Goat meat...what's the best way to prepare it?

Hey, I just joined and need to ask you for some help. I'm planning on getting some goat hunts in this year on Oahu and wanted to ask you the best way to handle the meat? I haven't had wild goat before, but have liked pretty much all wild game I have tried. What do you do as far as marinades, how tough is it, how gamey is it, what are you folks doing? I'm thinking Tex-Mex grilled tacos or smoked BBQ goat, but wanted to make sure...I want to do it up right! I'm new to hunting goats, so any help you can give me about them here on Oahu(any island)would be awesome! Thanks-Scott

Hey Scott, welcome to the board. I'm out in Kapolei as well and also plan on doing some goat hunts coming up here pretty soon. I'm in the same boat as you, I've never hunted them, or ate them before. Every time I ask around my hunting buddies about goats they don't seem too interested and I get remarks about how bad they stink. I'm not gonna knock em til I tried em. I think most guys smoke or heavily marinate the meat in teriyaki sauce.

I whacked a goat a few miles in once a few years back and was worried about spoilage, I deboned the meat and then found a lemon tree and squeezed some green ones juice into the meat in a plastic bag- it lasted 12 hours in the heat and then it was excellent chicken fried and also on the grill.
last year I whacked a couple goats with my bow too and deboned them as well and cut up the pieces and then put them into plastic bags with a whole bunch of jerky mix powder (mixed thoroughly to cure it), Turkey Joe used a different jerky mix and it worked too, I let the bag breath but it was 2 days before I could spread it out and sun dry it, and the jerky was Ono- everyone that tried it liked it- I think I'd do that again if I was back in deep and worried about it spoiling from the heat.
Up here in in AK we get mt goats regularly- some big billies are so tough we grind the whole thing into burger- but the flavor is still great - smaller ones are still kinda tough too but can make some cuts jus right across the grain and not too tough to chew - of course everything to me seems to taste better over a fire or charcoal. no doubt any marinade would be great and I've heard in a pinch Italian dressing works wonders.
good eats
Ak Andy

Do you know how to make pork quesantas. .......we add pork fat to the goat after you cut it up and make goat quesantas......you will find that wild goat does have strong game taste.
If I eat goat once a year its enough.

The secret to getting any gamey taste out of any wild meat is to cut it into your pieces and soak it in water and lomi it around to get the blood out of the meat. With goat i cut it into teriyaki slices and soak in water and lomi it around and repeat couplr times, the meat will get cleaned. Then i soak it in lime, shoyu and black pepper. Then cook um up on the grill. Can even eat um raw, we'll half cook cause the lime cook um some.Mean, Try um. Can't wait til goat season. Aloha Kimo

1) For best meat, shoot the fattest nanny you can find. Billies can stink a lot but not always.

2) The vitals are located further forward in goats than in pigs. Any shot more than 1 inch behind the shoulder is risking a gut shot. Wait for the leg to step forward, exposing more vitals. If your hunting rifle and are a crack shot, just shoot'em in the head/neck.

3) Field dress ASAP, hang and skin in the shade. If no shade around, carry it to some. Heart and liver are good too. Cut up. Place meat in cotton pillow case. Tip: Place second pillow case around it to keep flies from directly landing on first bag.

4) Lightly salt the meat to draw out moisture and supress bacteria. If done right, the meat can last two whole days without refrigeration.

5) Have cooler with ice in your truck. Cool it down quickly but avoid getting water on your meat.

6) I've found that the stink odor associated with goat meat is mostly contained in the tendons and fat. So at home, if too smelly, trim meat of all tendons and fat.

At this point, do whatever recipe you like. The old teriyaki is always good (half shoyu, half sugar). Meat grinders can help. I used to place crumpled papaya leaves over the meat for 30 minutes, marinate and smoke. they would practically fall appart, was so tender. Goat ribs simply barbequed were good recently. Goat stew is always good. Green papaya soup will also tenderize the meat. Marinated and saute'd is also delish.

My wifes Boss is Jamaican and they make it Curry style. Goat is NOT my favorite thing to eat but it was not half bad.

kimo wrote:The secret to getting any gamey taste out of any wild meat is to cut it into your pieces and soak it in water and lomi it around to get the blood out of the meat. With goat i cut it into teriyaki slices and soak in water and lomi it around and repeat couplr times, the meat will get cleaned. Then i soak it in lime, shoyu and black pepper. Then cook um up on the grill. Can even eat um raw, we'll half cook cause the lime cook um some.Mean, Try um. Can't wait til goat season. Aloha Kimo

+1 bradda Kimo you exactly right once you soak and lomi da meat and drain the water a few times till the water is almost clear slightly pinkish then I pat um down with a towel to remove excess water and prepare it whatever way you want. Ive prepared big stink billies this way and people swore up and down that they were not eating goat they just wouldnt believe me but its all good I knew what they was eating cuz I wen cook'um

I do this to ALL my game meat.

Babooze goat curry is one of my favorites!

Man hope I can hook up some goats this season. Lost all my meat as the freezer crapped out when I was camping bumma's.

try brine goat with baking soda and salt...the baking soda will absorb the stink and the salt will draw the blood out of the meat

evbouret wrote:try brine goat with baking soda and salt...the baking soda will absorb the stink and the salt will draw the blood out of the meat

Yup exactly forgot to add that to my first post!!!

+1 on what Nic said about trimming all the fat and tendons. That and proper care of the meat after the shot will make all the difference. Cool it down as quick as you can. As for marinades, I like to mix Yoshida's Teriyaki with some brown sugar, ginger, green onion, and garlic........ONO!

Man, all you guys's recipe's are making me hungry! I have tried most of what everyone's saying and totally agree, I love hearing all the info- mahalos. Gotta find out what Shoyu is?, but I use Yoshidas and other teriyakis a lot. Like Nic said, I too trim off the tendons and sinew from the edges and have found nanny's better than billy's but it's a trade off because there's less.

Shoyu = soy sauce.

This is my favorite way...

That looks mean^. Right in the mountains. Did you put anything on it or just straight smoke?

Thats what I like about this board, For the most part I dont like goat but with all the suggestions and recipes I know something going be good!

salted overnight, then put pepper and a little bit of hair and dirt for good measure. Then smoked with coffee/java plum until the pieces snapped when I bent them.

Shoyu = soy sauce- Oh! thanks for givin me the clue - I learn somethin new everyday, I use shoyu all the time
Right On Evan, That's awwesome, I like the tripod and net- I took a big bug net like that down the trail last year when I whacked those goats and hoped to smoke meat exactly like that, but ended up leaving early and packing it out in jerky salt and spice mix instead - Can't beat real smoke on the mountain- That's way cool. I plan to do that next time I go for goat - you inspired me again.

All of my wild meat is always soaked with Tender Quick and water in one Pakini.It does both tenderizing and removing of the game taste in the meat.The Tender Quick is made by Morton.For 80lbs meat I'll usually use one bag to water filled to top of meat in Pakini.I used to soak meat in Ice water to remove the game out of meat,but with the Tender Quik I can do both.I can fry that goat in one frying pan after I'm done and going be tender and taste great.

Aloha,Robert C.

PS:Andy,will show you process when you get here.

"SOME GO HUNTING,SOME ARE HUNTER'S"

its actually not netting, but an old sheet from a single bed. We burned it before the hike out.

Hogwild: where you get the tenderquick on kauai? That stuff is winners, its the same stuff they use to cure hams and stuff....nitrates

MauiRhino wrote:+1 on what Nic said about trimming all the fat and tendons. That and proper care of the meat after the shot will make all the difference. Cool it down as quick as you can. As for marinades, I like to mix Yoshida's Teriyaki with some brown sugar, ginger, green onion, and garlic........ONO!

Howzit Rhino, Thats an all time favorite recipe right there buddy for goat,sheep,deer etc very good ingredients and the flavor is ONO!!! I also like to soak um in this marinade and eat um raw especially the Axis Deer ho da bugga broke da mouth cuz.

Howzit Bradda Rob,

Tender Quick is some good stuff my Dad used to get that but dont know where or how hmmm gotta ask.

Evbouret,

If doing backcountry hunts where we are in there a couple of days we smoke ours very similar depending how much meat we get
we usually pack in some dry ingredients so we can do a dry rub then smoke. Glad you put up the picture as ive never thought of
taking a picture so others can see and learn. Also we use some Waiawi to smoke as well as its kinda abundant and some dead ohia
that wood last a long time. In the past we used a heavy canvas but old sheets are lighter and easier to make small and store in small pockets etc.

Bradda Andy,

You gotta get ALOHA SHOYU da bestess shoyu n da WORLD

Hey Robert- Cool, I can hardly wait to learn how from you, just a few more weeks.
Just like Nic, and MauaiRhino, and Koa said, same thing up here in AK we also soak meats (and fish sometimes too) just like that with same ingredients, in Yoshidas, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic too- Perfect combo!- we soak it in all that stuff plus some soy sauce (great advice Koa- I'm gonna have to bring back some Aloha Shoyu to AK for sure) I also like to add black pepper and also some molasses- I think the molasses makes it get more sticky than just the brown sugar and the smoke sticks to it better - we let it sit a while to "glaze" before we hit it with the smoke.- if we have less time to do it or if it is rainy outside or the air is more humid that day then we add more salt or soy sauce to the brine or let it soak for longer.
Gettin hungry- gotta go munch now.
aloha,
Andy

Back when I was shooting a lot of goats, my hunting buddies taught me to do this teri goat jerky recipe.

But goat into smokeable portions (1/2 to 1" thick). Then crumple papaya leaves until the juices were flowing and spread out on top meat. I'ld make a layered mound inside the fridge. 30 minutes to an hour, take out. That's plenty enough time. The enzymes of the papaya are a meat tenderizer. Next step was to make your teriyaki marinade.

Mix 1 part sugar with 1 part soy sauce. Heat on stove, stirring until they blend together. Add a touch of sesame oil, some crushed garlic, and green onion. Remove from stove and chill. Once cold, mix meat and marinade let sit in fridge. The longer the better. Mix every so often to ensure they are getting good coverage (I had a tendancy of being conservative with the marinade).

Then I'ld smoke it with guava, java plum, or whatever I could get my hands on. Used to bring it to school and all da boyz would help grind'em during recess. Goat meat so tender, it fell apart in your mouth!

Goat jerky is pretty darn good too. Just wish i had a drier. Too wet up north