Slow-Cooked Goat Tacos

One of my favorite cooking magazines is Gourmet Magazine. I have often used their recipes, either in pure form, or as a basis for my own adventures in cooking. When looking through the July 2008 issue, I came across a great looking goat taco recipe using anchos and guajillos – two of my favorite chilis. I didn’t think much of it at the time, largely because goat is not that common. However, as luck would have it, the next day I was at the Dupont Circle Farmers Market and visiting my friends at Eco-Friendly Foods as I do every week. Lo and behold, they had goat! And not just any goat, but fresh (!) goat shanks and goat shoulders. So I picked up a goat shoulder in preparation for some delicious goat tacos. In a kismet moment, there were also tomatillos at another vendor, and I have been growing jalapenos in the garden, perfect for making some fresh salsa verde! It had been a long time since I had made some really traditional Mexican food, my favorite Mexican cookbook being Rick Bayless’ Mexican Kitchen. I used his recipe to make some delicious salsa verde for topping the goat tacos.

The recipe from Gourmet was an excellent blend of spices, utilizing the depth of the anchos and guajillos, as well as the slight gaminess of the goat. The estimated cooking time of 5 hours was not far off, but first braising the goat in the sauce on the bone, then shredding the meat and braising again allowed the flavors in the sauce to penetrate the meat fully, creating a deep, slow, burning spice in the meat. The taste was authentic and rich, a flavor I had not experienced in years, indeed, not since I was in Mexico.

Served with the accompaniments of shredded lettuce, salsa verde, avocados, sliced onions, lime juice, crumbled cheese, and a few chilis, it was a delicious balance of hot, sweet, tangy, rich, and tart that was a pleasure to eat. Surprisingly, a Falanghina was quite the lovely match for the combination – not too dry and not too sweet, but a nice balance to the spice and depth of the tacos.