Meat the G.O.A.T.
OUR collective idea of what constitutes the meat market is remarkably narrow — chicken, pork, beef, lamb and seafood dominate our consciousness.
Yet there are far more nutritious and widely available forms of protein that we routinely overlook.
How about our national crest — emu and kangaroo. There’s crocodile, camel, horse, venison and insects.
Or the extraordinary variety of poultry whose flavours we often forget — ducks, geese, squab and quail. Then there’s the really rare — when was the last time you tried sea cucumber or jellyfish?
Yet even in this longer list we are missing a meat industry that Australia truly dominates. It may surprise, but nearly two-thirds of all the goat meat exported in the world comes from our shores.
Goats arrived with the First Fleet, and were soon permitted to wander unchecked into the unconquered interior. A comparable feral population emerged as the colonies in Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide were established.
The net result was that by the mid1850s there were already well over a million wild goats on the continent.
Yet spare a thought for the goats. Their impact on the land is dramatically less than that of sheep or cattle, and they are great foragers for invasive weeds like blackberry, y, briar, serrated tussock and thistles.
The actual number of wild goats oscillates with conditions but today there is thought to be roughly
2.5 million.
While they may not be native, ve, they are in fact offsetting some of the he impacts our occupation has had. ad. Not bad for a freewheeling escapee. e.
CAPRETTO: GOAT AND ND RED WINE CASSEROLE LE Method Meth
1. Preheat Preh oven to 150C. Place the goat shoulder sh in a glass bowl, cover with red re wine and refrigerate overnight. overnig Set a large heavy-based pot over ov a moderate heat, then pour in the olive oil. Sear the goat on all sides side until browned, then set aside. Ad Add the onion, carrots, fennel seeds, se garlic, cumin and rosemary r and cook for 5 minutes.m
2. Pour in the wine and boil for 3 minutes, then add the diced tomatoes and beef stock. Season generously with salt and pepper, turn the heat to low, then simmer for 2½ hours, until the meat is very tender. 2 eggs
CHOC-HAZELNUT ICING: 1 ripe avocado, peeled, de-seeded
60ml (¼ cup) pure maple syrup
40g (1/3 cup) raw cacao or dark cocoa powder
80g (¼ cup) chocolate hazelnut spread
Method
Sea sa salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan-forced. Line 12 x 80ml (1/3 cup) muffin pans with paper cases.
2. Place all of the cupcake ingredients in a food processor. Process for 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides with a spatula and process for a further 5–10 seconds or until combined. 3. Divide mixture among the prepared cases. Bake for 17 minutes or until just cooked through and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Set aside in the pan for 10 minutes to cool slightly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. For the icing, process all the ingredients in a clean food processor, scraping down the sides with a spatula if necessary, until smooth and combined.
5. Use a small palette knife or spatula to spread the icing on to the cooled cupcakes.
Recipe by Louise Keats Photo by Guy Bailey