Cabrito de Barroso

Cabrito do Barroso à Transmontana (Barroso Kid Goat with Milk)

A traditional roasted kid goat dish from the Barroso region of northern Portugal, slowly cooked in milk to produce tender meat in a lightly curdled, golden sauce. Goat milk is the traditional choice and gives the dish its characteristic flavor.

Prep

20 min

Cook

110 min

Total

130 min

Serves

4 to 6

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •1.8 kg (4 lb) kid goat meat, bone-in, cut into serving pieces (leg and shoulder chops work well); ask the butcher to leave bones in for flavor
• •30 g (2 Tbsp) lard or olive oil, lard is more traditional
• •2 g (2 medium) onions, thinly sliced
• •4 cloves garlic, crushed
• •2 g (2 leaves) bay leaves
• •5 g (5 sprigs) fresh parsley, tied in a bundle
• •250 ml (1 cup) dry white wine, Vinho Verde is traditional
• •1 kg (about 4 cups) goat milk, cow's milk works as a home substitute but goat milk is the traditional and preferred choice
• •fine sea salt, to taste
• •freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Steps

1. 1 Pat the kid goat pieces dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper.
2. 2 Heat the lard or olive oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed casserole or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, brown the meat on all sides, about 8 minutes total per batch. Transfer to a plate as you go.
3. 3 Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of fat. Lower the heat to medium and add the sliced onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaves and parsley bundle and cook for 1 minute more.
4. 4 Pour in the white wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Return the meat and any juices to the pan, cover, and simmer gently for 45 minutes, turning the pieces once halfway through.
5. 5 Pour in the milk so that it comes about two-thirds of the way up the meat (it does not need to fully cover it). Bring to a gentle simmer, then partially cover and cook over low heat for 45 to 60 minutes more, turning the meat every 15 minutes. The milk will thicken and lightly curdle into a creamy, pale-golden sauce as it cooks.
6. 6 Test for doneness by piercing the thickest piece near the bone with a skewer; the juices should run clear and the meat should pull cleanly from the bone. The internal temperature at the thickest part, away from the bone, should read at least 75 °C (165 °F) for safe consumption of goat.
7. 7 Discard the parsley bundle and bay leaves. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt. If the sauce is thinner than you would like, remove the meat and simmer the milk sauce for a few minutes to reduce; if it has curdled more than desired, whisk in a splash of warm milk to smooth it out.
8. 8 Transfer the meat to a warmed platter, spoon the sauce over and around it, and serve hot with boiled or roasted potatoes and a green vegetable, as is traditional in Trás-os-Montes.