Goat Leg Roulade – Smoked

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If you look closely, down low and in the near center there? You can see where a Chupacabra got a hold of it.
Last week some time Jlee asked if I’d show up early to the market on Saturday morning, she’d like a hand getting the Fatted Calf meat coolers out of the truck, they heavy. Sounded as though she was going to be by herself selling sausage until at least noon or so. I offered to come play and help out, it’s nice to spread the good word of the charcuterie, I am your guide. The weather was pleasant and there was a really cool Native American festival going on in the park 40 feet behind us. We got to hear music and smell flat bread being cooked and sell meat to hungry patrons, a perfect Saturday morning for Biggles.


Around noon thirty there was a break in the line and we had a chance to regroup and gather our wits. It’s during these times you want to restock the ice tub with rillettes, duck confit and the pate. Neaten up the table and make sure the 20’s aren’t falling out of your pockets and blowing away. It’s because we care.
Ted of Highland Hills Farm was doing the same, he’s got the stall right next door (handy, handy). He and I exchanged a few words and he grabbed a package of meat down from one of his coolers. He gently folded the label under the package and presented what he called a Goat Leg. The leg came in just over 3 pounds and was only 20 bux, sold. This along with my mortadella & crepinettes, I was done for the day and went home thinking to myself, “I bought a goat leg”.
It took a few days for it to defrost as the tension mounted. How exactly do you handle a goat leg? I did some googlin’ and used some of my meat knowledge to figure out a game plan. Since goat is a lean meat, very little marbling, it’d need some vibrant stuffing and careful cooking. The internal temperature, as near as I could figure, wanted to be from about 130 to 150, no more.
Sure I could do this in the oven, but I wanted to bring the cooking temperature even lower and use wood smoke to do it right. It’s goat for crissakes, not meat loaf. MmMMMmmm, goat loaf. “I bought a Goat Leg.”
I put together a stuffing in my head and bought the ingredients on the way home from work. A bunch of cilantro, thyme, garlic and 3 lemons, I already had the rest.
Once home, first order is getting the smoker going and warmed up. This takes no less than 1 hour, at least for my smoker. I want it completely warmed up and the fire stable. My local grocery store was out of every smoking wood but mesquite, turns out it worked fine.


First, one needs to butterfly the meat exposing the leg bone. Rub with the best olive oil you have, sea salt & Sarawak White Peppercorns. Finely chop your thyme & cilantro, a few handfuls worth. While this is going on, toast a tablespoonful of corriander seeds. Once browned and a few wafts of smoke arise, install in to mortor and pestle. Smoosh a bit, not too darned fine. Finally, slice and smash up a load of garlic, amounts are up to your taste. Layer all these goodies on, drizzle more oil and stand back to admire your work, nice eh?

It was at this point my jaw dropped and I realized I’d forgotten the lemon zest !!! Idjet and darned lucky I remembered at this stage.
I got it done and tied up the little roast. Rub with best extra virgin olive oil, more salt & pepper on the outside. Prep time on this one, including the fire was about 1.5 hours.
While it was safely tucked away in the smoker I made the kid’s dinner and Mama’s salad. Pan seared pork chops, baked taters & steamed broccoli, they eat pretty well, huh?
“I bought a Goat Leg.” “Do you want any more Goat Leg, Honey?” It’s tough to say and not giggle.

YEAH !!! The hard work paid off big time. It didn’t take nearly as long as I’d thought and pulled it at just under 140. A little closer to medium than I like, but that’s fine. This was a test run and a Monday night to boot.
The kids had eaten, Mama had her salad and I was alone with my Goat Leg. It smelled wonderful, very light and not heady with gamey fat. A clean refreshing smoked meat smell that lingered with lemon kisses and left with rich garlic dancing about. While it was resting, maybe 15 minutes, I mopped the kitchen floor. I wanted everything perfect for the slicing, nothing to get in my way.

If you ever get a chance to buy goat meat, do it. If your butcher doesn’t carry goat, ask. This is a high flavor meat that needs more attention from us American types. It isn’t as rich as lamb and has less fat than chicken, closer to venison I’m told. The texture is somewhat firm and goes down easy with a chew. The fresh herbs, lemon zest & garlic jump at you from all angles, the smoky bark of the goat is wonderful. While there were plenty of juices, wrapping it with bacon wouldn’t be a bad thing. It’d also be nice with some gooey CHEESE inside, MmMmmm cheese.
From start to finish, this was an excellent meal and a successful trial run. Biggles smiles, turns and walks back in to the kitchen, the evening is complete.
Until next time, happy smoking.

21 thoughts on “Goat Leg Roulade – Smoked”

  3. Biggles; we should go pick up a fresh (unfrozen) leg at a Halaal market in oaktown…then you could cook it the same day 🙂
    So did a bunch of grease come off it like I thought would? Looks like the end result was faboo.

  4. Hey Five P,
    Yeah, would LOVE to try that. Yes.
    I’ll have to take a look, it was dark outside when I pulled it. I don’t think so though, it wasn’t a very fatty piece of meat. I believe it was one of Ted’s grass fed beasts, fancy meat.
    When I get home tonight I’ll take a look at my Fat Tray, neat.
    Biggles

  8. Whoa – goat!? That’s great. In my pre-vegetarian days I had goat a few times in a spicy jerk sauce at a Jamaican place in Chicago.
    I don’t know, Doc, you’re tempting me back to the meaty side of the force.

  10. Hey Barrett,
    Oh Barrett. I know you’re a fan of the veggie, we all are. Some more than others. However, wouldn’t it make more sense to be able to eat what you’d like to? When you’d like to? We’ve already convinced our mates we won’t screw around, isn’t that enough self control? I say, have a little goat now and then, it’s good.
    Biggles

  11. Hey Greg,
    Thankgs mang. But I don’t feel much like a Maestro, that’s shooting a little high. Couldn’t I be more along the lines of, maybe … The Grand High Poobah of Meat?
    Biggles

  12. I hope to heck they don’t have those Chupacabra in France…that thing is going to give me nightmares! I prefer to think the ‘meat hook’ caused that hole.
    Thanks for the memories, Biggles!
    As always……looks great and I love your kitchen show-n-tell.
    Melissa

  13. Damn. And Damn again.
    It’s been a LONG time since I had goat. But would you believe me if I told you I had a dream about goat curry this past weekend?
    Wonder if I could get the boy to eat it?

  14. Hey Fatemeh,
    Well, what does it matter whether he eats or not? I say, go for it. I’m hunting for a fresh grain fed one to compare. MmmMM.
    Biggles

  15. Dr. Biggles–I love goat. And luckily, I live where there are farmers who raise them, so I can get it pretty regularly.
    I do a chili with goat and lamb that I call “Chupacabra Chili.” Yeah, I have weirdo sense of humor–but anyway, it has something like four kinds of chiles in it, posole, some cannelini beans, lots of onions and garlic, and green tomatoes or tomatillos, depending on what is around. And lots of cilantro.
    And even with all of that–the really meaty wonderful flavor of the goat and lamb comes out and shines.

  18. Hey Opus,
    I don’t have any awesome goat recipes, handy. Many times you can use a lamb recipe and subsitute your goat, that’s what I did for this one!
    Biggles

  20. Hey Goat Man,
    I get them from Ted of Highland Hills. He’s got those fancy grass fed, heritage breed animals.
    Plus I live in a place with a few markets that sell Halal goods, they gottem’.
    What you gots?
    Biggles