DDC, Week Six: Braised Goat Shoulder

Okay, so there's totally a post that should go before this (scrambled eggs with chanterelles, shallots, and goat cheese), but I have to write down this recipe before I forget it. This is heavily based off of this recipe.


2 lb. goat shoulder, bone-in
2-3 tsp. olive oil
4 medium carrots, diced
3 medium parsnips, diced
1 medium cippolini onion, cut into strips
2 large cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 c. red wine (I used a 2007 Zinfandel from Heart's Fire Winery; it looks like they're closed now, but it's really kind of amazing.)
4 c. beef broth

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the goat shoulder with the olive oil in a dutch oven. Once the meat is browned on all sides, remove it from the pan. De-glaze the pan with the red wine, then add the vegetables. Cook over medium heat until the onions are just barely soft. Add the meat back to the pan-- nestle it in to the vegetables. Add about 2-3 cups of the beef broth, until it the meat is about 2/3 covered. Make a parchment lid for the dutch oven, and put it in the oven. Cook for two hours.

At the two hour mark, take the dutch oven out of the oven and check to see how much liquid remains-- mine was pretty dry, so I added more beef broth. Baste the meat. Cook for another hour (or until the meat is falling off the bones) at 300 degrees, basting occasionally.

Remove from the oven, let rest in the dutch oven for about 15 minutes. This is not a very pretty meal, but it is a very, very filling one: serves 5 (if they're not very hungry) or fewer.

It tastes almost like the best pot roast I've ever eaten. My temporary-housemate Sydni has been telling me for months that I really ought to cook goat, and was she ever right. I think that this is something I will cook even after the challenge is done-- it's amazing. Pictures will be going up later (ETA: they're up now!)


Goat shoulder: Old Creek Ranch, Cayucos (just barely inside my radius)
Olive oil: Bariani, Sacramento
Carrots: Lakeside Farm, Watsonville
Parsnips: from SV Saturday Farmer's Market-- I don't remember which farm, unfortunately!
Onion: Happy Boy Farms
Garlic: I really don't remember-- I'm fairly sure it was a FM purchase, but I've had it for a while.
Salt: Farmhouse Culture, Santa Cruz
Red Wine: Heart's Fire Winery, Campbell
Beef broth: home-made; beef from TLC ranch w/local vegetables