Transforming Leftovers
One week after Easter, it was time to finish off the goat meat left over from dinner last Sunday. Michael and I roasted a goat shoulder with garlic, rosemary and marjoram on Easter. It was good, if not slightly overcooked because I didn’t have a meat thermometer.
The next day Michael had the idea to braise some leftover meat for our tapas-style dinner with friends. Thinking of Spanish flavors, we added tomato sauce, paprika and white wine. We let that simmer for at least 30 minutes. It made another nice tapa.
Now today there was still some roasted meat in the fridge — enough for one really hungry person. Enter me, who had just worked out. I pulled the meat apart, tossing out some fat, and put it in a small pot. I added a tablespoon or two of tomato paste, black ground pepper, red pepper flakes and a few glugs of red wine. I brought it to a boil then let it simmer as I showered. When I came back, I added a little water since there wasn’t much liquid left. It tasted too acidic from the wine and tomato paste so I sprinkled in some sugar, let the water cook out, and toasted a pita.
A few minutes later I was enjoying what might have been even better than the goat was a week before. The meat didn’t taste like bbq pulled pork, but it reminded me of it because the it was so succulent and a little sweet.
This is my new formula for transforming leftover lamb or goat roasts:
- Pull meat apart into small pieces
- Add herbs and spices (depending what flavor you want to create, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, red pepper flakes, chili powder, ras el hanout…)
- Add tomato juice or paste (if using paste, mix a little water and sugar in too)
- Cover with red or white wine
- Bring to a boil, then simmer until alcohol has cooked off and meat is easily pulled apart
Category: Cooking Basics, Recipes | Tags: goat, lamb, leftovers, pita, tomato, wine 3 comments »
April 20th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
I think you may be the only college student in the world — or it least in Columbia — who ever has lamb or goat roast in your fridge… which means I want to grow up and be just like you when I’m a senior! :0)
April 21st, 2009 at 3:38 pm
God, I LOVE goat. Love it. We have four goat shanks in the freezer right now–I’m trying to convince Bruce we need to have a dinner party with them ASAP before the weather warms up. (Snowed here last night. Shoot.)
You are the foodiest of all college students. Period.
February 27th, 2011 at 2:52 am
What are some good ways to prepare goat?…
Any flavors you enjoy with lamb work well with goat. Cooking method would depend on the cut you have. I’ve roasted goat shoulder and chops, but found the meat can occasionally be tough so it benefits from braising. I’ve also used ground goat for meat…