The Month of Goat

The internet is an amazing thing.  A couple of weeks ago I linked to Marin Sun Farms after visiting their butcher shop in Point Reyes Station.  They were kind enough to tweet my blog and post a link on their facebook.  This got me to checking out their website.  I stumbled across their meat CSA.  Intrigued, I explored the options, thought about it a bit, and viola!  I now have five pounds of top shelf local goat meat in my freezer.

For now I’m going month to month on the CSA.  If it works out for us I’ll pony up for the 12 month plan, at a nice little discount.  Our monthly package will have five pounds of ground meat and five pounds of top shelf cuts.  The meat will be a mix of beef, lamb / mutton, goat, pork, and veal.  This month I received three pounds of ground beef, two pounds of ground pork, and the aforementioned five pounds of goat steaks.

I’ll be honest – I was a little overwhelmed when I unpacked the five pounds of goat.  Woah.  I guess it’s the equivalent of joining a vegetable CSA in winter and opening a box of collard greens, romanesco, kale, and potatoes.  Now what am I going to do with this stuff?  Mrs. Esquire was similarly nonplussed.

But never fear.  After two meals this weekend, I can truly say that I like me some goat.

I was alone on Friday night, as Mrs. Esquire was out with the ladies.  I chose a bone-in leg steak.

I’m no meat expert, but this strikes me as some creative work by the butcher.  I’ve also seen cross-cut pork shoulder and pork leg steaks at the Marin Sun Farms butcher shop.  Why not?

After some quick research, I deduced that goat can be prepared like lamb.  I also learned that it benefits from a little marinade.  So I whipped together a very simple marinade I found online:

• One part lemon juice
• One part olive oil
• Fresh oregano
• Chopped garlic

Since the steak was fairly thin, I grilled it up hot and quick, a total of about six minutes at 500 degrees on the Big Green Egg (with the cast iron grill, of course).

(Yes, those are more Brussels sprouts on with the goat – Mrs. Esquire likes the leftovers for lunch.)  Here’s the final product:

My reaction?  Moist and tender, subtle and delicate flavor, a little bit like lamb but not as strong.  Really, it was very good.

I should have salted and peppered before the marinade, but a little salt and pepper on the back end worked just fine.  I also will use less lemon juice next time.  Maybe three parts olive oil and two parts lemon juice.  I have a few more of these guys in the freezer, so plenty of time to mix things up!

That was Friday night.  A good start.  Tonight I prepared boneless goat loin chops.  My review of the stash told me these were the prize cuts.

I found another seasoning method online for the chops.  Very simple: salt, cracked pepper, Dijon mustard.

These guys were thick.  I cooked them direct on the Big Green Egg, again on the cast iron grill.  They took almost 25 minutes at about 450 to get above 14o internal temperature.

Verdict = good stuff!  Mrs. Esquire even liked them!  In beef terms, my chop was like a ribeye trussed up like a filet.  Some portions were just as tender and moist as a filet.  But you had to work your way through the marbling.  For my taste, the Dijon preparation was a definite improvement over the garlic and olive oil.

So there you go.  Weekend number one of the Month of Goat.  Buckle up, we’re just getting started!