Jamaican-Style Goat Curry

Jamaican curries are awesome!  The combination of warming spices in the curry powder and the long cook times yield a dish that blends the flavor profile of goat meat perfectly alongside an aggressive spice palate.  We've written it here with a work-around if you don't want to make your own curry powder, but if you are interested in going all in, the curry powder recipe is listed below as well :) I've written the recipe here for 1 lb ground goat as it gets to the table quite a bit faster then using full muscle pieces like a leg or shoulder roast, but if you choose to use a cut like that just lengthen your cooking time to 2+ hours (or until the meat fall apart) and it'll be equally delicious.  Finally, curries like this always get better with time!  So, if you can make it one day and serve it over the next several. 

Recipe adapted from Hank Shaw Hunter Gardener Cook

1 pound ground goat

2 Tablespoons curry powder plus 1 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/4 teaspoon ground clove, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg OR follow the recipe below to make your own Jamaican-style curry spice blend

2 small onions rough dice

1 inch piece minced ginger

6 garlic cloves minced  

1 16 oz can coconut milk

16 oz crushed tomatoes

1/2 Tablespoon dried thyme

1 cup water (possibly more later)

4 large Yukon gold potatoes - large dice, skin on

1.5 teaspoon salt

1 habanero or 1/2 tsp cayenne or a pinch of chili flakes (optional, but suggested!)  

1. Mix the curry powder together with the other isolated spices.  Most often a lot of allspice and a little additional warming spice will get your standard grocery store curry powder closer to a Caribbean profile.  

2. Bloom 1.5 T of your curry powder in hot neutral oil for about a minute.  There should be some sizzling and coloration but hopefully no burning.

3. Brown your ground meat in big chunks quickly in the oil.  The bloomed curry powder will give the ground a nice crust rapidly.  After less then 2 minutes per side, scoop the ground out and lower the pan temp.

4. Lower the heat to medium and saute onions in the same oil till browned on the edges (5 minutes).  After the onion colors, add in the garlic and ginger and continue to sauté for another couple minutes.   

5. Add in coconut milk, crushed tomatoes, remaining curry powder and the meat (be careful to break it down to smaller burger pieces as you are adding it) and the water. 

6. Stir it all together and either put it in 300 degree oven to cook, covered, for 45-ish minutes (our method, a little easier), or cook it covered on the range on medium-low heat (gently bubbling - which will require more attentive detail and additional water to avoid burning).  

7.  After 45 minutes, add in the potatoes and cook until the potatoes are done.    

JAMAICAN-STYLE CURRY POWDER 

Toast and grind:

1.5 Tablespoon whole coriander seed

1.5 Tablespoon whole cumin seed

2 Tablespoon yellow mustard seed 

2 Tablespoon fenugreek seed.

Add that too 2.5 tsp tumeric, 1 tsp ground ginger, 2 T ground allspice, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground clove, and 1/2 tsp cayenne.  Keep it sealed in a jar.