Goat - for Americans, it's the new red meat

Nancy Barlass, one of a growing number of goat ranchers in Sonoma County, is the first to admit that her goat meat isn’t exactly an easy sell.

“I’ve donated it to barbecues,” she said. “Everybody loved it ... until they found out what it was.”

What a shame. Because in the rest of the world, goat is regarded as a delicacy.

“It is the second best-selling red meat in Europe and South America,” said Roger Praplan, chef/owner of La Gare restaurant in Santa Rosa. “The meat is sweeter, because they (goats) can eat a lot of things. They love raspberry and blackberry bushes.”

In India, curry is made with goat rather than lamb. Curried goat is one of the national dishes of Jamaica. And immigrants from Mexico have imported a taste for their beloved birria stew to the United States.

According to an article in Newsweek magazine last August, the number of U.S. meat goats is on the rise, up 25 percent since 2005. Part of the animals’ appeal is that its meat has less cholesterol and saturated fat than beef or pork and is easier on the land.

“We’re trying to let people know that it’s healthy for you,” Barlass said. “Goats are better for the land than sheep ... and they are not heavy like cows.”

At her ranch in Petaluma, Barlass cares for 90-some Boer goats like they were her own children, naming each one, holding the babies in her arms and treating them like family pets.

“Boers are bred to have babies and maintain their babies, and they have wonderful temperaments,” she said. “I call them the Black Labs of the goat world.”

Barlass started raising Boer goats eight years ago at the advice of her uncle, who is in the international feed business.

“In 1993, a Texas cattleman brought the Boer goats into the country,” Barlass said. “Now, Texas has a lot of restaurants that serve goat meat.”

A male Boer goat can reach upwards of 400 pounds, growing by a half-pound to a pound a day. That makes them an ideal meat goat, along with a few other breeds like La Mancha from Spain and Kiko from New Zealand.

“Only a couple (of breeds) stand out for their quantity and quality,” Barlass explained. “It’s like beef, where the Angus and Herefords are bred for their meat.”

With the help of other goat growers such as Paul Lewis of Petaluma, Barlass is waging a quiet but persistent campaign to bring goat into local restaurants.

Through the Sonoma County Meat Buying Club (SCMBC), Barlass has already supplied goat meat to adventurous consumers all over Sonoma County. Those who tried it discovered they liked it.

“Some people were very open to it,” said Jacqueline Rotlisberger, SCMBC program representative for the UC Cooperative Extension. “And some people handed it back to us. But more people are becoming interested in it.”

Goat meat offers about the same caloric value as chicken and less than half the calories of beef per serving.

“We call it the other red meat,” Barlass said. “What’s the difference between lamb and goat? It’s perception.”

Consumers often prefer the mild flavor of goat to the gamey flavor of lamb. When roasted slowly, goat can be extremely tender and flavorful, like a cross between pork and beef.

“The flavor is a little richer than lamb, and a little sweeter,” Rotlisberger said. “It’s all about how you cook it.”

Lise and Vincent Ciolino of Healdsburg received ground goat meat in one of their

SCMBC’s shipment last year. Once they got over their initial hesitation, they were quite impressed.

“Vincent decided to make a shepherd’s pie with it,” Lise Ciolino said. “It has a richness of flavor, akin to a rabbit or a lamb, but not as gamey. We just loved it.”

The key to cooking goat is to use low and slow heat, and to cook it in liquid.

“I’ve cooked roasts in my crockpot,” Rotlisberger said. “You slow-cook it, and it stays moist.”

Goat rancher Francisco Montes also raises Boer goats at his Mossy Oaks Ranch on Porter Creek Road in Santa Rosa. He sells mostly to local meat markets and carnicerias.

“It’s a lean meat, and it’s healthy,” he said. “It’s very popular in other parts of the world, and here in California, we’re a melting pot of people.”

At La Gare in Santa Rosa, Praplan occasionally offers goat on the restaurant’s menu. He braises the stew meat with coconut milk, then throws in fruit such as bananas and apples at the end, for a French-style Goat Curry Stew.

“The French went to Vietnam, and they brought it back as an exotic dish,” he said. “You can put cilantro and hot chiles in it, too.”

With tender cuts like loin chops, Praplan will carefully grill the meat to medium rare, then serve it with a sauce. Or he will sear rib chops from a rack of goat, coat them with Dijon mustard and herbed breadcrumbs and finish them off in the oven.

For his wedding, Praplan grilled a whole goat on a rotisserie. “Everybody ate it ... They loved it,” he said. “It’s excellent with roasted garlic and herbs.”

With the help of Bud’s Custom Meats in Cotati, Barlass has started making two kinds of goat sausage: a breakfast sausage, which she likes to fry up with eggs; and a summer sausage, which she slices into sandwiches.

“We add a tad bit of pork to it to help it come together,” she said of the sausages, which can be ordered through her Web site, barlasboergoats.com.

The Sonoma County Meat Buying Club brings various cuts of goat meat to their pick-up points once a month. Those who want to try the meat can show up and buy a small amount, even if they don’t belong to the club.

“We bring ground goat, goat roast, goat chops and goat stew meat,” Rotlisberger said. “The stew meat and the ground goat are the most popular.”

For dates and addresses of the pick-up sites, go to ucanr.org/SoCoMBC. Goat can also be ordered from Hagemann’s Meat Co. and is sold at Lola’s Market, both of Santa Rosa.

The following recipes are from chef Roger Praplan of La Gare restaurant in Santa Rosa. He suggests serving this curry stew with rice.

Goat Curry Stew

Makes 2-3 servings

1pound goat stew meat cut, into 2-inch cubes

—Salt and white pepper

2tablespoons of all-purpose flour

2tablespoons of your favorite curry mix

1carrot, peeled

1potato, peeled

1stalk of celery

1small yellow onion chopped

2cloves of garlic

3tablespoons vegetable oil

1cup of coconut milk

2cups of chicken stock (can substitute lamb or vegetable stock)

1tablespoon of raisins

½banana, cubed

½apple, diced with skin (preferably Gravenstein)

Roasted coconut, optional, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the curry powder and flour together. Season the goat stew meat with salt and white pepper and then dredge into the curry flour mix.

Cut up vegetables in the same size as the meat.

Heat a casserole with 3 tablespoons of oil and brown the meat, about 2 minutes. Remove the meat to a plate with a slotted spoon and add the vegetables to the pan. Add coconut milk, heat to boil, return meat to the mixture. Add 2 cups of chicken stock and bring back to boil. Cover and bake in the oven for approximately 1 hour. Ten minutes before serving, add the raisins, bananas and diced apples to give it a sweet taste different than a spicy curry. Garnish with roasted coconut.

Rack of Goat

Makes 2 servings

1rack of goat (16-20 ounces)

—Salt and white pepper

2tablespoons oil

2tablespoons of Dijon mustard

For herbed breadcrumbs Provencal:

1cup of bread crumbs

½teaspoon salt and white pepper

½teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or powder

1tablespoon chopped parsley

½teaspoon chopped garlic

½teaspoon chopped shallots

—Splash extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and season both sides of the rack of goat with salt and pepper. Heat a sautee pan and sear, fat side down.

Meanwhile, mix all the herbed breadcrumb ingredients together and bind with a little olive oil.

Roast the goat in the oven for about 10 minutes and then turn over. Spread the goat liberally with the Dijon mustard and roll the goat in the crumb mixture, pressing it into the mustard. Continue cooking another 10-15 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 115 for medium-rare. Total cooking time for medium-rare is 25-30 minutes. Slice into individual rib chops and serve.

You can reach Staff Writer Diane Peterson at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com.