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No Baa Humbug: Goat Meat Grows In Popularity

No Baa Humbug: Goat Meat Grows In Popularity

Goats' meat is making it onto the menus of some of the best restaurants in the country as chefs find tasty ways to introduce it to their customers.

The animal is eaten around the world but in Britain it has had a reputation for being tough and chewy - but that is changing as its popularity grows.

Executive chef Neil Rankin from the Smokehouse Islington said the key is to cook it slowly.

"It just tastes delicious," he said.

"We started changing our regular recipes we used lamb for and we found it tasted better with goat.

"It's massively underused by the population.

"It's better for slow braises, stews and curries and things.

"It shouldn't just be used by the Caribbean community which it tends to be at the moment."

Goats' cheese and milk are a common sight on supermarket shelves but the male kids are no use for dairy farming.

As a result, it is estimated 30,000 newborn billy goats are slaughtered as an unwanted by-product every year.

At the Gourmet Goat street food stall on London's Borough Market, they only use six-month-old billies from dairy herds for their eastern Mediterranean dishes - and business is booming.

One satisfied customer said: "It's really good."

And another said: "It's absolutely lovely."

Melanie Onuorah has been farming boer goats for meat in Cambridge for six years, selling to local butchers and online via her website Anglia Farm Shop.

She has 30 adult goats and 20 kids, with plans to quadruple her herd.

"I think the business is growing year-on-year because people have been more interested in eating goat meat," she said.

"They are seeing it advertised in newspapers, on television and cooks are cooking it on TV and it's more accessible.

"Small producers like us have got businesses online so it's much easier to buy."

The online supermarket Ocado is about to launch a range of goat dishes but most is available in farm shops or farmers' markets.

And it is not cheap due to the high cost of rearing the animals.

But Michael Mack, from the national farmers' market and farm shops association (FARMA), said people are prepared to pay the money for something different.

"When people go to a farm shop or restaurant or farmers' market they are looking for products which stand out… something that is unique, something that is special and price becomes slightly less important," he said.

"What is important is knowing the origin of the product, where it has come from."

Kid meat is low fat and high in protein and while it may not be to everyone's taste, with more of it appearing on menus at least they will have the chance to find out for themselves.