A NEW interest in eating goat meat across the developed world which will see it go on sale at almost £20 per kilo in Harrods stores in London next month may present opportunities for Irish herd owners.Goat meat, which is seldom seen in supermarkets or butchers shops has begun appearing on the menu at top London restaurants Fifteen, Pied a Terre and St John, and also at a number of New York eateries.
International wire reports quoted a Harrods spokesperson suggesting roasting the meat or dicing it for stews or curries, adding it could replace lamb in a lot of recipes.
Low in calories, goat meat contains 122 calories per three ounces compared with 162 for chicken, 175 for lamb, 179 for beef and 180 for pork. It also has a lot less fat than all the other meats, at 0.79g compared with 3.0g for beef.
Bruce Langlands, director of the Harrods Food Halls, said goat has been on the culinary backburner in the UK for many years, but they “feel it is the right time to showcase its delicious qualities” to customers.
Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, said yesterday it is monitoring the reports of the growing interest.
“Goat does appear irregularly on Irish menus but it is a very small niche market here. Goats are being kept here mainly for milk production,” she said.
She said there are currently 10,000 milking goats in Ireland and the main processor of goat milk was the Tullamore-based Glenisk creamery.
Ten days ago, Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith announced the reopening of the the export of sheep meat from Ireland to Tunisia.
He said Tunisia had also agreed to allow beef into the country as had Morocco which had placed a ban on the import of Irish beef and live cattle nearly 15 years ago.
