# What does goat taste like?



## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

I'm not sure I could ever try one but either way what does goat meat taste like?


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

similar to venison.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

but not gamey.


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## 8566 (Jul 18, 2012)

chicken .... sorry couldn't resist. ::

what they said yum


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

If you can eat deer, you can eat goat. I've heard it's much more tender.


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

LilBleatsFarm said:


> chicken .... sorry couldn't resist. ::
> 
> what they said yum


 When people say that I think why not eat a chicken then lol..


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

I hunt and do eat deer meat but I have to say I don't like the gamey taste so I do my best to season that taste out lol..


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

my husband doesn't like venison and he doesn't like goat meat either, even a young 6 month old wether or doeling. I like it and so do my kids.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

We've eaten venison and elk, I'd prefer elk over venison. Goat is somewhat similar, as others said not as gamey. I find what they eat, (I've had both taste different from area to area or what they browsed on that year- elk and venison that is) and how they are cooked play a part in their taste. Mine due to not having space for browsing much are fed hay.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I have the same question, I have never tryed it but would like to, just dont want to kill one of mine off if I end up not likeing it. I did try a lamb leg the other day for the first time......gross . Please someone tell me it tasts nothing like lamb lol. I actually did find a little hole in the wall hispanic meat shop, I asked them for goat meat (could not for the life of me think of the correct name lol), he told me I did not want goat that it was to 'gamey', I told him I didnt want sheep I want goat and he got a leg and said this is what you want. I asked what type of animal it was and was told a cross between a sheep and a goat, so my 'geep' leg is still in the freezer for a brave night lol.


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

Jessica84 said:


> I have the same question, I have never tryed it but would like to, just dont want to kill one of mine off if I end up not likeing it. I did try a lamb leg the other day for the first time......gross . Please someone tell me it tasts nothing like lamb lol. I actually did find a little hole in the wall hispanic meat shop, I asked them for goat meat (could not for the life of me think of the correct name lol), he told me I did not want goat that it was to 'gamey', I told him I didnt want sheep I want goat and he got a leg and said this is what you want. I asked what type of animal it was and was told a cross between a sheep and a goat, so my 'geep' leg is still in the freezer for a brave night lol.


You bout had me spit my water all over my screen...geep...lol..


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I have a feeling that meat dealer lied to you and just gave you a sheep leg. :laugh:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Woodhavenfarm said:


> I have a feeling that meat dealer lied to you and just gave you a sheep leg. :laugh:


I agree... genetically, a goat and a sheep cannot produce live offspring, a breeding yes but most end in miscarriage.

I've had goat as a youngster... it was an Alpine wether that was 8 months old. The tenderloin browned in butter tasted just like a pork chop


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## .:Linz:. (Aug 25, 2011)

I've had some nice pasture-raised goat meat from a lady who lives close to us - rib roast, something else, not sure what because we went to a goat roast at her house so I don't know what part I got after the meat was all cut up and on the platter, and some chorizo. I also have a shoulder roast in the freezer that I haven't cooked yet. Anyhow, I like it... it tastes close to pork to me, a little like venison too, not too much like lamb... 

...it tastes like goat! (I know that wasn't helpful)


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Not gamey at all, very little fat, no marbeling. Lamb is much heavier tasting cause of the fat.
But that doesnt describe the taste very well does it?
Its very mild if young. Take beef liver. Now get yourself a hunk of goat liver. That liver is MILD compared to beef.
Let's take it up a notch. 2 yr old ground buck in rut; Contrary to what you might have heard it's heavenly when butchered correctly.
Same with Brats & Hot Italian sausage.
Older ground doe is also quite good; you might never buy cardboard mush from the store ever again. 
Just sayin.


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

Thanks everyone for your replies, I do have a better idea of what it taste like


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## Arkie (Sep 25, 2012)

@ Linz & Nancy; Yall's makin me want to go out an butcher one a the wife's milkers!!!!!

Bob


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## pennyspasture (Dec 22, 2011)

LilBleatsFarm said:


> chicken .... sorry couldn't resist. ::
> 
> what they said yum


Hahahahahah!!!:ROFL:


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

Ours taste similar to beef, only more tender. The way we cook it and care for it nearly eliminates all the strong taste of what you would have in lamb. To eliminate some of the strong taste, you have to cut off the fat. If you like that flavor, cooking the bone in a roast will also bring out the 'goaty' flavor in the meat.


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## Shellshocker66 (Mar 19, 2012)

Jessica84 said:


> I have the same question, I have never tryed it but would like to, just dont want to kill one of mine off if I end up not likeing it. I did try a lamb leg the other day for the first time......gross . Please someone tell me it tasts nothing like lamb lol. I actually did find a little hole in the wall hispanic meat shop, I asked them for goat meat (could not for the life of me think of the correct name lol), he told me I did not want goat that it was to 'gamey', I told him I didnt want sheep I want goat and he got a leg and said this is what you want.* I asked what type of animal it was and was told a cross between a sheep and a goat, so my 'geep' leg is still in the freezer for a brave night lol.*


HAHA :laugh:

Well I'm with ya on the lamb as I can't stand the taste, I can't stand the smell and basically I need to be starving to eat it. I've never had goat and have no plans to anytime soon unless again, I'm starving!

But your Geep let us know how that turns out  :laugh:


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## rosti (Feb 1, 2011)

I had BBQ goat (like pulled pork) and it tasted just like pork but it was a little bit more lean.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

I have not tried goat (yet), but cabrito is extremely popular. Cabrito is BBQed kid (about 6 to 8 weeks of age). They have cabrito contests around here. I have seen ads in the paper for Boer kids for sale and it is clear those kids are being sold for cabrito. In Mexico (I have been told) you can go to a market, pick out which cute little kid you want, and they will butcher it and get it ready for you to take home to cook. I am close to Mexico and keep being given abandoned kids which I keep in a dog kennel behind the house until they are bigger. I lock the gate at night or when away to prevent temptation (illegals pass by here and don't want them stealing my kids). I figure if cabrito is so popular, it must taste good.


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## GTAllen (Jul 22, 2012)

Cabrito is so good. We used to get goats around San Angelo for our family reunion. We would slow roast 3 of them overnight on the BBQ. Those were very always very tasty. They were split, rubbed with a dry rub, and slow cooked.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

GTAllen, I am half way between San Angelo and San Antonio. Prefer shopping in San Angelo but occasionally have no choice but to go to San Antonio. 

I am sure the day will come when we decide to butcher one of our goats for food, but currently we are building our herd with kids given to us by ranchers when their mother's abandoned them. We just can't bring ourselves to butcher something we bottle fed and is so cute.


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## sbhministry (Oct 12, 2012)

JaLyn said:


> You bout had me spit my water all over my screen...geep...lol..


The Spanish word commonly used is cabrito. Real Mexicans call an adult machito. We bought some in a store to try it. The meat flavor was very good but tough. We had a doe get a hole in its stomach (unknown cause). We butchered her with similar results. We tried grinding it like hamburg and seasoned it with fajita seasoning and onion salt. It's delicious. I don't think it tastes like deer meat.


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## Tanna (Oct 12, 2012)

Chevon is the french name for goat meat like beef is for cow. I've never tried it but the book I'm reading says to always cook it slowly and at low temps with a moist heat or you will get a dry tough flavorless product. "in 2009 650,000 goats were processed for meat in the US but was not enough to supply the demand and in 1 month 48,500 tons frozen goats meat was imported from Australia and New Zealand" from the story's guide to raising dairy goats


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

I do not like the strong taste of lamb at all. I could not ever like goat if it tasted at all like that buck smells. We have the most tender, mild tasting goat ever and people can not tell that it is goat. I cut all the fat off. I don't like my goat cooked in the bone and I debone and chunk up the meat. For stronger taste.. cooking it in the bone in a crock pot will give you that stronger taste... but that is the same for all meat.. even turkey. The bone flavors the soup. We make Ham bone soup all the time and hardly have meat in it.. just the flavor.

We have many ethnic friends. Our Nigerian friend cooked dinner for us and and a lot of people.. the goat he cooked was an old Buck.. He likes the strong taste and the way he cooked it was very very strong. 
Also hispanic or Indian goat meat- they will stew up the meat in the bone and it will taste stronger. It doesnt taste at all like venison to me. I love goat meat. We try not to waste any of it. I stew it up for my husband and others that like it that way.


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## Zarafia (Mar 25, 2012)

I was served goat at a friend's house a few years ago. I think it may have been grilled like steak (but I could be wrong, it was a long time ago). What I really remember is that I liked it quite a bit.
I also like lamb and venison very much. Really the only meats I tend not to like are fish LOL.
I would still eat goat if someone served it to me, but I could never see myself eating one of my pet goaties, even if one died in a way that he or she could be butchered/processed safely. It would be too much like eating my dog or horse or cockatoo. My goats are my pets. Other people's goats can be meat animals to me (however other people's dogs, horses and cockatoos would still be off limits to me. Strange, I know LOL). I guess it's because I ate and liked goat meat before I bottle raised Pan. Goat was already a "food" to me, whereas dog, horse and cockatoo are pets first in my mind.
I know I wasn't much help flavor-wise. My advice is to try it prepared by somebody who eats it regularly, and don't associate it to any of your own goaties faces LOL.
IMHO goats raised for meat (at least around here) live far better lives than a lot of other "meat" animals. Supporting your local farmer who practices good husbandry is much better than buying "meat" in the grocery store where you have no idea what lives those animals led was like.
I hope that makes some sense .


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## jajohnson (Jan 1, 2012)

Had smoked goat meat at a small reminant clinic this spring and it was pretty good, just like smoked barbeque. There were also taste testing for different goat and sheep products and my husband said the smoked goat sausage was very good.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

Jessica84 said:


> I have the same question, I have never tryed it but would like to, just dont want to kill one of mine off if I end up not likeing it. I did try a lamb leg the other day for the first time......gross . Please someone tell me it tasts nothing like lamb lol. I actually did find a little hole in the wall hispanic meat shop, I asked them for goat meat (could not for the life of me think of the correct name lol), he told me I did not want goat that it was to 'gamey', I told him I didnt want sheep I want goat and he got a leg and said this is what you want. I asked what type of animal it was and was told a cross between a sheep and a goat, so my 'geep' leg is still in the freezer for a brave night lol.


I couldn't help but laugh, not at you but with you of course. 
That is weird, most hispanics we know won't touch lamb and only goat. As for lamb personally it depends on how old they are and how they're cooked. You don't want old mutton or in my opinion it is "yuk" Young lamb and cooked well is really good not "lamby". My hubby is a great cook and can cook lamb like nobody's business, and of course the goat.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

We butchered (2) 8 mon lambs, we trimmed off a lot of the fat, left the bone in for the flavor. The goat doesn't seem to have the fat a lamb does, but can be "sticky" if not cooked well. We do use different spices, sometimes a rosemary, we usually cook the shoulder and hind legs in a slow roast and they are very tender. We have also cooked low and slow and used goat for pulled pork style. We don't cook the very young, ours tend to be 6-9 months depending on conditions. Everyone has their own taste but hopefully for those trying it for the first time you'll be fortunate to have someone who cooks it well.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I will be sure to let you all know how the geep tasts lol. I know its not really geep and was trying to explain to the man that can not be, but I speak english and him, not so much. I think the lamb I did try was a older one, that was a big thing of meat, it said lamb on the package, but yeah how ever costco makes a buck. I did hear today about a place that makes tacos out of goat meat and next time Im in town am going to try it, then I can try to put into words lol.


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

I had a recipe with pictures here somewhere on this forum. I use a lot of garlic, ground Coriander seed and I really love Thai Basil with it.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

packhillboers said:


> I had a recipe with pictures here somewhere on this forum. I use a lot of garlic, ground Coriander seed and I really love Thai Basil with it.


I remember that thread! I think that's going to be one of the first goat dishes I cook for the family. It looked amazing!


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I could tell you exactly what goat meat tastes like but, it won't help most people. It tastes almost exactly like Caribou only a little tougher needing longer low temp cooking.

Jessica, I would suspect that your "geep" is a hair sheep. They are much milder than wool sheep. You might like it.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Like a barbado (sp check) I remember when there was a pair running wild here about 10 years ago and no one knew if they were goats or sheep lol.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Yeah, like that. They're not as fatty and sheep oil tasting.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Ok, you just got me a little more brave on trying it lol. Ill make a big side just in case its no good


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

Jessica, You cook it up and I'll come over to try it to see if I like it too..lol


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## FaRmEr FrEaK (Jul 7, 2012)

Its Tastes like Deer Meat (Venison) Just not Gamey


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Could I possibly get someone to USPS express mail with freezer packs in a strofoam cooler a small amount of goat meat to me (I'm happy to pay whatever) so I can taste it BEFORE I kill a whole goat?  Maybe I could make an ethiopian dish.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Dayna said:


> Could I possibly get someone to USPS express mail with freezer packs in a strofoam cooler a small amount of goat meat to me (I'm happy to pay whatever) so I can taste it BEFORE I kill a whole goat?  Maybe I could make an ethiopian dish.


:ROFL:

I love it. The problem here is that taste and lifesyle is so subjective and what the animal is fed changes the taste anyway. Sure, I could send you a steak off one of the 2 that I'm butchering next week. These guys though aren't going to be the same as the ones you raised. Mine are both bucks, they ate blackberries, hawthorne, salmonberry, chess, rye grass, and white clover this summer along with alfalfa. For the last week, they have been in a pen with a tarp shelter and eating outside. That gets rid of the fat that has to be cut off anyway and the rain washes the buckness off their hair. They will taste really good to me. Then again, I like black bear, elk, caribou, canned grizzly bear, and squirrel. Can't stand beaver, possum, or nutria. I also can't stand beef or pork from the store, it's about the same as beaver and possum. You've never tasted anything though, until you've had a gray squirrel with pan gravey, yummy. The deer here are small and you have to get all the fat off to make them tasty. Done right, they are ok and tough. They eat entirely too much salal and alder bark. So, different areas, different lifestyles, different needs, and different ways of thinking changes a lot.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

Others are right on the money, with what they have been eating affecting flavor. Mine I know I'm butchering are on hay and some grain. That being said, it's also how you cook them, like goathiker said low and slow. A simple dish to try is take a piece of goat, either crock pot it on low, or some water in a casserole dish covered -again low and slow- I had it on about 250 for about 3hr - it was very tender to shred then threw in taco seasoning (after draining of course) simmered just a little and wola it is very good.


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