I know, who buys ground goat, right?
Well, we did. The Mizzou Meat Market is an amazing place run by students in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. They butcher high quality meat and sell it at great prices. One time they had ground goat, and we said ‘Yes, please.’ (If you eat lamb, you will like goat just as much.)
This is a meal that can be a lot easier than I made it, but I wanted to treat that goat right so I made my own hummus, tzatziki and pita bread. I didn’t have classes that day, what can I say?
I was most inspired by a New Zealand Herald recipe because I figured Kiwis know what’s up with lamb/goat. Then I added dried coriander and mint because the flavors seemed to match, and bulked up the meatballs with breadcrumbs and egg, as you would Italian meatballs.
Goat is great, and the spices stood up to the meat. Hummus and tzatziki go so naturally with the Greek/Middle Eastern spices, and well, let’s call the addition of fresh pico de gallo “fusion.”
While I had trouble getting air pockets in some of the pita, the meatballs taste just as good on top, eaten with a knife and fork.
Goat Meatballs (makes about 24)
- 1.5 lb. ground goat or lamb
- 1 tsp. cumin seed
- 1 tbsp. dried parsley
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- 1 tsp. dried mint
- 1 small diced onion
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- Salt and ground pepper
Toast the cumin seeds, paprika and coriander for a few minutes to enhance the flavors. Add all ingredients to ground meat. Do not overwork. Form into balls about 2 inches in diameter (We ended up with 24 meatballs, but sizes may vary.) Refrigerate until ready to cook.
Serve with pita, tzatziki, hummus, lettuce, tomato and onion.
Homemade pita recipe from Brown Eyed Baker.
