# Flavor/Taste of goat vs sheep



## Joanne in CO

I'm hoping that some of you folks might be able to share some of your experiences with me on this one. We raise sheep (Katahdin/Dorper) but neither my husband nor I eat it (he doesn't like the taste so therefore I don't eat it myself). I was debating on purchasing some dairy goats to start with (can those be used for meat too?) or get a couple of meat goats as well. 

My question is, what does goat meat taste like (strong, gamey, etc.) as opposed to lamb or are they similar?

Thanks for your insight.


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## ozark_jewels

Its hard to describe, but good goat meat tastes like a cross between venison and beef to me. Its rich. Much better than lamb in my opinion.
Yes, you can certainly eat dairy goats. Most dairy bucklings end up in freezers. I butcher at least 10 every year.


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## hoggie

I just put my first goat in the freezer. I was worried because he was 9 months old and hadn't been banded (long story). So we tried a bit of him straight away in a stew and he was delicious! Hard to define quite what he compared to in other meat - I wouldn't ahve said gamey, not sure. Can you buy a piece of goat meat from anyone to try it before you get goats?

hoggie


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## Joanne in CO

Thanks Emily and Hoggie. I don't currently know of anyone with goats (although I haven't looked really hard yet, but will soon). Good suggestion.

With venison, soaking in milk is key to the flavor (from what I've heard) and I've also heard that lamb has to be cooked a certain way or cooked with certain spices in order to not taste 'off'. Is goat the same way or can it be cooked like beef?

Thanks.


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## ozark_jewels

Goat meat is dry(very low-fat)so the only rule I follow is to cook it at lower temps and cook it moist. I use it in all my beef recipes.....I also use it in venison recipes. Sometimes I use it in chicken recipes!LOL!


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## where I want to

Goat is different than beef or lamb. I used to love lamb but since raisiing goats, don't like it anymore as it's too fatty. Now it's either chicken or goat. Goat makes great ground meat too. Odd considering I tended to like fat in my beef.
I found goat a little strong when I first tried it but like many things, once I got used to it, I now find beef and pork too bland.


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## Joanne in CO

Very interesting. My husband likes meats that are 'marbled' so I'm wondering if goat would not be the best idea then.

When you say 'cook it moist' do you mean to cook it towards the rare side?


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## ozark_jewels

Joanne in CO said:


> Very interesting. My husband likes meats that are 'marbled' so I'm wondering if goat would not be the best idea then.
> 
> When you say 'cook it moist' do you mean to cook it towards the rare side?



Really no way to know without trying it.

By cooking it moist, I mean, if you are cooking a roast(pretty much my favorite way to use goat meat), make sure you have plenty of moisture in the pan. Dry goat meat tends toward the tougher side.


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## DQ

goat tastes just like grass fed beef to me. I do roasts or stew type dishes with it mostly. the backstrap and tenderloin is great sauted till rare md/rare (of course I don't like well done beef either). I ahven't done any on the grill as I am always afraid I will just dry it out and ruin it. I seriously would never be able to tell the difference between goat and very lean beef at least the ways I cook it. I don't think it tastes anything like lamb. different goats may taste different though. so far just boer crosses here although I have a lamancha wether bound for the freezer soon.


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## catdance62

I do not really care for sheep, but I have eaten it recently because we got some for free.
I love the taste of (our) goats. We cook it slow, about 250, in the oven, wrapped in tinfoil. We use different marinades, the most common one is just beer and Tony's spice.
We also grind a far amount for burgers and what-have-you.


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## cjean

We have found that we much prefer the Katahdin meat to the boer meat, which seems to be a bit opposite than most of you.  The goat is just too dry. We've decided to cut down on the goat herd, and just keep mostly hair sheep.

As for venison, we have always soaked it for a while in cider vinegar and salt, before cooking. Seems to work way better than milk, for tenderizing and neutralizing the gamey taste (specially if you have a milk allergy!).


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## Guest

I wonder if it's the Dorper influence that you don't like? I've seen a few Dorpers in person and one thing that struck me about all of them... their coats had a heavy, somewhat greasy, feel to them. The Katahdins I've seen and the BB I've seen as well as raised, were grease-free. 

It could be more about the breed or cross than the species itself. Whether it's beef or sheep, there seems to be a lot of differing opinions re: which breed has the best flavor, texture, or the leanest, etc. Simply put... What is the *best *breed of dairy goat? :lookout:

Find someone near you and buy a few wethers... one boer and one dairy. That will tell you 1)If you like the taste of goat, and 2) what type you'd prefer to raise. If you're not interested in raising show/breeding stock, you may find that dairy breed does and a Boer buck to be the best arrangement, giving you loads of milk and meatier kids than straight dairy-breed kids. If you like goat and want to be a little non-traditional... Boers are great meat-goats, but many can be quite impressive on the milk stand. My fullblood Boer is awesome and my first-freshener Alpine/Boer was no slouch either. If you found a dairy breeder that used a Boer buck to freshen some of their dairy does, you may see about getting a few doelings... more dairy than a boer, but super meaty kids when freshened with a Boer buck. The options are nearly limitless.


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## ET1 SS

We have tried goat and ram.

They do need to be cooked slow and moist.

Really we do best with stew meat, cooking it down to a broth.


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## Robert Alan

I had milk goats for many years... I was told that after you draw the goat milk, pour it into mason jars and stick in the freezer uncovered for an hour... this cures it so it will not have a hairy taste. I found this works. Of course, when the bucks are in rut, they must be kept at a distance for just being in the area can cause the milk to take on a hairy taste, maybe the does produce hormones when smelling the bucks up close...? Also, I found that if you marinate goat/lamb meat first in olive oil, a little vinegar, rosemary powder, garlic powder, and even a little worchestershire sauce... let it marinate covered in the fridge for several hours... then you can cook it on the barbeque grill and it will taste just like steak... a friend of mine who has eaten sheep all his life and raised them (and he likes the hairy taste) could not believe it and said he'd never had lamb that tasted like steak (and tender too). That's how I cook it every time... hopefully others can share my results...? curious to know how it turns out if anyone tries it...


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## suzyhomemaker09

Personally I like the " different " tastes of both lamb and venison...I have fantastic recipes that work with each. After my experience with eating goat meat that I raised and butchered at home I really could not tell any difference in taste to that of beef. It is of course less marbled ( less fat in the muscle meat ) but flavor wise I'd be hard pressed to pick one from another.


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