Thread: Getting back to living off the land.....

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

I'm about to upload a short video of a slow cooked leg off a billy that was at least 5-years old! After 3-hours in the crockpot it was super tender and when we tried it there was no gamey taste. I've been a butcher since I was 16 (58 now!) and I would never have thought that would be the case! It just goes to show how much of the "all billy goats are stinky/gamey is a load of tosh.

Having said that; it wasn't rutting; so had no "goaty" smell. also; when I skin them I always have 2 buckets of water beside me; 1 soapy and 1 fresh. I ALWAYS frequently wash hands when skinning them; especially my left hand that touches the skin and meat. It minimises the chances of transferring hair, dirt, smell to the meat

I do a fair bit of goat shooting for meat in Taranaki. Billy's around October seem to be a couple of months past the rutting season and getting some condition back from spring growth. Last one my mate shot and ate was around 3 years and a big goat. I read somewhere ages ago that the very first thing you do after shooting it is whip its balls off with a sharp knife. Like, completely remove them. Even if you do nothing else before you get to field dress it. I've always followed that advice and had some great eating. This 3 yr old was fat and my mates first. He took it home and dined off it for weeks. Raved about it. Slightly gamey but entirely acceptable. For me I don't bother with the older ones, bigger horn spreads. But "spikers" I'm very happy to take for meat. They are however capable of breeding I think from around 8 mths. And their nuts are well developed by that stage. So get them off as fast as you can lol

I eat the drakes that I breed and they are lovely. The Buff Orpington ducks I raise are a dual purpose breed. They're not the heaviest meat breed or best layers, but are good meat and good layers. Re the salmonella in eggs: I think it's a bit overstated. Collecting them every day is a key and also rinsing them straight away as the dirty little duckers drop them anywhere. That's why the hawks find them easy to spot.