Cabrito da Beira

Cabrito da Beira Assado no Forno a Lenha

Slow-roasted suckling kid goat from the Serra da Estrela, cooked in the wood-oven style of the Beira Interior. The young, milk-fed meat is basted with white wine or Aguardente Velha and roasted with potatoes until meltingly tender.

Prep

25 min

Cook

120 min

Total

145 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •1500 g (3¼ lb) suckling kid goat, bone-in, Serrana or Preta de Montesinho breed if obtainable, 30–90 days old, cut into serving pieces
• •20 g (4 cloves) garlic, smashed
• •2 g (2 leaves) bay leaf, dry
• •15 g (1 Tbsp) coarse sea salt
• •2 g (1 tsp) whole black pepper, coarsely cracked
• •60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil, plus extra for the potatoes
• •120 ml (½ cup) dry white wine, Bairrada sparkling or a dry Portuguese white; Aguardente Velha may replace for a stronger aroma
• •60 ml (¼ cup) water
• •800 g (1¾ lb) waxy potatoes, cut into large chunks, skin on
• •15 g (3 cloves) garlic, extra, unpeeled, for the potatoes

Steps

1. 1 Pat the kid pieces dry. Rub all over with the smashed garlic, bay leaves, coarse salt, and cracked pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and massage into the flesh. Marinate 1–4 hours at cool room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.
2. 2 Remove from the refrigerator 45 minutes before cooking so the meat loses its chill. Preheat oven to 220 °C (425 °F) - a wood-fired oven reaches similar radiant heat; if using a domestic oven, place a tray of lava rocks or a cast-iron dish on the lower rack to imitate thermal mass.
3. 3 Place the kid pieces skin-side up in a heavy earthenware or cast-iron roasting pan just large enough to hold them snugly. Pour the white wine and water around (not over) the meat. Cover tightly with a lid or aluminum foil.
4. 4 Roast at 220 °C (425 °F) for 40 minutes so the kid steams gently in its own juices and wine.
5. 5 Reduce oven to 170 °C (340 °F). Add the potato chunks around the meat, tuck in the unpeeled garlic cloves, and spoon a little of the pan juices over them. Re-cover and continue roasting for 45 minutes.
6. 6 Uncover, baste the kid generously with the pan juices, raise heat to 200 °C (400 °F), and roast a further 20–30 minutes until the skin is deep golden and crisp, and the potatoes are caramelized at the edges.
7. 7 Check doneness on the thickest pieces: pierce the leg or shoulder at the bone with a skewer - juices should run clear with no pink, and the meat should feel tender enough to pull from the bone with light pressure. Target internal temperature of 78–82 °C (172–180 °F) on the thickest part of the shoulder.
8. 8 Rest the kid, loosely tented, for 10 minutes. Spoon off excess fat from the pan juices, taste and adjust salt, then serve directly from the pan with the potatoes and juices.