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["clanSkeen" <sgian AT planetc.com>]

> ALL of it is of use to me.  All the recipes that you can think of for 
> goat,
> marinades to make it taste like beef (for my picky children who claim they
> will *not* like goat meat), specific instructions for bottling or freezing
> will be *exteremly* helpful.
>
> Also, how to kill, how to butcher and age (kill, gut, hang) will be
> appreciated.  Except for our chickens, all the animals we have had in the
> past have never been killed by us.

We don't use any specific marinades.  I just use the olive oil when 
freezing.  Since it is a lean meat, you need to use extra oil when cooking, 
or moisture, or both.  If you have any"gamey" smell, add a little vinegar 
and let it cook out and that mitigates it.  I've fed goat to people and they 
didn't have a clue it was goat, thought it was beef.  I've also had some you 
*could* tell it was goat but I like it fine -- I especially LOVE it as a 
sandwich with lots of mayo and salt and that flavorful taste really shines 
then.

We tend to eat on chunks of meat several times -- like have a "boiled 
dinner" with meat and veggies then have sandwiches or stir-fry or something 
featuring the leftover meat then fix soup on the stock left.  Ribs are 
excellent slow cooked (like all day).

As to butchering, the most important thing is to try to have what you'll 
need ready -- sharp knives!  Shoot then cut the throat right then and bleed 
(which also makes sure they are dead and not just hurt).  Hang by back 
hocks.  After that it is pretty self-explanatory and the first time is the 
hardest.  Cut around anus -- be careful with an intact goat's balls.  Be 
careful with urine, feces, etc.  Mostly just try to keep the carcass clean 
which generally isn't too hard.  An extra set of hands can be helpful.

Once it is gutted, depending on weather, hang for a min of three days.  It 
needs to go into rigor mortis and back out.  We had to kill our calf in 
JULY! this year which was a trip itself and we cut her up into six pieces 
and "hung" them in an empty fridge for 5 days.  Hanging is what really makes 
meat edible, and what it is doing is allowing it to rot just a bit (I mean, 
realistically).  With chickens you can brine them to let them age which 
improves them.  Anyway. . .

After it has hung you just skin (sharp knife again).  Also get a clean hack 
saw for sawing through any bones.  We usually start at the bottom and work 
up jointing it.  We find it easiest to take off the loin from the back then 
saw the ribs loose from the backbone which gets fed to the dogs eventually. 
Even a big goat isn't that big and I think a large animal is actually easier 
to slaughter and clean than, say rabbits and chickens -- at least for what 
you get in the end.  The ribs are the only bones we saw through.

Well, that's some description.  John Seymour's books also have decent 
descriptions of jointing a carcass.  We've got to do our pigs soon.

Denise