Mountain Goat Roast on a smoker

Joined
Jan 25, 2016
Messages
30
Hello,
Has anyone used a pellet smoker for a mountain goat roast? I really want to smoke one, but not sure the best way to go about it for such a tough, but very delicious, piece of meat. Thank you for any advice.
 

adamkolesar

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 9, 2019
Messages
232
Location
Adirondacks
I'd recommend doing a 24 Hour dry brine in the fridge uncovered. Wash off all the salt once done and prepare as you normally would. The dry brine will help you maintain that all important moisture in a very lean cut. On my goat roast, I also cross hatched bacon across the top for some additional fat. A source of moisture during smoking also helps. I put a pan of hot water w/ a stick of butter to create a vapor during the smoke. I use a Big Green Egg for smoking, so your options may vary. I'm sure others will chime in with their ideas. Enjoy that hard earned game meat!
 

Mtncowboy

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 6, 2016
Messages
170
I brined mine, and then smoked it low and slow with alder and it was amazing!
 
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
902
Location
Broomfield, CO
for me it really depends on the goat. They taste great - but if you get an older billy, it can be just too damn tough to do much with that doesn't involve grinding. My goat was "12+" according the warden when I checked him in. Super mild flavor, but even the tenderloins were like a peice of chewing gum. You could chew and chew, and it never seemed to make any difference! Made super burger and sausage though. My buddy killed a pretty young one - about a 3yo. You could do a lot more things with that one.
 

skeptic

FNG
Joined
Sep 27, 2016
Messages
65
My goat was 8.5 and I was anxious to try it to see if all the stories I had heard were true. I cooked a piece of backstrap for 3 minutes on a side in a sizzling hot cast iron. I chewed on that thing until it was the size of a wilson basketball in my mouth. Virtually inedible. I now have a bunch of mtn goat summer sausage in my freezer....
 

chizelhead

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 12, 2012
Messages
240
Location
PNW
I cooked my billy for the first time last week. I did barbacoa that I thought turned out well.
  • Smoked it for an hour.
  • Put it in an instapot on low for 8 hours with seasonings. It was not fork shredable after that time. It was really tough.
  • I pressure cooked it in the instapot for 45 minutes, and it came our fork shreddable and delicious.
  • We made tacos with it, and I will do it again.
I'm new to cooking goat, but I'm realizing mine is tough. I would not want to smoke/roast it. I just don't think it will work. I will begin to explore charcuterie and will grind some. I will also see what I can do with the loins.
 

mxgsfmdpx

WKR
Joined
Oct 22, 2019
Messages
4,261
Location
Central Arizona
This is what I do specifically for pellet smoking. Strategy is similar for an a traditional offset smoker but you need to make some modifications based on how the pellet smokers cook...

.Brine it in a sealed tub overnight, at least 12 hours
.Remove from brine, rinse gently, and pat dry
.Let it sit out and get to room temperature
.Apply your dry rub liberally, coat all sides
.Get your smoker going and up to consistent 185 degrees
.Place roast in foil tray with 1/4" inch of 50/50 apple cider vinegar/water in the bottom of the pan, generous slices of butter in each corner of the pan, get your water/cider vinegar mix in a spray bottle and spritz every hour or so. Add more to the pan as needed as it cooks, don't overuse though.
.Keep a temp probe in the center and make sure it isn't getting up to temp too fast, at these temps it will take many hours to get to about 120 internal.
.At 120 degrees take the roast out and wrap tight in good quality butcher paper, spritz the butcher paper with your mix
.Put it back in the smoker with the temp turned up to 205 degrees, place wrapped roast straight on the "cooler" side of your grill (these smokers always tend to have a hotter and cooler side).
.Move your aluminum pan down to the deflector shield under the grill to block the direct heat from the bottom, essentially making it a drip tray directly under the roast. Make sure there is about 1/2" of your water/cider vinegar mix in the pan
.Once your internal temp is 140 remove from the smoker, leave it wrapped tight and place in the oven with the oven turned off
.Let it rest in the oven for 2 hours, this will bring it up to about 150 internal and then begin to cool down
.Remove from the oven, remove the wrap, and let sit for another 15-30 minutes
.Slice with a very sharp knife to serve
.I like to make a nice glaze to drizzle on the slices, both sweet and spicy glazes are good choices.

I like to make little slider sandwiches with a spicy glaze and pepperjack cheese, or a sweet glaze with a sharp cheddar. Enjoy!
 

Grisha

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 22, 2021
Messages
115
Location
California
This is what I do specifically for pellet smoking. Strategy is similar for an a traditional offset smoker but you need to make some modifications based on how the pellet smokers cook...

.Brine it in a sealed tub overnight, at least 12 hours
.Remove from brine, rinse gently, and pat dry
.Let it sit out and get to room temperature
.Apply your dry rub liberally, coat all sides
.Get your smoker going and up to consistent 185 degrees
.Place roast in foil tray with 1/4" inch of 50/50 apple cider vinegar/water in the bottom of the pan, generous slices of butter in each corner of the pan, get your water/cider vinegar mix in a spray bottle and spritz every hour or so. Add more to the pan as needed as it cooks, don't overuse though.
.Keep a temp probe in the center and make sure it isn't getting up to temp too fast, at these temps it will take many hours to get to about 120 internal.
.At 120 degrees take the roast out and wrap tight in good quality butcher paper, spritz the butcher paper with your mix
.Put it back in the smoker with the temp turned up to 205 degrees, place wrapped roast straight on the "cooler" side of your grill (these smokers always tend to have a hotter and cooler side).
.Move your aluminum pan down to the deflector shield under the grill to block the direct heat from the bottom, essentially making it a drip tray directly under the roast. Make sure there is about 1/2" of your water/cider vinegar mix in the pan
.Once your internal temp is 140 remove from the smoker, leave it wrapped tight and place in the oven with the oven turned off
.Let it rest in the oven for 2 hours, this will bring it up to about 150 internal and then begin to cool down
.Remove from the oven, remove the wrap, and let sit for another 15-30 minutes
.Slice with a very sharp knife to serve
.I like to make a nice glaze to drizzle on the slices, both sweet and spicy glazes are good choices.

I like to make little slider sandwiches with a spicy glaze and pepperjack cheese, or a sweet glaze with a sharp cheddar. Enjoy!
Once you get past 45 minutes the smoke ring is established and you aren't getting much smoke penetration. Going longer can get you bark but at the risk of drying it out. Here's what I do:
Remove goat from smoker within an hour. Chop into chunks. Braise in a sauce 6-8 hours after that around 200. Attempt pulling after 6 hours. If it doesn't shred, needs longer, fine. Once you are shredding, keep adding fluid from braise to moisten. Pretty freaking great even with an old goat.
 

Bado20

FNG
Joined
Nov 12, 2021
Messages
46
Location
British Columbia
I cooked my billy for the first time last week. I did barbacoa that I thought turned out well.
  • Smoked it for an hour.
  • Put it in an instapot on low for 8 hours with seasonings. It was not fork shredable after that time. It was really tough.
  • I pressure cooked it in the instapot for 45 minutes, and it came our fork shreddable and delicious.
  • We made tacos with it, and I will do it again.
I'm new to cooking goat, but I'm realizing mine is tough. I would not want to smoke/roast it. I just don't think it will work. I will begin to explore charcuterie and will grind some. I will also see what I can do with the loins.
On older goats the instapot on high pressure for 90 min works well for me.
 

Grisha

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 22, 2021
Messages
115
Location
California
interesting - if you have updates on the future use of the instapot without precooking, please post.

I have had good luck with low, slow braising, but old billies definitely are tough to use outside of braising or grinding
 

Clarktar

WKR
Joined
Aug 30, 2013
Messages
4,174
Location
AK
I have. It was a smaller roast. I dry rubbed and smoked at 180 degrees for 2.5-3 hours. So tender! Goat was 8 yrs old.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 

Avin

FNG
Joined
Apr 30, 2022
Messages
6
I work with a guy who's wife is a fantastic cook. They have been making cooking videos for a while on youtube. Lately they have been trying to use wild meat. Did one with deer tounge, caribou shank, and most recent is a goat stew. The deal is I supply the meat they do the video and give me some. The goat dish is fantastic. I will post a link to the youtube page once they have it up.
 
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