I've finally talked dh into helping me butcher this 6 mos wether we have, neither of us has done this before, so I could use all the advice we can get, I do have Carla Emory's book and there is a book at the library I'm going to re'check. Question: if I want to make goat burger meat, don't I need to get some beef fat from a butcher, and how much do you mix with it. Also would like any good recipes to make this little fellar as tasty as can be so my family will eat it, want more, and dh will help me butcher again soon, we have 2 more. Question: How do you get that grey film off the meat easily, I've seen it on deer also and it's heck to get off after it's frozen or processed, what the best way to get that off at butchering time.

-- Carol (cwaldrop@peoplescom.net), September 30, 2000

Answers

When I was a teenager, my father butchered a couple of goats and what I recall was that the skinning was similar to skinning a deer, he used the back of the skinning knife to seperate the skin from the meat (The tallow, what there was came off with the skin). He also stressed not to let the hair of the hide come in contact with the meat, it apparently could turn the flavor.When he ground some up for patties , he mixed in about 10% beef fat. Of course, be very careful removing the entrals, a ruptured organ and the carcass is ruined.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), September 30, 2000.

Carol, there are lots of great books on backyard butchering. A kid this size would have his head lopped off with a machete as he was leaning down to eat some grain I tossed on the ground in front of him. (Big hero I am, I may toss the grain and lead the kid to slaughter but husband kills and butchers, I cut up and package) He would then be strung up by hind legs to finish bleeding and skinned and dressed like a deer or lamb. I cut out the back strap/loin which is wound in a circle and frozen in a ziplock baggie, the rear legs above the hock are kept for bar-b-que and the rest of the meat is stripped off the bones for sausage or ground meat in which we add pork, not beef. As I add pork to the goat I keep frying up a small amount in a pan, till I have the smallest amount of fat left when the meat is done. Also when making sausage, before we fill casings or wrap it in 1 pound packages, I fry some up to make sure I have the mix right. The loin is cut into slices, pounded flat between wax paper, seasoned, dredged in flour and fried very quickly, my favorite goat recipe! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 01, 2000.

In our experience, you can use any recipe you might use for lamb, but the flavor (in my opinion) is better. Never made "goatburger", but I would suspect, based upon venisonburger, that a little beef fat would be in order. GL!

-- Brad (Homefixer@SacoRiver.net), October 04, 2000.

What is the purpose of adding the beef fat? Is this a must?

-- evelyn Bergdoll (evandjim@klink.net), October 04, 2000.

Many meats, and I would include here goat, venison, definately moose, and in my rather limited experience, elk and caribou, are either too dry (lacking in fat) or have fat that is not of good flavor. There is no need for this in steaks or roasts, but if you don't add some (usually beef, but pork is fine) fat to the "hamburger", you'll have to add some sort of oil or fat to the frying pan if you want to make burgers. If you will use the ground meat for stuffings (peppers, squash, whatever) or for soups or stews, then it doesn't much matter. GL!

-- Brad (Homefixer@SacoRiver.net), October 06, 2000.

The easiest way to skin a goat that I have ever tried is to hang it by the hocks, cut a small slit in the skin high on the legs. put a garden hose in the slit & fill it with water like a water balloon. This loosens the skin from the amimal & makes it very easy to skin him.

-- Okie-Dokie (tjcamp6338@aol.com), October 07, 2000.