HOME & LIVING
B2 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2022
Hungry? Here’s why you should be eating goat meat
By BOBBY GHOSH
Bloomberg Opinion
Is America at long last
discovering that goat is the
G.O.A.T.? Having returned
to my home in New York
after three years abroad,
I am surprised to see so
many restaurant menus fea-
turing my favorite form of
protein, which I learned to
love growing up in India.
If this represents an evo-
lution in taste, then it is as
welcome as it is overdue.
Generations of immigrants
from the Indian subcon-
tinent, Africa and Latin
America have despaired of
Americans’ resistance to
goat meat. How, we have
wondered, could a culture
that annually celebrates the
turkey, quite possibly the
most unappetizing meat
known to man, be immune
to the attractions of the
tastiest?
If you’ve never tried
goat, take it from me that it
is more fl avorful than beef,
less fatty than pork, more
moist than lamb. (Com-
parisons with chicken and
turkey would, frankly, dis-
honor the noble quadripeds
that gave their lives for our
pleasure.) Better yet, try
it for yourself: There is a
great recipe at the end of
this column, and you can
fi nd me on TikTok pre-
paring goat burgers from
this recipe.
Americans’ aversion
to goat meat has had real-
world repercussions. For
one thing, it distorts percep-
tions of cuisines that make
liberal use of goat. My
own pet peeve is that many
Indian restaurants, bowing
to popular prejudice, often
use dry-aged lamb in dishes
that actually were designed
for goat. These are much
diff erent meats, the former
best cooked after being
aired for several days and
the latter ideally prepared
within hours of slaughter,
but most chefs didn’t know
to adjust the spice mixtures,
marination or cooking
times. The results were usu-
ally unpalatable.
For years, when friends
asked me to recommend an
Indian restaurant in New
York, I always added the
caveat, “As long as you
don’t order the lamb.”
But Americans who
weren’t so forewarned never
got the chance to develop
a proper appreciation for
the depth of Indian cuisine.
They likewise didn’t enjoy
the authentic experience of
countless African and Latin
American dishes.
By shunning goat,
Americans also were
unknowingly depriving
themselves of the most
nutritious of meats — lower
in fat, cholesterol and cal-
ories than the “big four”
of chicken, beef, pork and
lamb. They also are prob-
ably unaware that goat is
gentler on the environment,
as well as more humanely
produced.
Another drawback:
Because most Americans
don’t eat goat, the meat
industry has never devel-
oped a nationwide distribu-
tion system for it, certainly
nothing like the networks
that put the big four within
arm’s reach of desire any-
where and everywhere.
Outside the large metropo-
lises with large immigrant
communities, vast swaths
of the country are goat-
free. Millions of immi-
grants living in the goat
deserts have little access to
their fi rst-choice meat.
It isn’t only a matter of
distribution. Culinary his-
torians like Therese Nelson
and Michael Twitty attri-
bute the absence of goat
from the American gas-
tronomic mainstream to
deeper prejudices. Twitty,
author of the James Beard
Award-winning “The
Cooking Gene,” says “goat
[isn’t] widely used because
of its association with the
so-called ‘third world’ and
non-white people in the
popular imagination.”
Nelson, a chef, author
and founder of the organi-
zation Black Culinary His-
tory, puts it more bluntly:
“Goat — like oxtail, pork
belly, chicken wings and
off al before it — is still
the delicious providence
of many minority cul-
tures,” she says. But for the
majority, “goat isn’t worth
it because its primary con-
sumers are from cultures
Americans aren’t interested
in fully embracing.”
If New York is playing
its customary role as the
Dreamstime-TNS
Americans’ aversion to goat meat has had real-world repercussions,
writes Bloomberg Opinion columnist Bobby Ghosh.
nation’s trendsetter, then
there is hope that the rest of
America will catch on.
In many of New York’s
Indian eateries, the king
of meats is fi nally taking
its rightful place in curries
and biryanis. Emboldened
by the growing appetite for
goat, chefs like Chintan
Pandya of Dhamaka, for
my money the best Indian
restaurant outside India,
are going even further with
dishes that simply wouldn’t
have worked with substi-
tutes, like gurda kapura, a
snack made from kidneys
and testicles. “Ten years
ago, we might not have
risked using goat, but now
we can be unapologetic
about it,” Pandya says.
There is goat aplenty,
too, in the Mexican food
trucks that are riding the
current Tik Tok-fueled
craze for birria. When I
left New York in 2018, it
was hard to fi nd a place
that served the goat-based
stew, the pride of Mexi-
co’s Jalisco state; at most
taco joints, it was off ered
in beef. (The honorable
exceptions were mostly
at the other end of the
country, in Los Angeles.)
Now, thanks to social-
media campaigns calling
for authenticity, the goat
version is growing more
common.
The big question is
whether goat can now
make the leap from ethnic
cuisine to mainstream
menus and dining tables.
It bodes well that celebrity
chefs like Andrew Zim-
mern and Dan Barber have
become enthusiastic advo-
cates, off ering recipes that
recommend goat as a sub-
stitute for lamb and beef.
Zimmern, in particular,
has used his TV shows to
challenge the common per-
ception that goat meat is
gamey and hard to cook.
“I’ve become the clarion
caller for goat in America,”
he says.
He can depend on an
affi rming chorus of mil-
lions of immigrants. Repeat
after us, fellow Americans:
“Goat is the G.O.A.T.!”
ROASTED LEG
OF GOAT WITH
LEMON SAUCE
Typically I buy two rear legs of
goat and invite friends over for a
simple meal. I roast the goat right
on the rack in the center of my
oven and serve it with a classic
Greek avgolemono sauce. I team
the goat with charred eggplant
salad, plenty of leeks, potatoes,
carrots and fennel in the pan
catching the drippings, along with
freshly made fl atbread.
— Andrew Zimmern
3 tablespoons rosemary,
fi nely chopped
1
/ 3 cup dill, fi nely chopped
3 tablespoons oregano,
fi nely chopped
¼ cup garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Two young goat legs, roughly
6-7 pounds each, at
room temperature
Mixed vegetables, such as trimmed
carrots, trimmed leeks, halved
fennel bulbs and halved onions
1 cup chicken stock
½ cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs
Preheat the oven to 400
degrees Fahrenheit.
In a medium bowl, mix together
the rosemary, dill (reserve 2
tablespoons), oregano, garlic, salt,
pepper and vegetable oil.
Poke the goat all over with a
small, sharp knife, then rub the
herb mixture all over the legs,
stuffi ng it into the holes.
Place the legs directly on the
oven rack in the middle of the
oven. Put a sheet tray with the
mixed vegetables underneath
the goat to catch the drippings.
Roast for 75 to 80 minutes, or until
a thermometer inserted in the
thickest part of the leg registers
145 degrees. Transfer the goat to
a carving board and let rest for 30
minutes. Place the roasted vege-
tables from the sheet pan around
the legs, leaving all the other bits
on the pan.
Meanwhile, make the sauce.
Skim any fat off of the sheet
tray, leaving the drippings and
browned bits behind. Set the
sheet tray on a burner and pour
the chicken stock over the drip-
pings, whisking to loosen all of
the browned bits. Tip the mixture
into a saucepan. Add the white
wine and 1 tablespoon lemon
juice, and cook until reduced to 1
cup at a light boil.
In a medium bowl, add a
pinch of salt, the remaining 2
tablespoons of lemon juice and
the eggs. Very gradually whisk
in ¼ cup of the reduced stock,
then gradually whisk in the rest.
Pour the mixture back into the
saucepan and cook over low heat,
stirring constantly over low heat,
until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir
in the remaining 2 tablespoons of
dill and season the sauce with salt
and pepper. Carve the goat and
serve with the roasted vegetables
and the sauce.
Bobby Ghosh is a Bloomberg
Opinion columnist. He writes on
foreign aff airs, with a special focus
on the Middle East and Africa.
When your computer is in despair
OUTSTANDING
COMPUTER REPAIR
Fast and Reliable
MOBILE COMPUTER SUPPORT
DALE BOGARDUS 541-297-5831
Are Your Feet tired of
dashing thru the stores?
We specialize in
quality medical
and surgical care
Travis T. Hampton, D.P.M.
for all types of
Foot and Ankle Surgeon
foot and ankle
problems.
541-963-0265
888-843-9090
La Grande
1408 N Hall Street
www.GVfoot.com
Enterprise
601 Medical Parkway
Baker
3175 Pocahontas Rd.
M ICHAEL
541-786-8463
M. Curtiss PN-7077A CCB# 183649
A C ERTIFIED M ASTER A RBORIST
215 Elm Street La Grande • (541) 963-5440
northwestfurnitureandmattress.com
C lassifieds
Published by The Observer & Baker City Herald - Serving Wallowa, Union and Baker Counties
PLACING YOUR AD IS EASY...Union, Wallowa, and Baker Counties
Phone La
Grande - 541-963-3161 • Baker City - 541-523-3673
On-Line:
www.lagrandeobserver.com
www.bakercityherald.com
Email:
Classifieds@lagrandeobserver.com
Classifieds@bakercityherald.com
by Stella Wilder
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2022
YOUR BIRTHDAY by Stella Wilder
Born today, you are the kind of person to
whom things happen at a sometimes startling
pace, and yet you never let yourself feel vic-
timized in any way as a result. On the con-
trary, you use the events of your life to moti-
vate you and put you in the driver’s seat, so
that ultimately, though things may have been
begun by someone or something else, you will
eventually take charge and be the one calling
the shots.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Self-
awareness increases today, and the benefits
you enjoy as a result will propel you forward
just as you had hoped. A plan comes together.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- You’re
going to have to send a message today in some
kind of shorthand, but take care that you don’t
omit the one essential piece of information!
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) -- A tangled
situation begins to unravel today, and you may
find yourself temporarily on the outs with
someone who has been on your side until
now.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Give your-
self all the time you need to accomplish your
assigned tasks today. You must not distract
yourself with issues not directly related.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- What you
seek today may stay hidden for a while, caus-
ing frustration and, for a bit, perhaps a little
panic, too -- but this won’t last!
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- You don’t
want to wait to do what needs to be done
today; that which is left undone is sure to
cause you no end of trouble in the days to
come.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- Your enthu-
siasm for a project proposed by someone may
wane somewhat today. Others may be inter-
ested in what you have in mind instead.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- What happens
during the first part of the day may give you
little indication of all that may happen during
the latter half. Be ready for anything!
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- As you strive
to solve a mystery at home, you’ll come to
realize that not everything is as it appears to
be. Who’s hiding what -- and why?
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- You’ll want to
be sure that you get something right the first
time today, as you’re not likely to have a sec-
ond chance -- at least not for some time.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Someone
appears from out of your past and warns you
against doing something you’ve decided can-
not be avoided. You must reconsider!
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Facts
and figures, essential as they are, may be lost
in a cloud of conjecture and assumptions that
you, ultimately, will want to avoid.
COPYRIGHT 2022 UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC.
DISTRIBUTED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION FOR UFS
1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106; 816-581-7500
110 Announcements
110 Announcements
To Place a Classified Ad
Please email your contact information and
the content to be included in the ad to:
classifieds@bakercityherald.com
If you are unable to email please call:
(541) 523-3673
Deadlines for Classified Ads
4:00 PM two days prior to publication
Tuesday Publication..........Friday by 4 PM
Thursday Publication.....Tuesday by 4 PM
Saturday Publication....Thursday by 4 PM
DEADLINES:
LINE ADS:
Tuesday: 8:30am Monday
Thursday: 8:30 am Wednesday
Saturday: 8:30 am Friday
DISPLAY ADS:
2 Days Prior to
Publication Date