Goat meat: cuts, flavor and how to cook it

Goat meat is the meat of the domestic goat, a lean red meat with a mild gamey taste, eaten widely across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Tougher cuts such as shoulder and leg suit slow, moist cooking, while tender young kid can be roasted or grilled.

What is goat meat?

Goat meat is the meat of domestic goats, and it is among the most commonly eaten red meats in the world even though it is less common in American supermarkets. It is lean, with a slightly sweet and gamey flavor that sits between lamb and beef.

Names depend on age and place. Kid is a young goat, chevon is a general English term for goat meat, cabrito is the Spanish word for kid, and curried goat in Caribbean cooking is usually just called goat. Mutton can mean mature sheep or, in South Asia, goat or sheep.

What does goat meat taste like?

Goat meat tastes mild, slightly sweet and a little gamey, less fatty than lamb and more savory than chicken. Age matters: young kid is delicate and tender, while meat from older animals has a stronger flavor.

The flavor is also shaped by cooking. Roasting concentrates it, stewing with onions, tomato and warm spices makes it rounder, and a long marinade softens the gaminess. Because goat has little fat, it tastes more like the spices and aromatics it is cooked with.

What are the main cuts of goat?

The main cuts are leg, shoulder, loin, rib, neck and shank, and each one suits a different method. Bone-in pieces are traditional because bones and connective tissue add flavor and body.

Many retailers sell mixed bone-in “stew goat” pieces, which are usually shoulder, neck and rib cut into chunks. They are good for most recipes.

How do you cook goat meat so it is tender?

Cook goat meat low and slow in moist heat, or cook small tender pieces very quickly. In between, the meat tends to dry out because it is lean.

1. Salt the meat well, ideally an hour or more ahead.
2. Brown the pieces in a hot pot for flavor.
3. Add onion, garlic, tomato or stock and spices, plus enough liquid to come halfway up the meat.
4. Cover and simmer gently at about 300°F in the oven or on low heat for two to three hours, until the meat pulls from the bone.
5. Rest, skim the surface and reduce the sauce if it is thin.

A pressure cooker shortens stew time to roughly an hour. For roasting a leg, cover it with foil for most of the cooking, then uncover to brown.

How do you make a simple goat stew?

A simple goat stew is bone-in goat browned with onion, garlic and spices, then simmered in stock or water until tender. This basic method serves four and works with most seasonings.

1. Pat 2 pounds of bone-in goat dry and season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper.
2. Brown the pieces in 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy pot, in batches, and set them aside.
3. Cook 2 chopped onions and 4 cloves of garlic in the same pot until soft, then stir in 1 tablespoon of grated ginger, 2 teaspoons of ground cumin and 1 teaspoon of ground coriander.
4. Add 2 chopped tomatoes, return the meat and pour in about 3 cups of water or stock.
5. Cover and simmer for two to three hours, adding potatoes or carrots for the last 40 minutes.

Finish with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lemon. Serve with rice or flatbread.

How do you marinate goat meat?

Marinate goat in a mix of acid, oil, salt, garlic and spices for two to twelve hours in the refrigerator. Acid from yogurt, lemon juice or vinegar loosens the surface, and salt seasons the meat through.

A basic marinade is 1 cup of plain yogurt, juice of one lemon, 4 cloves of grated garlic, 2 teaspoons of cumin, 1 teaspoon of black pepper and 2 teaspoons of salt for 2 pounds of meat. Do not marinate in acid for longer than a day, because the surface can turn mushy. Pat the meat dry before browning so that it sears instead of steaming.

How do you buy and store goat meat?

Buy goat meat from a halal butcher, a farmers market or an ethnic grocery, and choose pieces with firm, pink-red flesh and white or pale fat. Fresh goat keeps in the refrigerator for about three to five days, and it freezes well for several months.

Ask the butcher about the age of the animal and how it was cut. Fine-cut pieces cook faster than large chunks. Keep the meat on the bottom shelf, wrapped, away from ready-to-eat food, and thaw it in the refrigerator. Cook ground goat to 160°F and whole cuts to at least 145°F with a rest, or longer if you want stew-tender meat.

How is goat meat different from lamb and beef?

Goat meat is leaner than lamb and beef, with a milder, slightly sweeter gamey taste and a firmer texture when cooked quickly. It needs more moisture and time than most cuts of beef to become tender.

How is goat meat eaten around the world?

Goat meat is the base of curries in India, Pakistan and the Caribbean, stews in West Africa, birria in Mexico and roasted platters in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. Recipes differ, but most pair the meat with rice, bread or root vegetables.

In Somali cooking, goat is roasted or cooked on the bone and served over spiced basmati rice with a flatbread and a hot sauce. In South Asia it is cooked in curries with onion, tomato and ginger. In Jamaica, curried goat uses allspice and scotch bonnet pepper.

Is goat on the Jubba menu?

Yes. Jubba Somali Restaurant at 5330 Terner Way in San Jose lists the Roasted Goat Cutlet at $25.99, described as spiced goat meat in the traditional Somali style, served on basmati rice, according to the Yelp menu page read on November 13, 2026. The Sports Plate, $43.99, is a big plate for two with a combination of two meats, though the listing does not say which meats.

Yelp says the menu may not be up to date. Zabihah and Yelp list the restaurant as halal, based on the restaurant’s own statement. An owner post on its Google profile, dated September 14, 2026, says it was temporarily closed until further notice as of September 11, 2026, and Google Maps and Yelp still show normal weekly hours. Call (408) 440-1504 before going. This guide is independent and takes no orders. See the menu page and the hours and location page.

Common questions

For the address, opening hours and menu, see Jubba Somali Restaurant in San Jose.

This article is general information from an independent guide, not from Jubba Somali Restaurant itself. For the store’s current details see hours and location.