In Ghana, goat is very commonly eaten in a multitude of forms – grilled over coals as the beloved street food chichinga, or used to add depth to the country’s many different stews and soups.
In Ghana, goat is very commonly eaten in a multitude of forms – grilled over coals as the beloved street food chichinga, or used to add depth to the country’s many different stews and soups.
You don't have to go too far to get goat in Ghana. It's a shame that's not the case in the UK, although there are an increasing number of places around London where you can get a decent goat meal, such as The Gold Coast Bar, Jason's Little Kitchen supper club and Chalé! Let's Eat, and the supply of quality goat meat is getting easier to come by.
Despite the widely held belief that goat is tough and chewy with an overpowering flavour (I think this is often true of poor-quality meat), goat can, in fact, be as versatile as lamb and beef, and kid goat in particular is super lean and easy to cook, as these recipes show.
Suya is a popular West African street food snack, known in Ghana as chichinga – it’s basically like a Ghanaian shish kebab. The gamey tenderness of diced kid goat is perfect with suya, and is the most common version I’ve come across in the capital, Accra. This recipe is super simple and tasty as hell. Whack it on the barbecue in summer, or enjoy it all year round from a griddle pan or from under your grill.
This delicious stew will put fire in your belly and warm you right through! It’s more commonly cooked with beef in Ghana, but the gamey quality of goat works amazingly well in it, too.
While at university, my friend Josie shared the secret of her Italian family’s slow-cooked steak ragù with mashed garlic broccoli with me, and I’ve never cooked ragù with minced meat since! This version uses a diced leg of kid goat – it’s a slow and low cook, but is so worth the wait.
Or if you’re after a bit of a British twist with goat, why not try Jamie’s mouthwateringly-good kid burger finished off with a dollop of minty yoghurt and red onion pickle?
To find out more about the sustainability and welfare issues surrounding the production of kid meat in the UK, and where to get the best quality, most delicious goat you can, check out this feature.