of the first questions people ask is ‘what does it taste like?’ and without feeding you, it is tricky to describe! So here’s a quote from a satisfied customer who has come back for more and more.
‘Really delicious, better than most lamb chops I have ever eaten, less fatty. Tasty like pork, yet meaty like lamb. Honestly delicious and easy peasy to cook.’
Goat meat is REALLY good for you, we’re not kidding! It’s a very lean meat and low in cholesterol. Goat meat has more iron, comparable protein and lower levels of saturated fat, calories and cholesterol compared to beef and chicken.
How to cook goat
It REALLY is easy. Goat is good for a curry, tagine, chops, roast and so much more.
Because the meat is leaner, there is less fat marbling throughout so it’s best cooked at a lower temperature. This makes is great for marinating and sticking it on the night before for the following nights tea! Chops can be fried in browned butter. Roasting is done on a lower temperature of 150oC for a few hours for a 1.5kg joint.
The meat tastes amazing just on its own, but spices and fruity flavours can be added to give it more depth. Try some of our favourite recipes below!