Elkhorn Meat Solutions
Caprine:
Primal cuts:
Goat (aka chevron) is valued highly by certain people, for example, of Mediterranean, Caribbean, Near Eastern, Indian, Far Eastern, Central American origin.
The goat is different from the lamb, being much leaner and having only little subcutaneous and muscular fat. Otherwise, the bone structure and muscle position may be quite similar. Therefore, in the absence of official charts on the anatomy and retail cuts of goats, it is suggested that the respective lamb charts, may serve a useful purpose.
Shoulder:
The largest cut in the foresaddle is the shoulder, second in size only to the leg. Shoulder cuts are priced less than leg and loin because of less tenderness and palatability. However, Saratoga roll boneless shoulder blade chops composed largely of rib eye muscle make very tender and juicy chevon. The rest of the shoulder goes for stew or shish kabobs. The shoulder can also be made into a jet-netted boneless shoulder roast. Rough cuts, the flank, fore shank and breast are best ground up, but can be utilized also cubed or as spareribs.
Main cuts: Bone-in shoulder, Easy carve shoulder, Forequarter rack, Forequarter chop, Neck chops, Neck rosette, Neck fillet roast
Best cooking methods: Slow cooking methods as braising, stewing and roasting
Rack:
The rack can be left as a whole rack or cut into chops. Rib chops are recommended to be cut thicker because they are small. Frenching ribs, removing the meat in between the ends of the ribs, is possible upon request.
Main cuts: Rack, Cultets
Best cooking methods: High heat and quick methods such as grilling, barbecuing and pan-frying
Loin:
The loin is the most valuable and most tender cut. Only 4 of the live weight are retail loin cuts. Kidney fat is usually left on the wholesale carcass to protect the valuable tenderloin muscle underneath from discoloration and dehydration. The loin may be prepared as double loin chops, or after sawing through the lumbar vertebrae as single chops containing the characteristic T from the vertebral process as in T-bone steak of beef. The rack may be prepared likewise into rib chops, containing at least one rib, but may be cut considerably thicker than pork chops or beef steaks because of their small size.
Loin chops, the part of the goat between the lower ribs and low part of the back, are some of the most tender parts of the goat. This cut of meat is perfect for grilling or sauteing. It can be easily marinated for grilling, which will further tenderize it, as well as sauteed with some butter or cooking oil.
Main cuts: Loin chops, Eye of loin, Tenderloin
Best cooking methods: High heat and quick methods such as grilling, barbecuing and pan-frying
Leg:
The leg may be prepared as Frenched, American or boneless. For the Frenched leg, only the tail bones, hock bones, Achilles tendon, fat trim and prefemoral lymph node are removed and the shank bone is exposed. For the American leg, the shank bone and the shank muscle are also removed. The whole leg may also be cut into 4 to 6 sirloin chops, the rump, center roast and shank. The latter two can be sliced into steaks. The best use of the leg is as boneless cut, after removing the whole pelvic bone and femur. For roasting, the boneless leg needs to be tied together or jet-netted.
The goat leg is a thick but tender meat cut ideal for braising or stewing. The upper part of the leg is the cut with the most meat.
Main cuts: Leg bone-in, Easy carve leg, Leg (boned), Mini roast, Leg steak
Best cooking methods: Searing and roasting and for Leg steaks, grilling, barbecuing and pan-frying