WHAT IS GOAT MEAT LIKE?

"Goat meat is savory and not as sweet as beef. It's neither buttery nor beef-tenderloin tender, but it offers a wider palette for culinary foreplay in the kitchen. It works well with bold, big flavors, particularly spicy and sour notes.

Cuts of goat meat can be easily divided into two categories: quick-cooking and long-braising. The short list of quick-cookers includes rib chops, loin chops and the tenderloin, which is something of a rarity in many butcher shops, weighing in at only three or four ounces. All of those can be handled in a fast saute; with a hot sear with good caramelization; or grilled in minutes. The meat on the back legs, too, lends itself to one quick-cooking technique: It must be sliced off into strips and pounded thin before battering and frying, about as you would cube steak for chicken-fried steak.

The rest of the animal yields the long-braising cuts: front shoulders and neck slices to back shanks, and almost everything in between. Most of the meat is laced with lots of interstitial collagen, which must break down to create a satisfying, rich stew, braise, curry or tagine. In other words, the meat is a boon to ragu, as well as hearty soups and stews. Lots of connective tissue around the bones translates to more flavor in the pot."

Described in a Washington Post article "Goat Meat, the Final Frontier."

Is there a Market for Goat Meat?

Chevon is the most widely eaten red meat in the world!

Growth in ethnic populations and the desire for healthy diets are
driving the demand for goat meat (chevon). in North America there are
over 63 million people from an ethnic background that traditionally eat goat meat.

Source: 2004 usda national nutrient database for standard reference

The Canadian meat goat industry shows great potential and opportunity!

According to Agriculture Canada, in the last 20 years the total number of goats in Canada has more than doubled from 88,116 in 1991 to 225,461 in 2011.

Canada still imports more than $4,000,000 worth of goat meat annually.

“... Demand [for goat meat] is currently about double the domestic production, so there is ample room for expansion.Meat goats fit in well with other enterprises, particularly cattle operations, and may be used to control noxious weeds and brush to improve pastures for other livestock.”

– from Meat Goats: Sustainable Production, by Linda Coffey, NCAT Agriculture Specialist, 2006