Last saved by: Harless Marcom

I can share my goat stew, but the recipe will be an estimate based on my experience with eating out in the Virgin Islands and  shopping  at the  outdoor and local  markets.The hotel food can be less authentic since they cater to cruise ship tourists, rather, checking out in the places the locals eat was more revealing. The cooking can be a bit spicy but not very hot, hot sauce is on the side. Choice of meat is mainly chicken, goat, fish and conch with starches mainly rice, yam, beans, plantain and bread. The main drink is fruit juice, beer and rum. Rum is very inexpensive.

St. Thomas style Goat Stew

1 lb goat meat - chunks with bones in are fine  

2 medium potatoes

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

2 carrots

1 green pepper

2 tbs flour

2 tbs oil

1 Quart water

15 oz can tomatoes

1/2 tsp mild curry

Dash of pumpkin pie spice

Braise the goat meat in a 4 quart stew pot with oil and flour over medium high heat to  brown the meat and melt some of the goat fat. Add the onions, green pepper and garlic and continue to  caramelize. When mixture starts to stick and get brown add water, scrape loose browning from bottom. When boiling again, add spices and reduce to simmer, covered, for about an hour. Stir to prevent sticking. Add cut up potatoes  and carrots and tomatoes. If mixture is too thick, add more water. Bring back to a boil and then simmer until meat is loose on bones. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice or in a bowl with bread on the side.

Here are some options. Do the browning  in a pressure cooker, add the water, lid and cook for 20 minutes, then continue simmer with the veggies cooked without pressure in the resulting broth. Substitute hot peppers or hot curry for more of a kick. Trim the goat meat after cooking, rather then before for a richer stew. The pinch pumpkin pie spice is a substitute for masala  style spices;  cinnamon, clove, allspice, ginger, etc., which could be used individually as desired, but are necessary for the style.   I tend to go more towards the  coriander-bay-ginger side with a touch of allspice. I find  cinnamon  and clove to be overpowering. The curry should dominate the masala and the goat meat flavor should come through all the spices.

Submitted by: Wade Van Buskirk