Pepper Goat Soup

Today I am going to share a recipe that is inspired by two widely disparate dishes. This combines the spiciness and use of goat found in a Nigerian soup with the braising of the meat in red wine and the use of a lot of black pepper found in some Italian dishes.

Nigerian pepper goat soup is a wonderful, very spicy dish that is relatively easy to make, but sadly the seasonings and spices used are not widely available. (It, ironically, is not generally made with black pepper despite the name.) Here we "get around" this by including seasonings and techniques used for braising and simmering beef and veal (generally) that come from Italian cuisine among others.

First, take the goat meat (bone-in) and put it in the bottom of a Dutch Oven. Here we are using measurements for 2 pounds of goat meat. Season the goat very liberally with freshly ground black pepper (you want to use a fair bit), salt to taste, 4-6 cloves of finely minced garlic, 1-2 tablespoons of a habenero style hot sauce (or 1-2 unseeded scotch bonnet peppers cut into quarters) and 1 teaspoon of mustard powder.

Pour about a quarter cup of olive oil over the goat meat and and stir it all gently until all the seasonings and oil are evenly distributed.

If possible, let sit at least 2 and up to 12 hours in the fridge and then 1/2 an hour at room temperature. If you need to get started quickly let sit 45 minutes at room temperature.

When ready to cook, brown the goat meat for around 5 minutes over medium-high heat adding extra oil if necessary (it will likely not be). When the meat is browned, add around 2 cups of a hearty red wine and 2 cups of beef broth. The key is that they cover the meat almost entirely but not more than that. Add 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Finally add one heaping tablespoon of tomato paste.

Stir and bring to boil in your Dutch Oven on the stove-top. Reduce heat and simmer, top off, for 2 hours. While simmering add equal measures of red wine and stock as necessary if the broth reduces too much. After an hour or so of cooking taste the broth and add salt, pepper and hot sauce as desired.

This is a delicious blend of flavours and the goat will be fall off the bone tender.

When the goat is close to finished, make some rice on the side. Spoon small servings of rice into bowls and pour the soup over the rice to fill the bowl.

Enjoy with some crusty bread, a nice salad, some extra hot sauce and some more wine or cold beer of course!

See also: Caribbean Style Goat with Potatoes in a Dutch Oven

See also: Slow Cooked Curried Goat Stew