Curried Roasted Leg of Goat

This year I discovered cooking fresh local goat meat.  Well prepped fresh goat meat to me has the wonderful texture of lamb and a mild beef flavor. The key with  goat, as I discovered with lamb, is in the preparation of the meat before marinating or cooking. There is a very thin membrane called, fell or silver skin, that lays on top of most of the larger cuts of meat. This needs to be removed prior to cooking. The best way is to start at the end of the piece of meat and with your thumb or a butter knife get under the membrane and pull off as much as you can without having the roast fall apart. If it starts to tear you'll need a sharp knife to get under the silver skin and cut under and across without cutting away too much of the meat. Yes, you'll loose some meat but the benefit of cooking a nice clean roast without the strong flavor that sometimes comes with lamb and goat is worth the trouble and minimal loss of meat. Now your ready to rub or marinate. This recipe is a delicious curried roast that I just cooked. A 2.5 pound bone in leg of goat served a very hungry four people.

Curried Roasted Leg of Goat  (serves 4-6 )

Ingredients

2.5 lb leg of goat (half leg) bone in
1 cup of Greek yogurt
8 medium sized cloves of garlic
3 limes -juiced
2 mild chili peppers-  Anaheim, cubanelles, or poblanos -chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of garam masala
1/4 teaspoon of sweet curry powder
1/4 teaspoon of vindaloo
Salt ands pepper to taste

Marinating Preparation

In a food processor chop 4 cloves of garlic and 2 teaspoons of olive oil until almost paste. Add chopped chilies and spices and blend to a paste. Add yogurt and blend together. Slowly add lime juice to the yogurt and spice mixture until you have a well blended marinade. Add salt and pepper to taste. When adding pepper keep in mind the spices will build heat over time so don't add too much pepper. Set aside.

Take the remaining 4 cloves of garlic and cut in to large slivers. Take the roast and make enough 1 inch deep incisions in the meat to insert the garlic slivers. The incisions can be on the larger side. This will allow the marinade to soak in.

Take the roast and place in a large 1 gallon zip lock freezer bag and pour the marinade in to the bag with the roast. Lock the bag and shake the bag making sure the roast is well covered. Open the bag slightly and squeeze the air out then reseal. Now rub the marinade into the roast with your hands through the bag. (You also and can pre-rub the roast with the marinade before putting it into the bag but I think you loose too much marinade with this method.) Place in the refrigerator for minimum 24 hours occasionally turning and rubbing the roast through the bag.

Cooking instructions

Pull the goat out of the bag. Lightly wipe off some of the marinade with your hands by massaging it in to the meat. Place roast on a roasting rack in a pan large enough to place some potatoes in it for roasting with the goat. Bring the roast to room temperature which is minimum 45 minutes at a 68 F room temp.

Pre-heat your oven to 500 F.  Keep the oven at 500 F for at least 10 minutes before putting roast in the oven. When oven is ready place the goat leg in the center of the oven and roast for 30 minutes.

After the first 30 minutes high temp cook,  Reduce the oven temperature to 400 and add potatoes and carrot chunks (about 3/4 inch wedges that have been rolled in olive oil and salt and pepper) to the bottom of roasting pan surrounding the leg of goat. Cook the roast and potatoes for approximately 20 more minutes.

Oven temps vary and you will want to remove the roast out of the oven when it is medium rare so check the internal temp of the roast with a instant read thermometer ( make sure to calibrate your thermometer) after the 20 minute 400 F cook time. The temp should be between 125 F and 135 F before removing the roast. Depending on how rare you want the meat. The roast will need to rest for minimum of 15 minutes lightly tented with aluminum foil before cutting and will continue to cook up in temp about 5 to 10 degrees while resting. I find a finished roast of around 135
F internal temp gives a nice pink medium rare.

While the roast is resting you can continue to cook the potatoes and carrots turning occasionally until nice golden and tender.  When ready to serve cut the meat nice and thin surrounded by the potatoes and maybe some fresh raita and naan.

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Fried Zucchini Salad with Tomatoes and Fresh Garlic

This summer salad is a nice flavorful dish that goes well with garlic toasts, side of capellini with pesto, and  chilled Tuscan red wine

Ingredients  (prep time 20 minutes)

1 medium 8-10 " zucchini sliced in to 1/4 to 1/8 " slices

1/2 cup of halved cherry tomatoes

1/8 cup of diced green bell pepper

1 teaspoon fresh basil- chopped fine

2 large garlic cloves -sliced thin ( a fresh market Italian soft neck garlic works best)

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVO)

red wine vinegar

Sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup shaved Romano cheese

Heat on medium heat 2 tablespoons of EVO in a medium size (10") non stick skillet. Add the garlic slices and cook on medium-low no more then 5 minutes. This a bit tricky. It's very important not to burn or brown the garlic. You're basically attempting to flavor the oil while keeping the garlic from dissolving. The garlic should should be a light golden color and slightly translucent. When the garlic is done remove with a slotted spoon and reserve on the side.

Bring the heat up on the now flavored garlic oil to medium- high and layer the zucchini slices in to the pan side by side. Brown on one side, about one minute, flip and brown the other side. Don't crowd the zucchini or you will basically be steaming them. Repeat with remaining zucchini slices. Then remove to a paper towel to drain some of the oil from the zucchini. The hard part is done. 

Place the cherry tomatoes, green peppers, basil, and reserved garlic in a large bowl. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of EVO and a splash of red wine vinegar. Sprinkle with salt, black pepper and flip or turn until well blended.

Place the zucchini on a dish and spoon the tomato, green pepper blend over the top and garnish with romano cheese.

Discover the world of fresh gourmet garlic at https://www.facebook.com/GloriousGarlicFarm

Grand Mom's Meatballs

My mom made her "gravy" (all of you from South Philly know what I'm talking about) first by frying meatballs in the gravy pot then adding her tomatoes and secret ingredients. I never watched her make the meatball recipe I was always lured in to the kitchen post-prep by the aroma of the meatballs browning in the pot. We often talked about the basics of the recipe so here it is:

For about a dozen tennis ball size meatballs: (get good local meat , at least USDA meat, not pink slime, it makes a difference)

1 pound 85/15 ground beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
1 egg -beaten lightly
1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 small onion chopped fine
3 cloves of garlic chopped fine
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
Salt and black pepper to taste (two good pinches usually does it, maybe an extra pinch of pepper)

Blend the meat by hand in a large bowl by pulling the meat together with your fingers. Don't compress the meat too much you'll get dense meatballs. Spread the blended meat to the sides of the bowl like a meat bowl in a bowl. Add all of the other ingredients over the surface of the meat and then blend lightly with your hands until meat is tacky but not wet. If the meat seems too wet (sticks to your hands) add bread crumbs little by little until tacky. Roll the meat balls in your hands just until they form a ball, lightly here, your making a meatball not a snow ball. Put aside on a plate by the stove for frying.

Heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil in a 6-8  qt. pot on medium high heat until the oil shimmers. Add your meatballs four or five at a time to the pot. Crowding the meatballs basically steams the meat and restricts forming a nice crusty brown seal on the meat. After your first meatballs you can lower the heat to medium. Turn the meatballs with a wooden spoon after about two to three minutes and fry the other side. If you notice the meat starting to break apart in the middle, just turn the meat ball on it's sides for about 30 seconds until it's sealed. Remove the meatballs to a separate plate to rest and repeat with other meatballs. The idea here is you are only browning, partially cooking the meatballs, which will finish cooking in the gravy once the gravy gets started. VERY IMPORTANT. When you put the meatballs in the gravy make sure the gravy has come to a slight boil then turned down to simmer for the remaining cook time. If you cook the meatballs in boiling gravy they will get tight, dense, and dry.    Enjoy !!

Discover the world of fresh gourmet garlic at https://www.facebook.com/GloriousGarlicFarm

Zucchini Pomodoro

I like to use a nice zesty garlic variety like Music, Madrid, or Killarney Red in sauteed dishes. Zucchini Pomodoro lends itself to using a medium chopped garlic or larger chunks. When sauteing garlic always be careful not to go beyond a nice golden yellow color or the flavor will get bitter. I always keep a little wine or chicken or vegetable stock on hand to kill the cooking temperature in the pan if I see the garlic cooking too fast. If you over cook the garlic, toss it and start over with a fresh pan.

Ingredients

1- fresh medium size (10-12 inches) zucchini cut into 3/8 inch slices

3 - 4 medium size garlic cloves chopped medium to larger chunks

2 tablespoons, plus two teaspoons – extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup- good quality canned plain crushed tomatoes ( make sure there is no sugar, corn syrup, or spices in the crushed tomatoes)

Pinch of salt, pepper, dry oregano

Heat a frying pan on medium high heat (cast iron skillet works well)

When pan is hot add 2 teaspoons of EVO and a light sprinkle of sea salt. As soon as the oil starts to smoke add zucchini slices in a single layer and fry until slightly browned (around 1-2 minutes) Flip the zucchini and brown the other side. Remove the zucchini to and arrange in a single layer on a paper towel too cool. Repeat with any remaining zucchini.

Lower heat to medium . Add 2 tablespoons of EVO to pan until the oil is shimmering then add chopped garlic. Cook until golden yellow about 10-15 seconds then immediately add the crushed tomatoes. (It's always better to slightly under cook the garlic in the initial saute then burn it.) lower the heat and simmer for about three minutes. Add the salt, pepper, and oregano to taste. Cook for one more minute. Add zucchini and flip in pan or stir gently cooking for one more minute. Serve immediately.

Discover the world of fresh gourmet garlic at https://www.facebook.com/GloriousGarlicFarm

Sonoma Highlights

We had a great overnight trip to Sonoma, CA last week. Started off with some delicious oysters at Willi's Seafood and a nice wine tasting at the Preston Winery in Healdsburg, CA. Finished up the day at LaSalette Portuguese restaurant in Sonoma with a nice roasted lamb loin.

New Orleans

Nice meal at Restaurant R'evolution in the French Quarter. Perfectly grilled stripe bass and a tasty plate of lobster gnocchi.

I Did Eat In 2012

In reviewing Cooking Carbone I come to realize that posts in 2012 were slim. Hmmm, same year I opened a Facebook page. Other excuses are, we were busy tending my garlic crop and a successful garden here at the ranch. I was also getting used to my first full year of "some what" retirement from the world of ice cream. I'll take a stroll down memory lane 2012 to see what I can come up with in terms of dining and cooking experiences. In the meantime here's one of our prized Italian eggplants we grew at the farm in Washoe Valley.