Thread: goat stew differing results, any ideas ?

hey team on a recent trip I managed to bag a few goats which I bought home and basically boned it all out and diced it up for stews and curries.
One night this week the wife made a stew that required beer (ale) in the recipe and it was amazingly good and incredibly tender like literally fall apart tender.
Later this week she made a different stew recipe that didn't use beer and the goat was quite chewy, still tasted good but wasn't tender like the previous batch, is the beer the difference ? is there anything else I can marinade the goat in to stop it from being chewy ? anyone got any thoughts or experience in this ?
thanks

Originally Posted by dannyb

hey team on a recent trip I managed to bag a few goats which I bought home and basically boned it all out and diced it up for stews and curries.
One night this week the wife made a stew that required beer (ale) in the recipe and it was amazingly good and incredibly tender like literally fall apart tender.
Later this week she made a different stew recipe that didn't use beer and the goat was quite chewy, still tasted good but wasn't tender like the previous batch, is the beer the difference ? is there anything else I can marinade the goat in to stop it from being chewy ? anyone got any thoughts or experience in this ?
thanks

Try kiwifruit, but not for overnite

Originally Posted by Steve123

Try kiwifruit, but not for overnite

interesting.... for how long ?

Originally Posted by Steve123

Try kiwifruit, but not for overnite

Lol I tried it with a chewy old stag once... Left it overnight and in the morning I was faced with a staggy kiwifruit smoothie

Were the cuts used the same both times?
Certain cuts stew better than others.

Originally Posted by Moutere

Were the cuts used the same both times?
Certain cuts stew better than others.

nah I literally just boned the whole animal out and cubed the lot then vac sealed it in lots....in hind sight maybe I should have seperated it into different cuts but I had 6 to do and it was a fair whack of work.....I guess maybe I just need to check on it whilst cooking and adjust the cook time to suit.

Originally Posted by mimms2

Could be any number of things. Same beer? Same temp? Same timing? And it can be a damn fine tuned thing as well.

Enzyme activity is what "ages" meat the theory behind adding beer afaik is to give the enzymes something to eat other than meat, and the water in beer will spread/inoculate the whole piece.

Anything acidic will attack meat protein structure. Heat and time works too.

Generally if stewing (dutch oven) you brown the meat first to seal the sides, then dial it down and add everything else.

yeah fair call I didn't cook either the missus did and generally she just follows the recipe to the word no adjusting for different variables.
1 recipe called for beer (I used a Pilsner), the other didn't and just used stock and tinned tomatoes I think.
the beer recipe by far was nicer but I wonder if I'm being swayed just because it was a lot more tender as in reality they both were pretty good.
I may have to fiddle a bit with the cook times.

I gave some boned and diced goat to a mates wife and she hassled me for taking the bones out!
Marrow for flavor etc.
So next time I smashed it all to pieces with a big cleaver and was super easy, thought I was onto something...
She hasseled me for all the fine splinters of bone in it!

I reckon, bone it all out, put meat aside.
Then cleaver the bones etc up into bits, put em in a giant 'tea bag' or something like that to prevent the small fragments of bone getting into the stew.
Chuck the tea bag in the pot with the rest of the stew and cook it.
Pull the bag out before dishing up.

Now to find or make a stainless steel tea bag....

As said could have been a tender cut to start with and also cooking method the lower and slower the better. Cooking from frozen or fresh makes a difference to.

Goat I’ve used has generally been treated thus. First method is to soak in water with a good glug of white vinegar as it removes gamey taste somewhat and can lighten meat colour. Another method is to add some vinegar to stew as it tenderises meat. Vinegar with sugar will offer sweet n sour. Third and most personally favoured by me is to brown meat on bbq bars so you get brown striped colouring all over meat. Thereafter, dust with cornflour, sprinkle ginger over and place a good dollop of honey on top before putting in crockpot. Flour and honey form a gravy that meat can be rolled in. Pretty yum.

We slow cook most of our goat drenched in olive oil with Mediterranean dry seasonings. It's great to eat, but occasionally take it off the bone and add to a curry or stew for a change. We eat a lot of goat!

Originally Posted by 40mm

I gave some boned and diced goat to a mates wife and she hassled me for taking the bones out!

I reckon, bone it all out, put meat aside.
Then cleaver the bones etc up into bits, put em in a giant 'tea bag' or something like that to prevent the small fragments of bone getting into the stew.
Chuck the tea bag in the pot with the rest of the stew and cook it.
Pull the bag out before dishing up.

I cook a lot of venison and goat stews, and the best cut of all is the shanks, but not whole.
I freeze them as a whole shank. Then just before cooking, I remove the shank(s) from the freezer and use the bone saw and cut them into 3/4" disks. Using the hand saw I find the easiest way to do this is to hold the end of the shank bone in the bench vice for stability, and cut straight through the frozen meat and bone. Make sure you do it immediately after taking it out of the freezer.
Then I use a big cast iron Potjie pot and brown the meat while it is still frozen - allows you to get a really good sear without cooking the meat.
Remove the meat from the pot, brown some bacon and onion, then throw the meat back into the pot and add:
1 cup home made mead (beer will do)
1 tbl spoon apple cider vinegar per 1kg meat
1x beef oxo cube
1x vegetable oxo cube
a coating of Cape Spice Braai seasoning (don't know how much because I just shake it in from the bottle)
curry for colour and taste (don't know how much because i just sprinkle it on top from the container)
a hand full of raisins
a couple of diced carrots
salt and pepper to taste
enough water so you can just see it through the meat

I let it slow simmer with the lid on for about three hours until tender. About half an hour before cooking is done, I will add additional vegies if doing so, so that they hold together rather than turning to mush, and add some thickening.
For really tender results, start the cook at lunch time. Once it is cooked, turn it off and just leave the stew to sit. If you have a nice heavy cast iron pot, it will hold the temp in it for another hour or so which will help with tenderness, then reheat just before serving.

The bones will be in large pieces and you just serve them up on the plate. People can choose to eat the marrow or leave it be. The stew has already benefited from the exposed marrow.
@dannyb I suspect the issue between the two stews is purely temp and time. Beer docent really tenderise meat.
That said, my brother did a trial using Sprite to marinate some venison that was noticeable stronger in smell and it completely removed the staginess.

red wine is supposed to be good for meat as well.

you can try shan papaya powder meat tenderiser. can get it from indian stores

@dannyb, look up use of proteolytic enzymes to tenderise meat. It breaks down protein chains. Found in kiwifruit, tamarillo and a couple other fruits. Pineapple has heaps. If you get a sore gob after eating heaps of pineapple as a kid, that was the pineapple eating you.