EDIBLE SUSTAINABILITY THE BUCK STOPS HERE

Goat meat is growing in popularity, but why are so many Americans still afraid of it?

BY LAUREL MILLER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL TROUTMAN

Love or hate them, most people have strong feelings about goats. It’s unsurprising, then, that eating goat is also controversial, at least for Americans. Goat is the most widely consumed meat worldwide—the lean, delicious, low cholesterol, red protein is popular in Africa, the Middle East, Mexico and the Caribbean, as well as parts of Asia, Europe, and Central and South America.

Some goat-based ethnic dishes, such as Mexican birria and Jamaican goat curry, are so iconic they’ve transcended borders. Others, like Jordanian mansaf (goat braised with spices and yogurt) and Portuguese chanfana (goat stewed and served in a clay pot) are virtually unknown outside of their native countries, despite their status as the national dish.

Why, then, has goat meat has never gained traction in the United States? It wasn’t uncommon in colonial America, as settlers relied upon what they could grow or raise; goats were an economical, easy-keeping source of not just meat but also milk, fiber and leather.

However, whether due to colonialism or the common misperception that the meat is rank or tough, goat fell out of favor while beef, pork and poultry became the forces behind the American meat industry.

Yet, over the last two decades, domestic goat consumption has increased, making the meat relatively easy to find at ethnic markets, restaurants and butcher shops—a trajectory that parallels immigration patterns. According to the USDA, the goat meat industry is “one of the fastest growing segments of livestock production in the United States… the rise in popularity and demand…reflects an increase in [specific ethnic] populations.”

For a growing number of boutique goat producers like Turning Leaf Ranch in Salinas, there’s demand not just from ethnic communities but also from chefs and consumers desiring a more sustainable meat source. Goats are low-impact browsers that disperse plant seeds in their manure, which acts as fertilizer; also, their appetite for brush makes them highly efficient at mitigating fire danger. Further, goats thrive on agricultural land not well-suited for other livestock or crop production, which is why the hot, rocky Texas Hill Country is the nation’s epicenter of goat meat production. Even so, a Texas A&M study states that 30% of the goat meat sold in the U.S. is imported from Australia and New Zealand.

“To be honest, I’d never tasted goat until I raised my own,” says Brian Palmer, co-owner of Turning Leaf along with business partner Jacob Flanagan. Palmer grew up on a rabbit meat operation in Chowchilla and added several dozen caprines to Turning Leaf’s sheep production after learning there is a “massively underserved” domestic and local market for goat meat.

“You can’t just go to Safeway for goat meat,” he says. “And what you typically find in ethnic markets has been raised on grain, concentrates and feed supplements which increase fat and growth rates, which negatively affect the flavor.”

Meat goats are leaner and more muscular than dairy goats, although there are some dual-purpose breeds like the Nubian. The South African Boer goat is considered the premier meat breed, but Spanish, kiko and myotonic goats are also popular. Palmer’s small hormone-and-antibiotic-free herd consists of primarily Boer-dairy crosses. To supplement the farm’s breeding program, he sources male baby goats, known as bucklings, from Monterey and San Benito County dairies and cheesemakers (see sidebar top right).

Turning Leaf practices mob, or high intensity grazing, which means the animals are kept in a mobile paddock that Palmer moves twice a day with a tractor. This form of high-density rotational grazing—on the farm’s five acres of chemical-free pasture—is beneficial for various reasons, says Palmer. The short time frame allows the pasture to reset and have a long recovery period and prevents the animals from becoming too picky about forage and thus allowing fewer desirable plants to take over. The density of livestock also means that the goats trample a sizable percentage of forage onto the ground, which reduces moisture loss, increases soil biological activity and enables new plants to growth even when there’s little rainfall. The herd’s diet is supplemented with hay from June through December when there is less forage.“Goat meat is clean, mild and slightly sweet,

The Dl On Dairy Goats

Edible Monterey Bay reached out to several local goat dairies for this story, and they declined to comment.

“If you eat goat cheese, you have a moral imperative to eat goat meat occasionally,” says sustainable food systems advocate and former chef James Whetlor. The United Kingdom-based author of Goat: Cooking and Eating (Quadrille Publishing) is also the founder of Cabrito, an “ethical meat company on a mission to put all the billy goats born into the U.K. dairy system back into the food chain.” with a hint of umami. It’s not as earthy as lamb,” says Palmer. “It’s an honor to deliver our goat meat to customers.”

Because they don’t produce milk, dairies must find an outlet for bucklings (known as wethers if castrated). They are most frequently sold as cabrito, but may also be used for breeding stock, pets or brush clearance. By consuming locally raised goat, as Whetlor points out, you’re supporting your foodshed and helping make the dairy and cheese industries more sustainable and profitable.

Recipes and more information can be found on goatober.com—an international campaign uniting dairies, farmers, chefs, nonprofits and consumers to help end food waste in the goat dairy system.

The stereotypical “goaty” aroma or flavor most people (often falsely) associate with goat products is the result of short-chain fatty acids. The profile of these acids varies, depending upon the season, and the goat’s sex (there’s debate as to whether castration helps mitigate these factors), age and diet. The scent is concentrated in the fat, thus the younger and leaner the animal, the more tender and milder the meat.

Because goat is so lean, it’s imperative to cook it properly, usually with “low and slow” methods like braising or stewing for cuts like leg, shank and neck; adding acidic components like wine, tomato or yogurt further tenderizes the meat. Loin chops are ideal for grilling, while suckling goats less than 12 weeks of age—known as cabrito—are typically roasted, grilled or cooked in a pit.

“If you’ve never had goat, try it from a chef that knows how to prepare it properly,” says Adam Afaneh, lead line cook at Jack O’Neill Restaurant in Santa Cruz. “Once you’ve experienced how flavorful the meat is, there’s no going back.”

Afaneh, who was born in Jordan to Jordanian and Palestinian parents, says eating goat resonates with him due to his heritage. Although he moved to the U.S. as a toddler, Afaneh spent every other summer in Jordan on a relative’s olive farm, where goat was a frequent addition to the dinner table.

“Most Jordanians purchase a live goat from a local shepherd and take it to a halal butcher, or they buy the meat at the butcher shop,” he says. “It’s important within Arabic culture that livestock are raised and slaughtered humanely.”

Palmer has his goats slaughtered at a small USDA facility in Paso Robles when they reach one-and-a-half to two years of age and are between 130 and 170 pounds. “We have a lot of strikes against us as far as turning a profit because we choose to grow our animals slowly,” he says, adding that the resulting meat is worth the wait. “We dry-age it for three days to condense the flavors and tenderize it, and I think that’s what really sets our meat apart and makes it special.”

Turning Leaf primarily sells packaged meat direct to consumers— what Palmer calls “farm to family” marketing. He also sells cabrito, whole, mature animals and live goats, which are often slaughtered onsite, a common cultural practice for many in the Hispanic community.

“Whenever I tell my family in Mexico I’m coming to visit, they always respond, ‘I’ll get a goat ready,’” says Jalisco-born Gino Ramos, banquet chef at The Lodge at Pebble Beach. “It’s very much a part of Mexican culture to cook cabrito for celebrations.”

Like Afaneh, goats are part of Ramos’ cultural and culinary identity. His family raised goats and his relatives from Oaxaca and Zacatecas marinated cabrito in a fragrant paste of chiles, herbs and vinegar before wrapping it in leathery agave leaves for pit-roasting. Ramos’ family also made goat cheese and dishes like machito, goat stomach stuffed with boiled goat blood sausage, aromatics and vegetables, and goat soup with avocado leaves and hoja santa. “I think people will be surprised when they try goat,” he says. “Don’t be afraid of it.”

For Palmer, his admiration for caprines—and appreciation for their culinary diversity—has only grown over the years. “There’s just something about goats,” he says. “This facet of our farm keeps evolving and growing…I can’t not do it.”

Laurel Miller is a food, spirits, travel and design writer and the special issues editor of Edible Aspen. She grew up raising dairy goats on her family’s California ranch, and is a former cheesemonger and the author of Cheese for Dummies. She recently relocated from Austin back to her native California to be closer to the best burritos on earth.

Getting Your Goat

For the best flavor and freshest meat, it’s worth purchasing at the farmers market, says Palmer. If you’re looking for suckling goat, you’ll likely need to order it well in advance, regardless of retail outlet.

Turning Leaf Ranch: Whole and suckling goat and packaged meat for pickup or delivery in the tri-county region. turningleafranch.com

Master Butcher Fresh Halal Meat & Kitchen: In addition to selling whole and half suckling goat and various cuts, you’ll find prepared foods like goat kebabs, BBQ chops and goat curry.

1111 W. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, 408-746-5040 masterbutcher.us

Jubba Somali Restaurant: Roasted goat is a signature dish at this