Cheap Eats:
Cabrito Asado
  Oven-Roasted Young Goat

by Cynthia Clampitt

The fossil record seems to indicate that the drought associated with the last Ice Age favored goats, and it was during this time that hunting and even semi-domestication of goats began. Goats appear in cave paintings that date back 10,000 to 20,000 years. So goats were not simply available, they were important from the start.

Goat was among the first animals to be domesticated, along with (and possibly predating) sheep and dogs. Because goats can survive in regions not suitable for cattle or sheep, they are particularly popular in rugged and arid regions. Bushes, trees, and desert scrub that other ruminants would not be able to eat or digest can quite comfortably sustain goats.

Today’s domestic goats are descended from Capra aegagrus, the pasang. Because the first written records of domestication are Persian, it seems likely that the pasang is indigenous to the Near East. However, domesticated goats had been introduced into the Balkans by Neolithic times, and goats are among the domesticated animals that have been found at China’s best-known Neolithic site, Banpo, So, as with so many other food stuffs, goat was being passed around as soon as people were aware of its virtues.

By the fourteenth or fifteenth century, Europe’s aristocracy began to favor what it considered to be more delicate meats, and goat meat began to decline in popularity among the class conscious. (This paralleled a decline in the consumption of swans, peacocks, seals, and other morsels once considered indispensable at royal feasts.) However, goat remained at least somewhat popular in Europe, especially in Mediterranean countries—including the countries that eventually introduced goats to the New World.

Today, much of the world thinks of goats primarily in terms of milk and cheese production. But in many places, goat meat is “what’s for dinner.” I have met people from northern India who said that they never had lamb or chicken growing up; goats flourished in the dry, mountainous region, and they were what everyone ate. In much of Africa and Asia, a large goat herd represents wealth and security. But this small, easily raised ruminant is popular in many places, and goat is still among the most commonly eaten meats in the world. While goats, which are low in saturated fats, are now growing in importance in North America, Australia, and Europe, three-fourths of the world’s goats are in developing regions.

The first time I had goat was in Spain, at the Casa Botín in Madrid. The spit-roasted kid we were served was memorably flavorful. I have since then had goat in a wide range of venues and recipes, from roasts to stews to curries. My favorites are still the kid from Madrid and Cabrito Asado, below.

This recipe from Mexico is an easy introduction to preparing kid, as it does not require specialized equipment. The taste of baby goat is somewhere between lamb and veal, and is perfectly suited to the big, flavorful sauce in this dish.

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