Curried Goat

Name: Curried Goat
Total time: 14 h
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Cuisine: caribbean
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons cumin seeds; 4 tablespoons coriander seeds; 2 tablespoons ground turmeric; 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds; 1 tablespoon ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon garlic powder; 2 teaspoons onion powder; 2 teaspoons ground allspice; 3 pounds boneless goat meat, such as shoulder or leg, cut into 2-inch cubes; 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil; 1 large white onion, sliced; 6 garlic cloves, minced; 1 Scotch bonnet chile, sliced, seeds removed; 3 fresh thyme sprigs; 2 teaspoons Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, plus more if needed; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces; Cooked white rice, for serving

Recipe from Hazel and Jessica Craig

Adapted by Priya Krishna

Updated Feb. 16, 2021

Curried Goat — Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 2 hours, plus 12 hours’ marinating
Rating: 4(182)
Comments: Read comments

Hazel Craig, the mother of the pastry chef Jessica Craig, prepares this hearty, spicy dish from her native Jamaica with her homemade curry powder blend. It’s worth making to maximize the dish’s depth and complexity, and the recipe here makes extra (which can be used in any kind of stew or braise). Hazel insists that the best way to prepare goat is not to brown the meat first, but to cook everything all at once in the same pot. “When you heat everything up together,” she said, all the flavor “gets locked in there.” —Priya Krishna

Featured in: A Family’s Christmas, Filled With the Tastes of Jamaica

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 servings

For the Jamaican Curry Powder

4tablespoons cumin seeds
4tablespoons coriander seeds
2tablespoons ground turmeric
1tablespoon fenugreek seeds
1tablespoon ground black pepper
1tablespoon garlic powder
2teaspoons onion powder
2teaspoons ground allspice

For the Goat

3pounds boneless goat meat, such as shoulder or leg, cut into 2-inch cubes
½cup vegetable or canola oil
1large white onion, sliced
6garlic cloves, minced
1Scotch bonnet chile, sliced, seeds removed
3fresh thyme sprigs
2teaspoons Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, plus more if needed
¼teaspoon ground black pepper
3medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
Cooked white rice, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Prepare the Jamaican curry powder: In a skillet, toast the spices over low heat, gently shaking the pan, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Let cool. Transfer to a spice grinder, blender or mini food processor and pulse until the mixture forms a fine powder.
Step 2
Prepare the goat: Set the meat in a large bowl. Put on a pair of disposable latex or vinyl gloves. (Scotch bonnet chile can be very hot to the touch.) Add the oil, onion, garlic, chile, thyme sprigs, seasoned salt, black pepper and half the prepared Jamaican curry powder (or 4 tablespoons store-bought) to the bowl and massage the marinade into the meat. (Save remaining spice mix for another use.)
Step 3
Transfer the meat to an airtight container and refrigerate at least 12 hours and up to 3 days.
Step 4
Place the meat in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the potatoes and 2 cups water. Cook over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil.
Step 5
Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring every 20 minutes, until the potatoes break down, the sauce has thickened and the meat is tender and cooked through, about 1½ to 2 hours. The curried goat will look like a thick stew. Add more seasoned salt, if needed. Serve with the rice.

Ratings

4 out of 5

182 user ratings

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Comments

Aldona Jonaitis6 years ago

Goat is the most widely eaten meat in the world and is truly delicious; for this recipe I urge you to find a butcher who carries it -- halal butchers usually do. The other wonderful thing about goat is that it has fewer calories than any other meat including chicken. In addition, virtually all goats in this country are raised on small farms and thus are not subjected to the horrors of industrialized food production.

Danielle6 years ago

Can this be made with chicken? Any suggested adjustments?

Anita6 years ago

No, it’s not. Pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world. Goat is mainly eaten in parts of Africa, the Middle East and a few other parts of Asia.

Dave2 months ago

I don't understand why this recipe has you make twice as much spice mixture as you need... Why not just make half the quantity? Spices lose flavor quickly after toasting and grinding. Better to use fresh. I ended up just using all of it and, ironically, I still found this to be a little anemic in the flavor department. It needed a lot of salt, some fish sauce, lime juice, and hot sauce. Not bad, but a little disappointing.

Dave2 months ago

I wanted to come back and say that the flavor improves a lot by day two and three! Leftovers were delicious. Next time I will make it ahead of time. And I'll still use all the spice mixture, haha.

Lisa3 months ago

This was so good. We got some goat meat from a farmer in the family and loved this. I used my pressure cooker for 30 minutes. Couldn't find fenugreek and used some cayenne instead of the scotch bonnet out of necessity - was great but I'll keep my eye out for it for next time.

Damian4 months ago

Using boneless goat is a mistake. It needs to be boned pieces because much of the flavour comes from the bone stock. I've cooked this dish hundreds of times, and tried cutting corners by using boneless pieces and the difference is noticeable. You can always debone after cooking, but please, please cook this the traditional way.

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