Thread: Getting back to living off the land.....

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

I've been experimenting with cooking older wild goats. This goat was probably over 5-years old; an age where if it is not rutting I'd mince the meat. After taste testing the fillets and finding them to be tender and very mild, I decided to slow cook the leg. Here is the verdict about the meat tenderness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5rJdcZEyB4

Greetings Bumblefoot,
Long ago, before the days of slow cookers we ate a lot of goat. Over time we grew to prefer the meat of the billy goats as it seemed to have more structure and flavour. This did not extend to the rutting billy goats though which could be detected by smell evens from several paces. Your carving fork also brought back memories as my parents had one just like it.
Regards Grandpamac.

@grandpamac That fork is my gran's (she was born in 1902) Mum passed away about 18-months ago and I have a lot of her kitchen stuff here. The billy leg was as nice as hogget; albeit, leaner. I'm a qualified butcher (did my time from 79-83) and eating these older billies has blown away my preconceptions about eating their meat. As long as it's not rutting and piss covered; you're pretty good to go.

You also have to be careful skinning them. I always have 2 buckets of water; 1 soapy and 1 clear; to keep my hands and knife scrupulously clean when skinning. I think the "myth" of not eating older goats comes from people eating stinky rutting billies and passing judgement on that. And of course it becomes a "true fact" after years of re-telling.

Oh; next one I'll try on a low heat in an oven bag in the oven and try that

Processing time. Gotta love the vacuum pack.

Originally Posted by MB

Pretty much. It's the secret to my mum's great cooking. That and salt by the metric ton!

Interesting. Surprised you're not a fatty who's had 2 heart attacks by now

Originally Posted by Russian 22.

Interesting. Surprised you're not a fatty who's had 2 heart attacks by now

Haha! I'm not overly convinced by the dangers of (some) fats or salt. There's lots of talk about the Mediterranean diet and longevity and guess what, there's lots of oil/fat and salt in the real deal (rather than the trendy version in lifestyle magazines). I'm not an expert by any means and not giving dietary advice, just some observations.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

Processing time. Gotta love the vacuum pack.

Attachment 167543

interesting...the Mrs makes same shape bags for us...but they have opening on narrow end...work great for lb of mince ,slide it in and seal the end...the vac pac does seem to keep the meat a bit longer without freezer burn.

Wild pork, mushroom leek, onion tomato and capsicum casserole started. That's dinner sorted...

Finished wild pork casserole

I see onions...my arse is burning already...other than that YUMMMMMM

Experimenting with a goat shoulder slow roasted in the oven on top of quince, turnips and onions. Seasoned with lemongrass, cardamom, star anise and cinnamon...

Looks very appealing.

Originally Posted by Coote

Looks very appealing.

Thanks; hope so. It's an experiment. I'm cooking it at 150C in the oven rather than the slowcooker. Also; be interested to see how the quince works. Well it's the Chinese false quince; (Pseudocydonia sinensis)

Just out of the oven, slow-roasted young wild goat shoulder.... The roasted quince (no added sugar) is amazing with it

This is cool! Makes my efforts with goat seem pretty paltry..... The Chinese way of barbequing an entire goat. The goat is scalded as you would a pig instead of being skinned. Not too sure about the soup though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxk01f73368