Moroccan Boneless Goat Leg Roast

There was an attractively nice looking piece of goat leg sitting in my freezer, looking up at me and begging for attention.

So, at any rate, I thawed it out overnight, and scratched my noodle for a good recipe.  Since goat is associated with a variety of cultural tastes around the world, there were plenty of notions to draw from.  I still wasn’t driving after the ankle issue, so I was limited to what I had at home.  (Which actually does involve a large spice selection.)

I probably should have pulled the rope off for the photo shoot… oh well. (It kept the leg together fine for additional meals.)

Ultimately, I went Moroccan.  I have this tube of harissa paste in my fridge which I’d bought on a lark, and decided to use it.  (At some point I WILL make my own harissa seasoning — but I certainly didn’t have all the individual components to begin with — and, frankly, I’d never knowingly tasted harissa before — turns out I like it enough that once this tube is gone, I’ll make my own.)

So…

Boneless goat leg rubbed with spices and seasonings, ready for the oven.

Prep time:  15 minutes
Cook time:  2.5 hours for medium rare
Rest time:  15-20 minutes
Serves:  Probably works nicely for a party of six.

Moroccan Boneless Leg of Goat

• 2.75 pounds de-boned goat leg.  (Mine was wrapped with a netting string so it wouldn’t fall apart, when I got it.)
• 2 nice-sized cloves of garlic, peeled and slivered.
• 1 generous tablespoon harissa paste.
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Ground pepper

Preheat that oven to 425 F.

Poke slits into the leg using a paring knife.

Insert slivers of garlic into slits, and then rub harissa all over the leg, including into those slits.  Squeeze lemon over the meatiest side of the goat, and grind the pepper over it.

Put in oven, and promptly reduce temperature to 275 F if it’s a pastured goat leg (this was) or 300 F if otherwise.   Lean meat:  low and slow.

For medium rare, allow to roast for 2.5 hours.

I was going to baste halfway through, but there were not enough juices for that.  If you wish to cook the leg much beyond 2.5 hours — you’ll need to baste with something — perhaps either olive oil or ghee, if your goat leg isn’t producing large amounts of juices on its own.  Goat is much less fatty than lamb.

Allow to rest for 15-20 minutes, then carve and serve.

Resting

 

This meal is served up at Fiesta Friday’s  and Real Food Friday’s link party.