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When Chris Cartwright of Farmer Joe’s Meats bought a property in Murrabit, Victoria one hour southeast of Swan Hill, he did not intend to become a goat farmer. Originally a dairy and beef cattle producer, he shifted to goat production four years ago when the land he purchased came with goats. “I didn’t know what I was going to do with them,” he explains, “but I kept them and liked them.”
Goat meat, often known as kid, has not enjoyed as much popularity in Australia as it has in Africa, South America, Asia and parts of southern Europe. It has had an unfortunate and unfair reputation for being gamey and tough, and until recently, kid has been a delicacy restricted to those migrant communities that know how to do it justice. It was in a small Sicilian restaurant in Melbourne that I first encountered young kid slow-cooked with nothing more than some woody herbs and a light broth. The result was subtly and extraordinarily tender meat that fell off the bone when poked gently with a spoon.
Cheeky and robust animals, goats are notoriously clever which means they can be delightful to work with but also very tricky to keep fenced in. Now managing a herd of 2500, Chris is engaged in a constant battle to keep one step ahead of his animals. He is humble in crediting the goats with changing his production methods and even saving his business during a crisis period. “They taught us that we don’t need to use chemicals and fertilisers like we used to,” he says. “It was a natural progression that happened when we were in drought. The goats pretty much saved our skin. It was a financial decision not to use the chemicals and fertilisers, but it had no effect on the goats, and they still found a lot of food to eat naturally.” The willingness to observe and, most importantly, to learn from his animals has become a valuable lesson for him in farming more sustainably.
As Chris discovered, goats are great fossickers and grazers: “They don’t just want lush grass. They’re happy to eat something a bit woody like thistles and burrs. They mix their diet up. If you watch them throughout the day, they eat a variety of plants, nuts, whatever they can find.” Though Chris still has a weed problem on his farm, the goats are pitching in to help out: “The goats are doing a pretty good job at getting rid of the weeds. They quite enjoy them when they’re young because they’re juicy and full of sugar. Goats are very versatile, and that suits our environment.”
During the debate that raged around the release of the Murray Darling Basin Authority's draft plan, experts argued that science should dictate how we manage our water and rivers. Unfortunately scientific experts in agriculture and resource management have lost sight of the question of food (as opposed to commodities) and given little thought to what we should be growing and eating in this country, particularly for farms such as Chris’s which is a long stone’s throw from the redgum-lined reaches of the Murray River. Rather than putting our efforts into developing more efficient irrigation systems, it seems like a no-brainer to encourage farming practices along important waterways that produce food more appropriate to the environment – in this case, livestock that enjoys hot and dry conditions, loves to eat weeds and requires very little water or chemical inputs as a result.
The best thing about goats is not only how well suited they are to the Australian landscape, but also the quality of the meat. Good quality goat has not always been easy to find in Australia. Until a few years ago, the meat sometimes came from older animals. Nobody likes a smelly, old goat. “But at four to six months,” Chris explains, “their meat has a totally different texture. They’ve no smell, and they’re quite tender. Good quality meat is a bit more accessible these days so it’s easier for chefs to sell it. Once people get over their perception of goats and taste the meat, they really enjoy it.”
Aside from being intelligent, goats are also productive as there is little wastage once they are butchered. The flesh is as lean as skinless chicken but contains as much protein and iron as red meat, making it a very healthy option. Capretto, a milk-fed youngster up to 10 weeks old, has a milder flavour than chevon which is up to a year old. The type of goat will also influence the flavour. Rangeland goats have evolved from the original herds brought over by the first fleet of settlers in 1788. Having escaped into the wild as goats are wont to do, they are so adapted to local conditions that they bear little resemblance to breeds outside Australia.
Until recently, the goat industry has engaged in the opportunistic harvesting of animals roaming pastoral properties across the country. This is great for controlling feral goat populations, but less than ideal from a quality perspective. The industry is now moving towards the Boer goat, a South African breed introduced to Australia in 1993. Managed production has allowed for a more premium product than opportunistic harvesting, and the few goat producers I’ve found at farmers markets are breeding Boers.
Chris has been selling at farmers markets for about two years which he says has forced him to learn how to cook because he is inundated with questions from curious shoppers such as myself uninitiated in the art of preparing goat. From week to week, he experiments with his butcher by having the meat cut differently to see how it responds to various cooking styles. A versatile meat that can be stewed, curried, roasted, barbequed or dried, the leanness of kid responds very nicely to slow, moist braises. A whole shoulder can take four to five hours of gentle cooking on a relatively low heat. Because I’m not cooking for a family, I’ve been playing with the more manageable shanks. Here are a few recipes I’ve come up with in my experimentations.
Braised goat with borlotti beans
This recipe is very flexible so feel free to substitute potatoes for beans, red wine for white and anything else that strikes your fancy. The important thing is to keep the meat covered with moisture so it remains tender.
4 goat shanks
1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
small leek, finely sliced
small onion, diced
1 celery stalk, sliced
1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
small bunch of sage, coarsely chopped
15 grams dried chanterelles (or other dried or fresh wild mushrooms)
bay leaf
1½ cup of white wine
2-3 cups of chicken stock (veal is even better, but I rarely have it on hand)
1 tin of tomatoes (preferably Romanella)
small bunch of Tuscan kale, stem removed and leaves chopped
1 cup of dry borlotti beans, soaked overnight
Season meat with salt, paprika and pepper, and allow to stand at room temperature for an hour or so. Preheat oven to 150C. Brown the goat on all sides in a heavy casserole. Set aside, and deglaze with a touch of white wine or stock. Next add the onion, leek, celery, sage and garlic and sauté. Deglaze again with the remaining wine, add the dried mushrooms, and reduce. Add the soaked beans and bay leaf. Place the shanks on top of the beans, and pour in chicken stock until meat is almost covered. Cover with a paper lid. After about 3 hours, add the chopped kale to the cooking liquid and cook for another 30-45 minutes. After 3-4 hours of cooking, the meat should be so tender that it barely clings to the bone. Serve the shanks on top of the beans and vegetables. The liquidy broth can be soaked up with a good quality bread.
Lemon-marinated goat with sukuma wiki
Having recently bonded over goat with a Kenyan friend (goat is much loved across most of Africa), I decided to try my hand at serving it with a traditional Kenyan dish, sukuma wiki, which literally means “stretch the week” as it extends meat dishes into something more substantial. A truly Kenyan dish would involve seasoning the meat with spices rather than herbs, but I’ve exercised culinary licence here as I wanted the flavour of the goat to express itself with minimal interference and sit up nicely against the fragrant piquancy of the kale.
4 goat shanks
1 ½-2 cups of chicken stock (depending on the size of your pot)
3/4 cup of white wine
Several stems of thyme and oregano, leaves removed
Juice of two lemons
1 extra lemon, sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Bash the garlic, herbs, salt and pepper together in a mortar and pestle. Mix together with lemon juice and enough olive oil to make at least a half-cup of marinade. Cover meat in marinate, and leave for at least 24 hours (and up to 3 days).
Bring the meat to room temperature. Lay the shanks in a heavy casserole (and pour in the marinade). Add extra garlic if desired. Place a few lemon slices over the meat. Pour in wine and stock (enough to reach halfway up the shanks), and cover with a lid. Cook at around 130C for 4 hours. When the meat is cooked, remove the lemon slices. Collect at least a cup of the lemony cooking broth which will be used for the sukuma wiki.
Sukuma wiki
2 bunches of Tuscan kale, stem removed and roughly chopped
1 small onion, finely diced
1 cup of tomato, deseeded and chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh coriander root, finely chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 fresh green chilli (seeds removed, depending on how much heat you like)
1 dried red chilli (seeds removed)
1 cup of chicken stock
1 cup of cooking broth from the goat
Handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Sauté the onions, garlic, chilli and coriander root together until transparent. Add tomatoes, and cook until soft. In a separate pot, bring the stock and cooking liquid to the boil. Add the chopped kale, and stir through the liquid as it cooks. When the kale is no longer chewy, add it to the tomato/onion mix. Continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season, and stir through chopped coriander. Pull the meat off the bone, and mix with the kale along with more cooking broth if desired. Garnish with more coriander, and serve.
Bon appétit.
Victorian goat producers
Farmer Joe’s Farm Fresh Meats (available at farmers markets)
2298 Kerang Road, Murrabit
farmerjoes@bigpond.com
2V Boer Goats (available at farmers markets)
820 Riddell Road, Sunbury
www.2vboergoats.com.au
Seven Hills Tallarook (available at butchers and restaurants)
235 Schoolhouse Lane, Tallarook
http://www.sevenhillstallarook.com.au
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