Goat: It’s what’s for dinner?

Michelle Basch, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – Chefs across the U.S. are getting excited about a meat many Americans have never tried.

Goat meat is already popular at Caribbean, Indian, Middle Eastern and Mexican restaurants and markets, but now it’s showing up on more U.S. menus.

Sometimes it appears as “capretto,” which is Italian for “kid.”

Mark Scarbrough, co-author of the cookbook “Goat: Meat, Milk, Cheese,” says goat meat tastes like a cross between pork and dark-meat turkey. Many say the flavor is similar to veal and lamb.

The Wall Street Journal reports goat meat is a healthy choice because it has fewer calories than beef and less saturated fat than chicken

If you’d like to cook goat at home, Whole Foods Market stores around the D.C. region carry it, as do some ethnic grocery stores and butcher shops.

When you buy, ask for young goat — 1 year old, at most — and make sure the meat comes from a breed of goat that is raised for its meat.

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(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

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