Cooking Wild! - Mountain Goat On The Grill

in hunting •  7 years ago  (edited)

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As many of you know, I was lucky enough to harvest a mountain goat in Colorado a few short years ago. Here are some of my thoughts on preparing this uncommon wild game cuisine.

For after all, just exactly how do you cook a mountain goat?

So,

I have waited a long time to taste the meat of the Rocky Mountain Goat, and you could say that I really earned the priviledge. The question is just exactly what do you do now?

Well, on first bite, I am surprised! Shocked also, I suppose, because it did not taste anything at all like I thought that it would. And surprised too because most of the information that I could find on the internet and my library of wild game cookbooks was anything but hopeful. You might say that recipes for mountain goat are far and few between.

Granted, I have only tried one small sample from the front shoulders, and that was ground well without added fat to get a true taste of the meat.

But we prepared some large patties and heated them medium rare on a hot grill on a perfect mountain evening, and they were good.

In fact they were great, served with buns and the usual burger accompaniments. They didn't last long at all, and they left us wanting more.

I am at a loss to describe the taste completely, though perhaps that is the difficulty. The meat was subtle and mild, and fairly flavorless, but in a good way. Sometimes, less is more with wild game.

It may have something to do with the fact that this billy was perfectly processed in the field, then quickly and thoroughly cooled by mother nature as well as any walk-in cooler.

What I can tell you is that it was firm and clean without a hint of gaminess. It was well...refreshing, wild, like the promise of a new day in the bracing air of a high mountain valley.

Finding a recipe for this amazing animal almost anywhere is about as difficult as harvesting one in the first place. So, when in doubt, let the spirit move you and make it up, I say.

It is a blank canvas of possibility, and I look forward to experimenting with this wonderful wild meat.

A spice here, a spice there - a complimentary sauce or two. Some sausage for sure. Let the celebration continue...and if you have any suggestions, you know what to do.

*I have now tried this with 5% added beef fat, and I can highly recommend it.

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A FEW WORDS ABOUT MEAT GRINDING

One theme emerged when researching the gastronomic qualities of Mountain Goat. That theme in a word, is tough!

It makes perfect sense, considering where they live and what they do. Their meat seems to be infused with an inordinate amount of sinew and connective tissue, which would seem to explain a thing or two about their character. You'd be tough too if you spent the long winter clinging to a cliff or looking for something to eat on an impossibly cold, windswept ridge.

A crock pot obviously comes to mind, and no doubt that I will be breaking it out very soon. In lieu of that, a small electric meat grinder may be the perfect tool for the job.

My hunting partner has had his electric grinder for many years, and I know that he would be hard pressed to count how many elk and deer and other wild game animals have had some of their parts run through it. It worked wonderfully on this five-year old billy too.

While using it the other night I was reminded at just what a miraculous and indispensable machine it is for the big game hunter. Or any kind of hunter, for that matter.

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There are things that you can do after this little beauty has finished that you simply can't accomplish any other way, with the exception of a hand grinder, of course. The possibilities are endless.

Might you have a hankering for some german sausage? Or Italian is more to your taste? How about some meat sticks or hot dogs? Have you ever used a jerky gun? It is essential in making jerky from ground meat too.

In my mind it is one of the most beneficial tools that any hunter could own.

Enjoy!

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Mountain Goat Sausage - It's What's For Breakfast!

I like patty sausage, so here is one bulk sausage recipe that you may enjoy:

Hot Italian Mountain Goat Sausage

5 pounds ground shoulder or cut of your choice
2 Tbsp Salt
8 tsp Fennel Seed
8 gloves Garlic, finely chopped
4 tsp Oregano
5 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 1/4 tsp Coriander
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 1/4 tsp Caraway
Mix very well. Form into patties and fry in the cooking oil of your choice.

*You may also wish to substitute 1 pound of ground pork butt for 1 pound of goat, which seems to go together quite well and does add some flavor.

**This recipe also works well with elk, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope. I have tried them all, and to my added surprise, I believe I like the mountain goat the best.

It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!

By Michael Patrick McCarty

Parts of this post first appeared at:

http://throughahunterseyes.com

Please follow us at http://throughahunterseyes.com/ and https://steemit.com/@huntbook

Resteems Are Always Appreciated.

Active Member Outdoor Writers Association of America

"One does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted". From Meditations on Hunting by José Ortega y Gasset

beast4-a.jpg
My Hero Fred Bear, with "The Spirits of the High Places" - Quote Taken From An Old Fred Bear Bowhunting Film

P.S. You can read Part I at https://steemit.com/hunting/@huntbook/the-improbable-white-beast-of-another-big-adventure

Part II at https://steemit.com/hunting/@huntbook/impossible-colors-searching-for-the-mountain-spirits

Part III at https://steemit.com/hunting/@huntbook/searching-for-the-mountain-spirits-careless-for-a-second-can-get-you-killed

Part IV at https://steemit.com/hunting/@huntbook/searching-for-the-mountain-spirits-a-mountain-goat-kinda-night

Part V at https://steemit.com/hunting/@huntbook/searching-for-the-mountain-spirits-in-praise-of-the-30-378-weatherby-magnum

*Photograph of grill found at https://pixabay.com/en/users/StockSnap-894430/; meat grinder at https://pixabay.com/en/users/PublicDomainPictures-14/

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This post has my mouth watering. I ate quite a bit of goat when I lived in South America, but I'm sure this definitely has a distinctively different flavor.

Never really thought about eating mt. Goat. But I guess someone has too! Looked and sounded yummy. Nothing like fresh, lean, wild game. Fred Bear: how many among us can claim a goat with a bow? Not many at all.Blessings.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Glad that I enjoyed it - because I shall probably not hunt another. I hate to admit it, but I have missed two different goats with the bow - but I just didn't get the job done. I met Fred Bear once too. Someone yanked him away before I could get a word in. Darn...I did hunt with his Brown Bear Guide in Alaska though - the one in the famous film with him behind the big rock...but that's another story...

Holy cow! The closest I came to Fred Bear was purchasing my first Bear bow when I was 14. You have some tales to tell.

Just lucky that way. I belonged to some great archery clubs in New Jersey in the late 60's and early 70's. I was fortunate to rub shoulders with some of the greatest. And boy, did they have some stories to tell too...

I waited until I had eaten to read your post and still it managed to make me hungry. Great post!!

Well, I am thoroughly hungry now! My cold cereal just doesn't compare with the thought of that wild mountain goat sausage! I'm glad to hear you were pleasantly surprised at how good the meat is. I wondered myself what it would taste like. I am sure the meticulous preparation of the meat was a factor as well.

The world is a better place with this wild mountain goat recipe now online. Haha. It does make sense that the grinder would be your friend. Those are tough 'ol boys, I am sure. :)

I am glad that I could add to the existing literature on mountain goat recipes - probably doubled it too! That ole' grinder works for big-antlered , tough old elk and mule deer also (if I can ever kill one).

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