Grilled Goat Leg with Ramps and Raita
This tender grilled goat leg recipe served with creamy hummus and a tangy raw vegetable salad is a perfect way to enjoy some of our goat meat in the spring.
Grilled leg of goat is very delicious and provides a great yield of tender, succulent, low fat meat. It’s an ideal cut for slow grilling as in this recipe, barbecuing or roasting. Whether the leg is grilled bone-in or deboned be sure to cook slow so that internal temperature reaches 135°F without over cooking the outside.
How to Grill Goat Leg
Set the grill to medium low heat or move the coals to one side to create a fire with a “hot” and “less hot” area to control heat. Place a pan underneath to catch the drippings. Otherwise, drippings will hit the coal and cause excessive, uncontrolled fire, burning the leg. After the first hour base the surface every 20 minutes.
Once the internal temperature is around 135°F increase the temperature of the grill and char to add texture and flavor.
What are Ramps?
In this recipe chef Spangler uses pickled ramps (Allium tricocum). These are a wild leek loved by chefs available in the spring. They have a woodsy, rich garlicky flavor comparable to garlic mixed with scallions. Ramps are foraged, and grow widespread in Eastern North America in Maple hardwood forests. They’re a delicious spring treat if you can find some. If you don’t forage ramps yourself, you can look at farmers markets during may, or contact local foragers in your area and see if there’s any for sale.
Only buy ramps from reputable foragers that harvest from private land. using only the leaves is also a sustainable way to use the plant as digging will kill them. Ramps can also be planted in a yard and will slowly spread like other wild onions, although they take years to grow. For more information on ramps, check out The Foragers Guide to Ramps: Harvesting, Sustainability, Cooking and Recipes.
What is Raita?
A sort of chopped vegetable salad, raita is a side dish from Indian cuisine made from raw or cooked vegetables, typically including cucumbers, tomato and onion. Here chef uses red onion, tomato, cucumber and garlic, mixed with yogurt. It adds a great refreshing touch to the dish.
This recipe is by chef Ben Spangler. Hailing from Minnesota, Ben draws from his Midwestern roots to create dishes that are unpretentious and delicious. Ben has competed on national television for the Food Network and appeared on local Minneapolis food networks. He is currently executive chef at Mercy in Minneapolis.
Looking to buy lamb or goat online? Shepherd Song Farm: Grass to table. We raise lambs & goats traditionally, humanely and sustainably. 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, Never Confined, no Hormones, Grains or Animal Byproducts. Born, raised and processed in the U.S.A. Good for you and good for the environment.
More Goat Recipes
Pan Fried Goat Chops with Herb Butter
Grilled Goat Leg with Ramps and Raita
Equipment
- 1 Grill
- 1 2 quart sauce pot for pickling ramps, optional
Ingredients
Goat Leg
- Boneless Goat Leg 3 to 4 lb
- 2 oz Grapeseed oil
- 1 oz Zatar seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon Sumac
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Pepper
Riata Salad
- 1 ea Lemon
- 1 ea Tomato
- ½ Red onion
- 1 ea Cucumber
- 1 ea Jalapeno optional
- 5 ea Ramps optional
- 3 ea Garlic cloves
- 2.5 oz Yogurt
Optional Pickled Ramps
- 4 ea Ramps with green tops
- 2 oz Water
- 2 oz Red Vinegar
- 2 oz Sugar
- Plating
- 4 oz Hummus
- 1 oz Mint
- 1 oz Parsley
- 2 Tablespoon Onion blossoms optional
- 1 Tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Goat Leg
- Open up goat leg, and season generously with salt pepper, zatar, and sumac.
- Roll up the goat leg and truss with butcher's twine, season the outside with the remainder of the salt, sumac and zatar.
- Rub the goat leg with grape seed oil, then grill on medium-low heat. When grilling large meats make sure to go low and slow.
- Grill the goat leg slowly, for about 2 hours, or until 135 °F.
- Remove the leg from heat, then, while it's still hot, lightly grill ramp leaves. Reserve the ramp leaves.
Riata Salad
- While leg is cooking make riata salad by dicing cucumbers, red onion & tomato.
- Thinly slice, then mince jalapeno and garlic and mix with cucumbers, onion and tomato. Season the mixture to taste with fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Fold in the yogurt and dust with sumac.
Pickled Ramps
- Heat sugar, water and vinegar up to a boil.
- Remove the leaves from the ramps and pickle lower bud until tender.
- Remove from pot season with salt, pepper, sumac and lemon zest.
Plating
- Smear some hummus on plate, arrange a few grilled ramp leaves, then goat leg slices and the riata salad.
- Finish the plate with chopped mint, parsley and onion blossoms. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.