I stopped in at Farm City and realized I was there before and forgot the name entirely. Anyway, they did have goat and their meat selection in general looked damn good. I paid $16.45 for just over four pounds of shoulder. Tonight, I make Birria!

I want a full report Pie Lady ... I'm salivating

I think there is $1 million dollar industry in Taco de Chivo Birria Mole -- as a Cure for the Curse of the Cubs

Mole is necessary because this is a Cure -- Mole from KaKao is Theobromo -- Medicine of the Gods ... in fact, maybe I can pick some up in Guatemala -- I'm going there for the End of Days -- Solstice 2012. Kakao is a Mayan god -- he's got great glyph which will be very very VERY cool on the wrapper and would look great on a t-shirt ... and cocoa from Guatemala as an ingredient for this magical mole might work.

It would be good for LTH to run a competition for the best recipe ... I suggested this to Rokito -- who has a hip little taqueria with great art and so/so chivo tacos around Truman College ... maybe Rokito could sponsor LTH to invent the Cure ... timely for Opening Day -- we can have a rooftop viewing (from a plasma tv) for judging the best birria/mole (my building has a great roof top w/a view from a mile & half north of Wrigley Field ... ) and get some great press -- there's a p/o/s here somewhere -- proceeds to a good food related charity?

Boston had a Reverse the Curse Ice Cream ... which made a lot of bux for 2 years when the BosSox finally won the Series ...

Let me know if this floats your boat ...

WSJ Weekend has a nice big article about goat called "Get Your Goat On!" Goat meat is apparently the new trendy "go to" meat for all sorts of high end chefs.

There is also an interesting recipe with a big photo of the goat leg and shoulder dish with date sauce. There is even a video.

The article is accessible without requiring registration, subscription or cookie-enablement. But in case it subsequently slips behind a pay wall, here is a synopsis of its tips on purchasing goat meat. This is from a list of "things you should ask your butcher":

BREED: Boer, Spanish, Kiko, Savanna or a cross between these are preferable.

AGE: No older than one year with some chefs requiring no older than nine months.

WEIGHT: The goat should have weighed less than 60 pounds.

TYPE: Desirable types include kid, wether and doeling. Nanny, billy or buck goats can be "tough and gamey."

Don't miss John Kass making goat's head soup!

He says: "It simmered for more than three hours, until the meat all but fell off the bone. About halfway through, we added salt to taste. As it bubbled, we talked of goats and the old country, of olive trees, the sun, the taste of mulberries and fresh yogurt, and the old wars, the terrible journey of immigrants. I can imagine Italians doing the same, and Jamaicans, Poles, Mexicans, Indians, Chinese, Nigerians, Assyrians, Turks and Americans from the country, living in the city. Guys hanging around a kitchen, going old school, using ancient recipes to fly their souls home."

Hey, wasn't there a Stones album...?

Hi,

I was wandering around Cass Avenue in Westmont looking for an Indian restaurant while driving some relations around the burbs; where I noticed a Indian Grocery Store in the strip mall at 6020 Cass Avenue that is selling Goat meat. There was a butcher in the back of the Grocery Store who was chopping up Beef and Goat meat for sale. I asked the store owner if it was really Goat meat or is he selling mutton as Goat. He replied, with some indignation; "Of Course, it is baby Goat meat!"

Indian Spices Store (in the strip mall that has Saffron restaurant)
6020 Cass Ave.
Westmont

Indianbadger wrote:Hi,

I was wandering around Cass Avenue in Westmont looking for an Indian restaurant while driving some relations around the burbs; where I noticed a Indian Grocery Store in the strip mall at 6020 Cass Avenue that is selling Goat meat. There was a butcher in the back of the Grocery Store who was chopping up Beef and Goat meat for sale. I asked the store owner if it was really Goat meat or is he selling mutton as Goat. He replied, with some indignation; "Of Course, it is baby Goat meat!"

Indian Spices Store (in the strip mall that has Saffron restaurant)
6020 Cass Ave.
Westmont

All the places I am familiar with sell 'baby' (young goat actually), no where do I know of sells mutton anymore and probably hasn't for decades in the US. All lamb commonly sold is young lamb with a few places such as Fresh Farms selling very young lamb on the order of 25#'s dre ssed.
In shopping at ethnic markets for goat/lamb, I usethe smell test, if the place smells bad, I don't purchase.-Dick

Hi,

I was in Lewis Market on Grand in Waukegan earlier today. They offer frozen goat pieces for $3.99 per pound. Is that a reasonable price?

Regards,

Is that American goat? A lot of cheaper frozen goat is shipped from Australia and is not very fresh.

Cyriaco wrote:Is that American goat? A lot of cheaper frozen goat is shipped from Australia and is not very fresh.

Never knew to ask, though it is now something to understand. Thanks!

Regards,

Is there a good meat wholesaler for goats? In Detroit, I used to go to Saad Meats, located at the Eastern Market, a big warehouse-like building with plenty of carcasses hanging from the ceiling of a giant refrigerated room. You put on plastic gloves, look over the carcasses, and pick what looks good. You buy the carcass, and the guys will cut it up as you like it on a bandsaw.

Personally, I like my goat a little more mature, but it's difficult to find that. At least at a wholesaler, I can pick a somewhat bigger goat when selecting between different carcasses.

Deep South Burbs, I believe they do their own butchering on-site

T & J Meat Packing Co offers a wide variety of meats, including:
Beef - Roasting Pigs
Goat - Pork Cuts
Lamb - Sausage
Poultry - Seasonings
Veal

http://www.tandjmeatpacking.com/home.html

T & J Meat Packing Co
Glenwood-Dyer & Cottage Grove
Chicago Heights, IL 60411

Summer Hours of Operation:
Monday to Saturday: 7:00am-6:00pm
Sunday: 8:00am-3:00pm

Phone: (708) 758-6748
(708) 758-6749
Email tjmeatpacking@gmail.com

motu wrote:Deep South Burbs, I believe they do their own butchering on-site

T & J Meat Packing Co offers a wide variety of meats, including:
Beef - Roasting Pigs
Goat - Pork Cuts
Lamb - Sausage
Poultry - Seasonings
Veal

The way these lines broke, I saw whole new classifications of meat. Beef roasting pigs? Goat pork cuts? Yes, please.

I don't cook a ton of goat but always buy mine at Old World Market (link). They sell a lot of it and will hit it with the bandsaw to your specifications. I'll check price next time I swing by.

5129 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 728-2197

Just yesterday, no problem finding goat at Andy's Fruit Ranch on Kedzie. Butcher sawed it into smaller pieces for me, no up charge. Making Goat chili with Eye of the Goat beans today

(tried looking at City Fresh, where I'd found it before, with no luck - the guy didn't even know what I meant when I asked for Goat and had to get another of the butchers to talk to me)

Andy's listed source of goat as Australia when I was in there this afternoon.

Leek, I followed your lead and made the goat chili, finishing the last of it for breakfast yesterday. Very good. I went to Andy's and bought a whole shoulder (I think it's called espaldilla or pareta in Spanish, but I relied on English, Italian, and old fashioned pointing to do my ordering), butchered it myself, and was delighted with the outcome. I used scarlet runners instead of the ojo de cabra beans (Rancho Gordo is sold out currently) and braised the goat for an hour (much longer than the recipe calls for) while cooking the beans separately. Scarlet runners aren't quite the right texture, I think. Will try ayocote blanco beans next time I make this excellent dish. Also, I omitted the bacon and used a rauchbier in the braise for that hint of smoke. Thanks for a recommendation that will stay in my rotation.

I've never had any trouble getting fresh goat. Produce World in Morton Grove has been my source since the 1980s. I'd imagine that, with advanced notice, and of the big, multi-ethnic grocers could get a goat for you. Lots of people enjoying goat these days, so I'd imagine it would be even easier to find now than it was 30 years ago, when I first started cooking it.

Glad that recipe worked for you, Chooey. I like the Rancho Gordo Scarlet Runner beans, but do them more simply than this recipe. I'd sub a bean that is something pinto or cannellini-like. I had the beans first, so had to make it with goat meat for my eye-of-the-goat beans.

For those in the Schaumburg area/west burbs, I stopped by a meat shop called My Halal Meat.

When I asked if they had fresh goat, he was very pleased to take me back to the cooler and show me the 4 or so fresh goats hanging in the cooler.

My Halal Meat
865 E Schaumburg Rd
Schaumburg, IL 60194
http://myhalalmeatstore.com/

Thanks Willie.
On my list!
Most of the goat you see in sawn blocks has been frozen, cut frozen and is sold as a commodity.
I have found it of very good quality and have noticed no problem with where it was raised.
But, that said, a whole goat hanging is far more attractive to me.
I will get a whole baby goat ($159), take it home and butcher.-Richard

Thank you for the information on Old World Market. I love goat, but had no idea where to purchase it. I have been to Old World Market and it seemed like a very good little grocery. Seems like a good excuse to go eat at Argyle.

As Fulton Market rapidly morphs into a tech corridor and a lodging and entertainment zone, I wanted to highlight the decade old advice from the beginning of this thread. Halsted Packing remains one of the city's remaining family owned abattoirs. I picked up a small pig recently and confirmed that the goat, lamb and pigs walk in the back door, trucked in from farms in Wisconsin, and are never frozen. Prices are higher than some of the spots on Devon but a lot of that meat (good as it is) has been frozen.

Unclear whether the goat and lamb is halal. They sell a ton during Ramadan according to the manager, but the animals hang in some proximity to each other, which of course includes pigs. So I'd think not, regardless of the method of killing and preparing the meat.

Perhaps even more remarkable is Olympia over on Randolph right in the middle of bars and restaurants. Much more high end and retail oriented, it seems to have made the transition into a new phase of life, similar to spots like Paulina Market, Gene's, etc.