Goat Stew
The other day, I talked about how beautiful Nigerian cuisine is, and the flavour profile-building process which is super understated in everyday discourse. That brings me to today's recipe; Goat Stew.
This dish is about balance, about flavour profiles, one of the most flexible dishes in Nigerian cuisine, why? It goes on/with everything, soups with pounded yam, boiled yam, potatoes, fried plantains, beans...
Above all, my favourite combination of all time is Goat Stew with hot white rice. The plain white rice lets the complex and amazing flavours of the stew shine, the flavoured and spicy oil from the stew making the grains glisten, the soft smoked goat meat, sliding off the bone and melting in your mouth...
Just in case you live in the USA and would love to have this delivered to your doorstep, we've got you! You can buy Goat Stew Here.
Ingredients
- 8 Tomatoes
- 6 Habaneros
- White Pepper
- 3 Red Onions
- 6 Bell Peppers
- Boullion Cubes
- 3 Cups of Cooking Oil
- 3 lbs of Smoked Goat Meat
The process of making this can get complex, but y'all know I got you with the lazy, simple version to achieve the same results. But you need patience.
Cooking Tips:
- Roasting your peppers before blending heightens the flavour of each item, the char on the vegetables also gives your stew a unique flavour. Also, this makes it easier to blend without water and cook faster. So, I mean why won't you roast
- Do not use a lot of water to cook your meat allows it to cook in its own juice slowly.
- Using the right ratio of bell peppers to habaneros and tomatoes gives your stew a balance of sweet and spicy flavours. You want a stew base that is spicy but at the same time packs that sweet bell pepper flavour.
Directions
Cooking Duration: 2.5 HoursRecipe Yield: 10 - 12 Servings
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Clean your peppers, tomatoes and 2 onions, spread these ingredients on an oven tray and roast for 40 minutes. This intensifies and heightens the flavour of all your fresh ingredients.
- Add your goat meat to a pot along with 2 Habaneros, 1 chopped onion, bouillon cubes and 1/2 a cup of water, cook on medium heat till its almost tender (I used a pressure cooker which helped trap all the flavour and cook the meat in 15 minutes. 10/10 would recommend).
- Drain your goat meat and reserve the broth from the pot. Blend your peppers without any water and set aside.
- In a pot, heat up 3 cups of cooking oil, slice a whole onion and fry till translucent. Add your goat meat to the hot oil to lightly fry it. This step first seasons the oil with a unique onion and goat flavour while locking in the flavours in the meat.
- Remove fried meat and set aside.
- Add your pepper mix to the hot oil, and season with white pepper, salt, bouillon cubes and 3 cups of your broth. Let this simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes, add your goat meat and let this simmer for another 20 minutes.
- Boil your rice, fry some plantains and go to town with it!
