Is GOAT the G.O.A.T ?

Jamaican Nights
One of the best things about the weekend, when I lived in London, was a late night visit to ‘Cummin Up’, a Jamaican cafe/takeaway in New Cross. The top two things on their menu were delicious, spicy Jerk Chicken and my favourite, an amazing Jamaican Curry Goat.

Now, this was well before the days of Levi Roots and his Reggae Reggae sauce, we’re talking about authentic delicious Jamaican food that was the perfect thing to eat after a couple of pints of beer at the Goldsmiths Tavern. 

Fast forward 15 years and despite now being able to buy lots of goat products – goats milk, goats cheese etc (the soft stuff is my fav), as far as actual Goats meat is concerned if you want to cook it yourself, it’s still fairly difficult to find in a major supermarket in the UK. 

Off The Shelf
In fact, unless you live in an inner city with local Ethnic butchers, Goats meat is still fairly hard to find. At the moment the best place to buy it is online at places like Graig Farm. There you can find everything from more traditional cuts such as a leg or shoulder of Goat in addition to Goat sausages, Goat Burgers and Steaks. 

Ask any chef and they will tell you the secret to really getting the best flavours from Goat meat is to cook it really slowly and gently, that’s why something like a Jamaican Goat Curry really brings out the best in the meat and you can also use Papaya to naturally tenderise the meat before cooking. 

Slowly Does It
If you’ve never tried goat meat before the taste is a unique mixture of lamb, venison and beef. When cooked properly it should melt in your mouth and when combined with spices such as Tumeric, Garam Masal and natural yoghurt it’s really irresistible. In countries such as India, Pakistan, China, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Goat meat is often far more popular than beef or pork and the term ‘mutton’ is often used to describe both Sheep and Goats meat.  

According to a recent article on the Daily Telegraph website, Goat meat could be the next big food thing in 2019 and there’s even a month that’s been dedicated to eating more goat meat called “Goatober” (can you guess when it is?). Away from its roots in the traditional Caribbean and Asian restaurants, Goat meat has also been finding its way onto Menus in some of Londons trendiest restaurants including St Johns restaurant in East London and Ottolenghi in Belgravia. Let’s hope we get to see it in more and more places in the future. 

So there you have it, GOAT is officially cool, but is it the G.O.A.T. of all time?

Personally, I love it, but are you a fan? Leave your comments and cooking tips below and let us know what you think.