# Goat Meat



## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

I am arguing with Ben this morning...he wants to get angoras now! Supposedly they have the tastiest goat meat...according to an angora breeder he talked to :laughcry I told him Nubians are tasty if you actually _eat_ them! Has anyone tasted differnt kinds of goat meat, and noticed any flavor differences? We have only eaten Nubian. A friend of ours says that Boer flames up a lot on their grill, but I have never eaten any Boer. Taste test anyone? Goat meat swap? Kind of like a soap swap :rofl


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## stoneyheightsfarm (Jan 19, 2008)

I've only eaten Nubian, too. A lady I'm getting Boers from says that dairy breeds and crosses taste better than straight meat breeds. (So I'll use our Alpine buck for BoPine meat babies) I've heard that Jersey cattle taste much better than Angus, too, fwiw.


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## stacy adams (Oct 29, 2007)

I'd do it, but we'd just be swapping Nubians.. :really

Some friends of mine that raise Boer were over one evening for supper, we were having goat-roast. I was surprised to find that they had never eaten one of their goats before.. they had never even _had _goat meat before. I would think that Boer would be fattier, I mean, good grief look how big they get them!

Waiting on my sis to do one of her Llamas..


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

most of it would all depend on how old it was and how it was cooked doubt that you will find much difference in the taste of the meat itself. Now I have had boer/MM/ nubian and don't know which is which. do know that the older bucks are tougher and required more fat added to the hamburger


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

Michelle we did those two boers and we LOVE LOVE LOVE the meat. Made meatloaf last night, tasted like meatloaf not goat loaf. I have yet to do the roast. I don't TASTE anything different from boer to nubian to alpine. Now the nupines I had as a kid had a sagey taste, could be cause we raised them in WY :lol. Tam


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

It's the cook not the goat!
L


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

We've had lamancha, nubian and boer. I didn't like any of it. :/


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

It is so funny, but I've met a couple of people who raised boers and I asked them if some silly question like, "how many of them are you going to eat" or something like that, and I swear to God they looked at me like I had suggested they were going to eat there children! They don't sell them for meat and they don't eat them, and with all those fish teats they can't milk them. What the heck do people do with boers any way?


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## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

I've eaten several breeds of goat and the only difference I've noticed depended on the age of the animal. Young goats taste pretty much the same. Older does taste OK, but need to be slow cooked to be tender. Older bucks are best made into sausage with plenty of seasoning. I've never eaten Angoras, but did eat a Boer Cashmere cross.


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## MiaBella Farm (Jul 22, 2008)

Anita Martin said:


> It is so funny, but I've met a couple of people who raised boers and I asked them if some silly question like, "how many of them are you going to eat" or something like that, and I swear to God they looked at me like I had suggested they were going to eat there children! They don't sell them for meat and they don't eat them, and with all those fish teats they can't milk them. What the heck do people do with boers any way?


WE ATE OURS...but before that, we bred them, had some kids, milked the does just for practice and used some of it for soap, bottle fed the babies and grew them out...so we could eat them! Our daughter showed one of them then we sold that one to a guy who ate him...his mom makes a wonderful goat curry...we still have plenty of goat meat left, along with 1/2 a cow and a whole pig!

I thought that was their purpose :/


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## Bernice (Apr 2, 2009)

Considering I raise mainly Alpines, the only meat therefore we tried was Alpine. we had a doe several yrs ago that was a free martin, we sent her to get processed. Like Lee said, it's the cook, not so much the meat. I liked the goat burger but didn't care for the roasts.


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

I only eat Boers or Boer/cross as I wont eat a LM or any breed of a doe  , I like big Brats size links and we always have to add bacon fat . Our kids that are spring born eat mostly grass and brouse until fall and what has not sold is butchered. I hope to have alot of % Boers this year


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## Dana (Dec 7, 2009)

I thought about getting into meat goats to add to our farm. But I wanted to know what they tasted like before I did the whole adventure. Well, everyone I talked to that raised Boer didn't eat them! Same scenario as what others of you said. Crazy if you ask me. How can you believe in a product your selling without knowing about it! 

Anyway, I decided I'm too emotional to raise 'em for meat. I think I could buy and cook it tho. Maybe.


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

Dana, We dont do our own butchering as we take them to a processor and just pick them up in packages  , however we have had them made into burger meat and then we mix and season and put the meat into sausage casings and made our own sausage . It's good !


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## wheytogosaanens (Oct 26, 2007)

We raise Boers and we eat them! They are delicious. I would rather eat Boer over Dairy goat 8 days a week. Really.

Boer is rather low fat - we have to add olive oil to the pan when we brown the ground meat. Love the ground meat with any kind of spices - burrito, fajita, curry, asian - any kind of ethnic food is much better with goat meat than with ground beef, IMO. And this coming from a real Beef girl. (I would still rather eat a nice Porterhouse steak! LOL).

Didn't care much for dairy wethers. A little gamey tasting. Boer is more like eating Elk - mmmmm. 

Camille
P.S> We (DD) also have processed the hide into some incredible leather. She made great moccasins. Our Boers make good milkers besides (no fish teats here!), but since we have Saanens, we just let their fat chunky kids eat all that milk!


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## stacy adams (Oct 29, 2007)

I remember the first wether we had decided was headed for the freezer. We named him taco, just so everyone would know. He was a cute kid, pretty color and left on his dam. I knew where he was headed, but was fearful that when the day came, I'd chicken out. Then one day, he was about 8 months old and while he had been disbudded (back before we got our own iron) he had a nice set of horns, I saw him go after one of the milkers that wasn't letting him at the hay. He used his horns on her backside and almost lifted her up off her feet! he could easily have torn her udder open and that was it.. Off he went!
We enjoyed the sausage, the ground meat and we could honestly say some nights that we were having Taco for dinner.. :sigh


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

I have a processor do my goats also I could butcher them but I can't kill them myself. The last couple of years I had all mine just milk fed and had them butchered at 8 to 10 wks yummy they were quartered .


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## stacy adams (Oct 29, 2007)

How do you cook 'em when quartered?


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

BBQ


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## stacy adams (Oct 29, 2007)

For a moment there, I envisioned Sondra and Rod outside around a little fire with a kid on a spit... :rofl


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

You can also smoke house a quarter...YUM!


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## stacy adams (Oct 29, 2007)

YUMM!! this has got me to thinking. Maybe we should have a STICKY with favorite recipes for goat meat !? dance:


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

I have eaten many a goat and it's all good. I agree it is a cooking issue when it comes to taste and a management issue as well. I send them off before they are a year old and I wether each male. The castration makes a difference in how they grow and put on weight and in how the meat tastes. I do not eat old animals, I did have one totally ground into burger who was older, but the meat was also tougher. I am raising some Boers and Boer/Nubian crosses for the first time this year for the meat market. There is a growing niche market for high quality meat animals, particularly here in the urban areas of VA. A week doesn't go by when someone dose not call me about meat. I'll know more on the profitability at the end of the year. Jennifer


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

That would be great, I'd love to find a way for it to be edible. I'd also like a button you push that makes them go from alive to a skinned carcass.


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## mill-valley (Feb 22, 2008)

:rofl

I agree Ashley. I have no problem cutting/skinning a dead animal, it's the killing part I can't do. And for the meat yield it's not really worth paying a slaughterhouse.


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

I agree with Beth. Its just too expensive. I like to tell the animal that I am sorry for what I am about to do and I also thank them for the life their meat gives my family. Call me strange but thats how I do it and was raised to do it.
Tam


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## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

The only goat we ate was a Nubian wether that kept slamming his dam to the ground...so at about 2 yrs old he went bye-bye- we were surpised to get about 62 percent from him, had heard goats were low meat weights. We got two lovely big leg roasts (slow cooked with lemon & onion in the oven, then finished with sop on the grill- yum), but best of all we got 45 lbs of fantastic bratwurst. They did have to add some pork fat. He was a tasy goat, but not fatty at all. We like venison, too.
Now I never raise my own for butcher, it costs me more to raise them than they are worth unless we process them ourselves. Maybe this year, as I have a neighbor that would take meat in exchange for processing. You wouldn't believe the kill fees here! and they charge you by the lb and keep 1/3 of your meat, too.


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

I don't think that's strange at all Tammy. At least you are able to do it lol.


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

They keep a third of your meat!?


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## Dana (Dec 7, 2009)

So it sounds like the meat is good, leaner than beef, and better if it's from younger goats. 

Should the bucklings be castrated? I'm thinking if they are 8-10 months old when butchered it probably doesn't matter. Just wondering if anyone noticed a difference. 

Here in Michigan we have a huge Muslim population in Dearborn and I see middle eastern people at local auctions buying goats. Does anyone else have a big market for goat meat? Do you just advertise in the paper? I'm not sure where I'd even find goat meat, I don't think Meijer carries it.


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## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

Here at least the Muslim/ethnic buyers want them uncastrated and usually with horns, which I will never do again! My boys are in rut and breeding does by the time they are 5-6 months old...so I don't know.

They keep 1/3 of your meat to sell in the shop, they are a USDA facility, so they can. Most of the smaller shops, and traveling processors, won't do goats. $35 kill fee, plus $0.65 per lb, plus extra for hanging or sausages or smoking.


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## stacy adams (Oct 29, 2007)

Well, dont that beat all!! :mad We've had a few processed & even a steer and couldn't figure why it didn't look like we were getting it all back.. don't they have to tell you?


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

I must have it made. My butcher charges a flat rate of $60 per goat : slaughter,cut,wrap & freeze. He even makes the goat burger and sausage for me. Not USDA, but he's clean and he's good. Jennifer


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## wheytogosaanens (Oct 26, 2007)

The butchers around here charge $70.00-$90.00 for kill, cut, and wrap. USDA butcher charges more (but then legal to sell cuts). We do butcher our own, but if someone purchases a goat to eat, we let the butcher cut and wrap theirs. If we want summer sausage then we use the butcher. Goat makes awesome summer sausage. It is so good that a Gentleman trades fresh caught Alaskan salmon (cut and wrapped and frozen) for our summer sausage. Works for me!


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## stoneyheightsfarm (Jan 19, 2008)

Wow... I thought $50 was high! Of course if I castrate, I can grow them out and get more meat on them to make it worth it. This year, I just traded meat for processing which worked out well, too.


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

I want salmon! You NW guys have the best barters! I can barter cheese.  Jennifer


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## mill-valley (Feb 22, 2008)

No kiddin'!! I'd take the salmon too!


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

I'd rather trade for Steelhead Camille :biggrin.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

mmmmmmmmmmmmm me too-offer me fish!


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