Chili Dusted Fried Goat's Brain, Pan Seared Plums & Yellow Peaches, Goose Berries, Oven Roasted Garlic Cloves, Goat's Milk Blue Cheese, Mint, Nasturtium & Honey Goat's Head Jus
If you've been keeping up with my blog for the last couple of years you'll know that this post encompasses two things that I'm pretty passionate about when it comes to food. One is the virtues of goat meat, the other is offal (organ or "variety" meats) and its importance as a food source for meat eaters. Aside from goat meat being very healthy and great tasting, it is (when raised properly) one of the most sustainable forms of animal protein a person can consume. Goat's have a very diverse diet eating just about anything. Most organic and sustainable farms use goat's to keep weeds and cover crops at bay, fertilize crops and for comic relief. Goat's are extremely entertaining animals.
So with that being said we need to understand that goat's, just like every other animal we eat are made up of more than just steaks and chops. They have livers, hearts, kidneys, heads, etc. I will always have the opinion that if you kill an animal you should use every part that you possibly can. This is why I support farmers like Stryker. They raise goats for food and they sell every part that they can. So I simply try to do my part by buying things that most people won't eat. I will literally eat anything so I might as well lead the charge right?
I extracted the brain from the skull using a cleaver and a good deal of caution to avoid losing any of my digits. I placed the two halves of the brain in a metal bowl and covered them with almond milk. I soaked them in the milk for a few hours. This process adds a little extra flavor to the brain and also removes some of the blood. This works for most organs including kidneys, liver and sweetbreads. I removed the brains and drained them on paper towels before dusting them in a mixture of chili powder, flour, salt and pepper, dunking them in buttermilk and then back into the four mix. I pan fried the brains in rice bran oil on medium heat until golden brown. I drained them on paper towels once again and then cut them into smaller pieces.
I sliced a whole head of garlic in half horizontally and placed in cut side down into a pan with hot melted butter set on medium heat. I cooked the garlic for five minutes, flipped it over and placed it in the oven for a half hour to roast. I removed the pan from the oven and flipped the garlic back over. I cooked it over low heat along with the plum halves and peaches to caramelize everything.
But before any of this took place I roasted the goat's skull in the oven at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. While the skull was roasting I cooked some carrot, garlic, onion, peppercorn, cumin, fennel seed, coriander and cinnamon stick in a dry stock pot. I added some cider vinegar, honey and white wine and cooked it down a little. I then added the roasted skull and covered it with 2 quarts of chicken stock and cold water. I brought the pot up to a boil, lowered it to a simmer and cooked it for 5 hours. I strained the stock through cheesecloth before adding it to a sauce pot and reducing it to a thick sauce.
The goose berries were simply cut in half and used to add some tart acidity. I broke up the cheese into small pieces and placed them on the plate. And I finished it off with a garnish of mint and nasturtium leaves.
Product:
Pasture Raised Goat's Head - Stryker Farms
Organic Baby Yellow Plums - Culton Organics
Yellow Cling-stone Peaches - 3 Springs
Goose Berries - 3 Springs
Pastured Goat's Milk Blue Cheese - Cranberry Creek Farms
Organic Nasturtium Leaves - My Garden
Organic Mint - My Garden
So with that being said we need to understand that goat's, just like every other animal we eat are made up of more than just steaks and chops. They have livers, hearts, kidneys, heads, etc. I will always have the opinion that if you kill an animal you should use every part that you possibly can. This is why I support farmers like Stryker. They raise goats for food and they sell every part that they can. So I simply try to do my part by buying things that most people won't eat. I will literally eat anything so I might as well lead the charge right?
I extracted the brain from the skull using a cleaver and a good deal of caution to avoid losing any of my digits. I placed the two halves of the brain in a metal bowl and covered them with almond milk. I soaked them in the milk for a few hours. This process adds a little extra flavor to the brain and also removes some of the blood. This works for most organs including kidneys, liver and sweetbreads. I removed the brains and drained them on paper towels before dusting them in a mixture of chili powder, flour, salt and pepper, dunking them in buttermilk and then back into the four mix. I pan fried the brains in rice bran oil on medium heat until golden brown. I drained them on paper towels once again and then cut them into smaller pieces.
I sliced a whole head of garlic in half horizontally and placed in cut side down into a pan with hot melted butter set on medium heat. I cooked the garlic for five minutes, flipped it over and placed it in the oven for a half hour to roast. I removed the pan from the oven and flipped the garlic back over. I cooked it over low heat along with the plum halves and peaches to caramelize everything.
But before any of this took place I roasted the goat's skull in the oven at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. While the skull was roasting I cooked some carrot, garlic, onion, peppercorn, cumin, fennel seed, coriander and cinnamon stick in a dry stock pot. I added some cider vinegar, honey and white wine and cooked it down a little. I then added the roasted skull and covered it with 2 quarts of chicken stock and cold water. I brought the pot up to a boil, lowered it to a simmer and cooked it for 5 hours. I strained the stock through cheesecloth before adding it to a sauce pot and reducing it to a thick sauce.
The goose berries were simply cut in half and used to add some tart acidity. I broke up the cheese into small pieces and placed them on the plate. And I finished it off with a garnish of mint and nasturtium leaves.
Product:
Pasture Raised Goat's Head - Stryker Farms
Organic Baby Yellow Plums - Culton Organics
Yellow Cling-stone Peaches - 3 Springs
Goose Berries - 3 Springs
Pastured Goat's Milk Blue Cheese - Cranberry Creek Farms
Organic Nasturtium Leaves - My Garden
Organic Mint - My Garden