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
