Goat recipes | All Things Sicilian and more

I am writing about kid, not goat. Unlike goat, there was very little fat and the meat did not exude that characteristic, heavy smell of game that is present when cutting goat and mutton.

Capretto, Italians call it and it is a meat that is not cooked regularly, but is often cooked on special occasions. I bought it from an Italian butcher. I went in to buy some pork sausages but when I saw what the Italian customers that were lining up at the counter were all buying, I did the same. I bought capretto.

The Italian word for goat is capra and like mutton, goat is not generally eaten in Italy.

I marinaded it overnight with extra virgin olive oil, red wine, fennel seeds, bay leaves, rosemary, onion and sage. As you can see in the photo there is plenty of marinade; I wanted the meat to be quite well covered and intended to use the marinade in the cooking.

Nothing is wasted, the herbs are discarded and replaced with fresh herbs. This is because I have herbs growing on my balcony and I can afford to do this. I added garlic when i ws ready to cook the meat.

The important thing to do in this recipe is to cook the usual soffritto base that is omnipresent in Italian cooking – onion, carrot and celery – in extra virgin olive oil and make sure that the soffritto vegetables are caramilised before combining it with the drained marinaded meat.The meat does not need to be browned before hand making the cooking process easier and quicker. I have a cast iron baking pan that is very convenient for putting directly onto the stove.

The soffritto took about 15 minutes to soften and caramilise the vegetables ad this process adds a much enriched flavour to the dish. A dash of passata or some peeled red tomatoes also adds to the taste and colour to the braise.

Once you have drained the meat and removed the old herbs use the marinade to the capretto. Add fresh herbs and some stock. As you can see in the photo there is enough liquid to almost cover the meat.

Cover the pan with some foil or a lid and leave it to cook in a slow oven. Mine was set at 170C degrees and because I have two similar baking trays the spare one made a good lid.

Remove the foil after an hour. Move the meat around and add more broth or water and cook it uncovered until the meat is separated from the bones. I baked mine for about two hours without the foil, but made sure that if I needed to add more liquid, I had some stock to use.

The results were delicious. The vegetables almost melted, the meat was easily detached from the bone, it smelled great and tasted even better. And yes, it was a special meal.

I presented it with baked potatoes and braised endives sautéed with anchovies.

The kid weighed 2 kilos. as you can see there was very little fat.

This is not the first time I have cooked capretto – kid/goat

BRAISED KID (capretto) in a simple marinade of red wine, extra virgin olive oil and herbs

RICETTE per capretto (e capra); Recipes for slow cooked kid and goat

RAGU` DI CAPRETTO; Goat/ kid ragout as a dressing for pasta

SPEZZATINO DI CAPRETTO (Italian Goat/ Kid stew)

KID/GOAT WITH ALMONDS (SPRING IN SICILY, CAPRETTO CON LE MANDORLE)

SLOW COOKED LEG OF GOAT WITH HOT MINT SAUCE

SICILIAN SEAFOOD COOKING, ITALIANICIOUS and READER’S FEAST Bookstore. Recipe for Slow cooked goat in Nero D’Avola

Here is another recipe to add to the collection of: RICETTE per capretto (e capra) – Recipes for slow cooked kid and goat. Perfect for any occasion but especially at Easter and New Year.

Slow Cooked Goat with Mushrooms

Slow Cooked Goat with Mushrooms is a rich, slow-braised ragù inspired by Sicily, where Marsala is not reserved only for desserts but is also used to add depth and fragrance to savoury dishes.

Many Italian goat stews are cooked with red or white wine, but in western Sicily it is not unusual to cook meat with Marsala, the island’s famous fortified wine. For this recipe I used Marsala Fine (semi-secco) both to marinate the meat overnight and to enrich the braising liquid.

The finished slow cooked ragù was served with fresh egg pappardelle, whose broad ribbons are perfect for capturing every spoonful of the rich sauce.

Fresh pappardelle dressed with slow-cooked goat and mushroom ragù, finished with Pecorino and fresh mint

Marsala

One of the distinctive Sicilian touches in this dish is the generous use of Marsala, the island’s famous fortified wine. Outside Sicily, goat is more commonly braised with red or white wine, but Marsala has long been used in Sicilian kitchens to enrich both sweet and savoury dishes. In this recipe, I use Marsala Fine (semi-secco) to marinate the goat overnight and again during the slow braise. As it cooks, the wine loses its alcoholic edge, leaving behind a subtle sweetness and remarkable depth of flavour that beautifully complements the richness of the goat and the earthiness of the mushrooms.

Choosing the Meat

I bought a leg and shoulder labelled capretto, the Italian word for kid goat. Traditionally, capretto refers to a young, milk-fed animal prized for its delicate flavour. Judging by the size of these cuts, however, I suspect this was from a more mature goat (capra), which is no disadvantage for a slow-cooked dish. Older goat develops a fuller flavour and becomes wonderfully tender when gently braised for several hours.

The Overnight Marinade

The flavour begins the night before.

I cut most of the meat from the bones, but left the bones in the marinade. They release valuable flavour during the slow cooking and enrich the finished ragù.

The marinade consisted of:

Marsala Fine (semi-secco)
Extra virgin olive oil
Bay leaves
Rosemary
Cloves

To these classic Sicilian flavours I added sage and nepitella (calamint), these herbs more commonly associated with central and northern Italy, but ones that work beautifully with goat.

Below is the photo of the marinade:

Goat marinating overnight in Marsala, herbs and extra virgin olive oil.

I cut most of the meat off the bone but kept the bones in with the meat to marinade overnight.

Building the Ragù

The following day, drain the meat, reserving the marinade.

Brown the goat and bones in batches in extra virgin olive oil until well coloured.

don’t overcrowd the pan, brown meat a few pieces at the time

Removing the meat between batches ensures it browns rather than steams.

In the same pan prepare a soffritto of finely chopped onion, carrot and celery.

The soffritto- onions, carrots and celery

Cook the onion first until softened, then add the carrot and celery and continue sautéing until fragrant.

Return the meat and bones to the pan.

Return all the browned meat to the saucepan

Pour over the reserved marinade, add the herbs, season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then add enough good-quality meat stock to almost cover the meat. I also added another splash of Marsala for extra richness.