RECIPE - Goat Brewmaster-style (Cabrito cervejeiro)

This recipe for kid (young goat) marinaded in beer comes to Flavors of Brazil from the Brazilian food and wine magazine Prazeres da Mesa. It was created by São Paulo chef Rodrigo Martins, who works at that city's Vino! restaurant.

The recipe calls for cubed goat stew meat, but if goat meat is unavailable in your area, or you'd prefer not to eat it, you can very easily substitute lamb. The flavors are very similar, and generally recipes featuring either lamb or goat can successfully be swapped between the two types of meat.

As the recipe indicates below, you'll need to start a day ahead of time. In order for the beer marinade to do its job of tenderizing and flavoring the meat, it requires a full 24 hours. It's best not to try to shorten the marinading time.
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RECIPE - Goat Brewmaster-style (Cabrito cervejeiro)
Serves 4

2 lb (1 kg) cubed goat stew meat
1 small onion, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 oz (50 gr) pancetta, cubed
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
extra-virgin olive oil
6 button mushrooms, quartered
1 peeled whole clove garlic
1 small jalapeno or serrano chili, seeded and chopped (optional)
2 bottles or cans good-quality dark beer, cold
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion, green part only
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In a large mixing bowl combine the beer, carrot, onion, parsley chilis, bay leaves and thyme. Add the cubed meat, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours, stirring the meat once or twice during that time.

When ready to cook, drain off about half of the marinading liquid into a heavy saucepan. Add the garlic clove and the pancetta cubes, bring to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover the pan and simmer for two hours or until reduced by half. Reserve.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan, add the cubed meat and fry until nicely browned on all sides. Fry in batches if necessary. When all the meat is browned, add the reduced marinading liquid, the chopped shallots and the mushrooms.  Bring the liquid to a simmer and cook the meat for about half an hour, or until it is very tender and the sauce is thickened.

Pour the meat and sauce into a decorative serving bowl. Sprinkle with the shopped cilantro and green onion and serve immediately.

Remove the meat from the remaining marinading liquid with a slotted spoon. Accompany with boiled potatoes or white rice.

Sorting out the Caprinae - Sheeps, Lambs, Goats and Kids

A few weeks ago, a group of friends, Brazilians and non-Brazilians alike, dined together at a well-regarded restaurant in Fortaleza by the name of Carneiro do Ordones. It's famous for the quality and number of its dishes featuring members of the Caprinae family of animals - that's to say in plain English, sheep and goats in all their varieties. Their menu claims more than 60 different dishes including one or another of these meats.

At the table, when presented with the multi-page menu featuring these 60+ dishes there was confusion among the diners as to the terminology used. No one, Brazilian or otherwise, seemed able to decipher exactly what the restaurant meant when one dish was described as including carneiro, another cordeiro, a third borrego, and others including bode, cabrito or capra. Clearly a bit of linguistic and gastronomic research was in order for Flavors of Brazil. (Incidentally, the group ordered a wide variety of dishes, notwithstanding not being sure exactly what the meat was in any particular dish, and the results were more than satisfactory. Carneiro do Ordones clearly knows its way around the Caprinae family and how its members are best served to hungry diners).

Zoologically, the Caprinae family of animals is divided into two sub-families, sheep (Ovis) and goats (Capra). Cularinarily, the same distinction between sheep and goats is maintained, although there are many similarities between the meat from both sub-families. They share a distinctive, strongly-aromatic flavor that people tend to either love or hate (most people aren't neutral about eating goats and sheep), and also share a similar nutritional profile - less fat, and hence fewer calories, than beef or pork, and a lower quantity of cholesterol as well. The strong flavor of their meat increases with age, and consequently, most people prefer to eat meat slaughtered at a young age than more mature and more strongly-flavored meat from older animals.

In English culinary terminology, meat from younger sheep is called lamb and from older animals is referred to as mutton. When goats are slaughtered at an early age, their meat is called kid, leaving the name goat for meat from older animals. After doing some research in Portuguese dictionaries and culinary guides, Flavors of Brazil discovered that Portuguese makes the same age distinction, though the terms tend to be more flexible and interchangeable.

Ovis aries

Carneiro is the proper name for meat from older sheep - mutton in English. It is also the Portuguese equivalent of ram, that is, the male of the sheep family. Carneiro comes generally from animals that were more than one year old at the time they were slaughtered and processed. When the animal is younger than one year, its meat is most commomly called cordeiro, although depending on the region of Brazil the terms borrego or anho might alternatively be used.

Capra aegagrus hircus

On the goat side of the family, the name of the meat depends on the age of the animal when it's slaughtered, just as with cordeiro and carneiro. When the animal is more than a year old, its meat is called bode and when it's younger, optimally around six months, it's cabrito or capra. In some areas of Brazil, particularly the northeast, the term bode is used for all goat meat, whether from a young animal or an older one.

Probably Not a Great Idea - Brazil's Goat Fondue

Fondue, being of Swiss origin, is often thought of as a perfect cold-weather food. In its three major varieties - beef, cheese, chocolate - it's warming and filling in the way that a proper wintertime food should be. Dipping crusty French bread into a bubbling bowl of melted cheese with white wine is a sure way to warm anyone up literally and figuratively.

Brazil's currently in the middle of their Southern Hemisphere winter and according to a recent article in the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper an inn owner in the north-eastern state of Pernambuco (where, as the article points out, it gets as cold as 12C or 53F!) has come up with a uniquely Brazilian take on fondue.

Pedro de Oliveira Junior owns the Baixa Verde inn, located in the town of Triunfo, Pernambuco. The town sits in the interior highlands of Pernambuco, at an altitude of 1000 meters, or just under 4000 ft. Apparently Sr. Oliveira recently had a fondue revelation - he is quoted in the newspaper as saying, "Because it's so cold in our region - we have had days that go as low as 12V - we've always featured cheese fondue, chocolate fondue, other types. So one day I said to myself, 'Why not goat? since everyone in our neighborhood raises goats.'"

Goat meat has many virtues and is a meat that deserves to be more well-known in large parts of the world where it's not currently part of the diet. It is very flavorful, and quite healthy. But it seems to us at Flavors of Brazil that goat fondue isn't something that's going to set the gastronomic world on fire. Goat meat requires long cooking, usually braising, to make it tender. Undercooked, it can be extremely tough. A quick dip in boiling oil, a la beef fondue, really isn't enough to tenderize a piece of goat meat, nor to mellow its strong taste.

However, until we've had a chance to sample goat fondue, we'll reserve finally judgment. Best of luck in the meantime to Sr. Oliveira for his initiative and creativy.

RECIPE - Braised Kid (Cabrito ao Molho)

No, the kid in the title of this post does NOT refer to one's own offspring, but rather to the meat of a young goat. (Which reminds me of a amusing true story about a Brazilian friend of mine, who doesn't speak much English and who visited the USA last year. While there, he went into a McDonald's and shocked the attendant by mis-ordering - instead of a grilled chicken sandwich, he told her he'd like to order "one grilled children, please.")

This recipe, which calls for braising small pieces of goat meat (cabrito) in a tomato- and coconut milk-based sauce, comes from the northeastern Brazilian state of Piauí. Traditionally the poorest of all the states of Brazil and among those with the hottest, driest climatic conditions, Piauí has a long history of capriculture - the raising of domesticated goats. It also is famous for its traditional dishes made with products of this animal, dishes such as this one, and the famous (or infamous) buchada, a Brazilian relative of the haggis made by stuffing a goat's stomach with various goat innards.

This braised-kid dish is much less of a cultural challenge than is buchada, and would be a good introduction to goat meat for those not familiar with it. As mentioned in the previous post, goat meat is becoming increasingly available in North America and Europe, and is well-worth adding to your culinary repertoire due to its nutritional and health values.
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RECIPE - Braised Kid (Cabrito ao Molho)
Serves 6

4 lbs (2 kgs) goat or kid meat, cut into small pieces, bone-in
juice of 2 fresh limes
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp powdered cumin
1/2 cup tomato paste
5 Tbsp neutral vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 cups (1 liter) water
1/4 cup chopped green onions, green part only
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup coconut milk
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Put the pieces of goat meat in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the lime juice over the pieces, tossing them with a wooden spoon to mix thoroughly. Pour enough boiling water over the meat to cover, let stand for 5 minutes, then drain the meatand return it to the mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add the garlic, cumin and tomato paste. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Reserve.

In a large heavy saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and green pepper and cook until the onions are lightly golden. Add the reserved goat meat and continue cooking until the meat has taken on color. Pour over the 4 cups water, bring quickly to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cook, with the pan partially covered, for 45-60 minutes, checking from time to time to make sure the dish isn't drying out. If it is, add additional boiling water. When the meat is tender and the sauce thickened, add the coconut milk, cook for about one more minute until the coconut milk is heated, then remove from heat and place into a large serving bowl or on a platter. Sprinkle with the chopped green onions and cilantro and serve immediately. Accompany with plain white rice or mashed potatoes.

Recipe translated and adapted from Cozinha Regional Brasileira by Abril Editora.

Cabrito - A Regional Meat Goes National in Brazil

For a number of historical, meteorological and geographical reasons, the foods and gastronomy of Brazil ranges widely from region to region. It's more than 2300 miles as the crow flies from Boa Vista, Brazil's northernmost state capital, to Porto Alegre, its southernmost (and it's much, much longer by road!). That's about the same distance as Minneapolis, MN, to San Jose, Costa Rica. It stands to reason that the traditional ingredients and culinary techniques of Boa Vista will not be much like those of Porto Alegre.

Historically, the northeastern region of Brazil has always been the only part of the country where a significant quantity of a meat called cabrito is consumed. In English we'd call this meat kid, since cabrito refers to meat from a young goat - though, because of the double meaning of kid in English, you're unlikely to hear many people say they roasted a kid last night, or that their favorite sandwich is a kidburger. In northeastern Brazil, however, cabrito is a highly-valued meat, and has always been one of the primary sources of animal protein. Its popularity has been due to at least two factors: historical ties to Portugal, where cabrito has long been consumed, and the hot, dry climate and  poor soil of the northeast, which means that goats are one of the few domesticated animals that can survive the harsh conditions.

Outside of the northeast, Brazilians haven't been known as big eaters of cabrito. This situation is rapidly changing, however, and in the big cities and small towns of southern Brazil, cabrito is enjoying a new wave of popularity. One of the reasons is the fact that regional Brazilian cuisines are increasingly being recognized outside their home base, and creative chefs everywhere in the country are using traditional regional cuisines as inspiration. The other reason is the nutritional qualities of cabrito itself. Goat meat is very low in fat - with a fat content of 2.75%, it's lower in fat than skinless chicken (3.75%) and much lower than beef, which comes in at an average of 17.4%. It's very low in cholesterol, and has high levels of calcium, iron, and valuable omega-3 and omega-6 oils.

If Brazilians outside the northeastern region haven't eaten much cabrito until recently, North Americans and Northern Europeans have eaten even less. The meat has always been popular, though, in traditional cuisines of Southern Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean. With increased immigration from those regions, cabrito (often labelled "goat") is becoming more available in butcher shops and ethnic markets in places like the USA, Canada, England or Germany. If you'd like to try cabrito, check for these shops in your city - you might particularly look for butcher shops that identify themselves as halal, which means meat slaughtered and prepared in the manner prescribed by Islamic law. Most halal butcher shops will have cabrito.

In the next couple of posts here on Flavors of Brazil, we'll provide some recipes for this tasty and very healthy meat. Brazilians in the country's northeast have been cooking cabrito for a long time, so they're very good at it. It's worth giving it a try. You just might like it (especially if you're fond of cabrito's animal cousin, lamb).