I am so excited to finally share this Jamaican curry goat recipe with you. Goat meat marinade in
Jamaican spices and slow cook in a savoury curry sauce. You won’t get enough of this
finger-licking dish!
What is Jamaican curry goat
Goat meat seasoned to perfection with an array of spices and seasonings. Starting with scallion,
garlic, ginger, thyme, onions, scotch bonnet pepper and curry powder. Slowly cooked until the
meat is tender and the sauce is thick and creamy.
In Jamaica, curry goat isn’t the ‘every Sunday’ type of dish. More expensive than chicken or cow
meat. It’s reserved for special occasions such as weddings, parties, fun fairs, and funerals.
Curry goat takes some time to cook, but this tasty dish is worth the wait.
Is it goat curry or curry goat?
It is curry goat and not goat curry. Try not to say the latter when speaking with a Jamaican.
Jamaicans are passionate about their food, culture, language and country.
We are full of spice and flavour like this dish, and will passionately correct you in regards to our
culture.
Other Caribbean countries say goat curry, but we all have unique ways of expressing our
individual cultures.
I am sure they are as passionate about goat curry as we Jamaicans are about curry goat.
Cooking curry goat
Wash the goat meat with vinegar and lime/lemon juice before adding the seasoning. The lime
and vinegar will help cut the odour from the meat.
Drain away all the water, dry with paper towel if necessary.
Common Jamaican herbs and spices goes well with goat meat.
This best curry powder to use for this recipe is Jamaican curry powder.
It gives the dish the right colour and flavour.
See the recipe below for a list of seasonings needed for this curry goat. Add seasonings to the
washed goat meat and marinate overnight.
Traditionally, the goat meat is marinated for 24 hours to maximise the curry flavour.
If your time is limited, marinate for at least 2 hours.
Allow the goat to slowly cook until tender.
Which part of goat is best for Curry
Curry goat is slow cooked until it’s tender and delicious. The bone marrow is released into the pot
filling it will flavour.
You need meat with bones that can sustain long slow-cooking.
Parts of goat such as the shank, leg, shoulder, and neck are best for this curry dish.
What sides goes with curry goat
There are so many sides to serve with curry goat, it’ll go with any of your favourites
In Jamaica, we serve it with rice and peas on any given occasion.
The taste of this coconut rice is the perfect marriage with the taste of curry goat.
I love hard food with curry goat, boiled green banana crushed in the spicy curry sauce makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
Another favourite of mine is roasted breadfruit. It is definitely a must-try!
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Jamaican Curry Goat Recipe
Ingredients
- 2½ lb (1.13 kg) goat meat
- 2½ tbsp (2.5 tbsp) curry powder
- 2 tbsp all-purpose season
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper* seeds remove and finely chopped
- 6 pimento berries (allspice) crushed
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 stalks scallion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 3 sprig thyme
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 large potato peeled and diced
- cooking oil
- water
- 1 lime ot lemon to wash the meat
- 2 tbsp vinegar to wash the meat
Instructions
- Wash the goat meat in water with the vinegar and juice from the lime/lemon. Drain away all excess water.
- In a large enough bowl, season the meat with 1½ tablespoon of curry powder, salt, all-purpose seasoning, pimento, ginger, scotch bonnet pepper, scallion, onion, and garlic. Drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of oil over the meat and rub the seasoning in and leave to marinate for a least 2 hours (overnight is best).
- Place a pot on medium heat and add about 2 tablespoon of cooking oil and the remaining one tablespoon curry powder. Let the oil heat up (make sure not to burn the curry powder).
- Add the goat meat and allow it to seared on all sides.
- Add enough water to the pot to cover the meat. Cover and leave to cook for an hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours or until meat tender. Occasionally, check to make sure enough water is always in the pot.
- Add the potato and fresh time and leave to simmer on low heat until the potato is cooked and sauce is thicken.
Love The Recipes
Thank you Sharon
This us the best site
Hi. Love the recipe, I have cooked it once before and surprised myself, as it was on par with currie goat I have bought from good carribean restaurants. I am planning to cook it again tomorrow. Can you recommend a any good sides and starters to go with it?
Could you add a little coconut milk, or would it spoil the dish
Hi Colin, I have never put coconut milk is curry goat. But coconut milk often works in any curry dish, so why not give it a try?
I am Puerto Rican but I love other caribbean
cuisines more than my owns 😬 especially if they curry based & curry goat is one of them & when I eat it, it is from a restaurant but it is expensive. Anyhow, I am happy that I finally found a simple yet delicious recipe to make this awesome dish! Thank you
I’ve tried a few different recipes and variations of curry goat, including my mum’s, and I have to say this is the best tasting and easier to prepare. The seasonings and ingredients are easy to source and you can use this marinade for chicken as well as mutton or goat. I absolutely love this version and will be using this going forward. Thank you Lesa.x
Thank you Regina.
Thanks for the recipe. First time was a charm. We had an unexpected guest and I’ll just say he refused to leave. It turned out A-MAZ-ING!
Brilliant recipe
Thank you
Cooked this today
It went down a treat
Infact I want more
Using chicken tomorrow
Amazing amazing recipe. It was really tasty. I didn’t use the potatoes though. Would it have made the sauce thicken
Hi Adesinmibola, yes it help to thicken the sauce.
What is “all-purpose season”? I’m anxious to try this recipe, and I’m making my shopping list.
You don’t have to use all-purpose seasoning (which you can find in the seasoning section of any Caribbean supermarket or even on Amazon) you can use chicken/poultry seasoning instead.
Hi Lisa in other goat reciepies I see they use tinned tomatoes but your recipe doesn’t, would it make any difference if I used tomatoes? Thanks 💖
I realize the reply is too late, but for anyone else wondering what “all purpose seasoning” is you can google it and find recipes. Essentially it is salt, pepper, garlic, onion and paprika powders. I think that’s all but google will provide a recipe for the mixture.
Hi, this looks yummy. I have seen many recipes using can of tomatoes too, how do I know what is the closest to authentic? First timer here 🙂 hehe
I’m planning on cooking curry goat for the first time and this recipe sounds amazing, would this work in a slow cooker?
I am so happy and grateful that I found this website. I have never made curry goat before and this recipe was qs good as I have ever eaten. I can’t wait to try other recipes. Thank you so much for bringing my Jamaican heritage out in me. I feel so proud of what I have made. 🙂
My first time making curry goat was a success with this recipe! It tasted so authentic. I also made it with your rice n peas recipe. Which also came out perfectly! So happy!
Trying this recipe right now and I’m very excited. So far so good!!!!! Been wanting to try this for weeks now.
I’ve made this receipe several times and we LOVE it! Thank you for sharing!
I made this recipe 2 nights ago. Delicious. I have done different recipes for Curried Goat and this is the best, quickest and easiest, even though the majority have pretty much the same ingredients. Doing the Chicken Curry tomorrow lol.
I’ve eaten Jamaican curry goat at restaurants before but never made it myself. My local grocery store had frozen stewing goat, which they don’t usually stock, and I decided to take a chance and buy it. I searched online for recipes and found this one. I used regular curry powder, jalapeno instead of scotch bonnet, and Berber spice blend instead of all purpose seasoning because that’s what I had. I cooked in my Instant Pot on high pressure for 45 minutes, natural pressure release. Served with my favorite rice & peas recipe – delicious!! My husband had a second helping. Planning to buy more goat while my grocery store still has it, and make again. Thank you!
Hi Sara, thank for stopping by and trying the recipe. Most of all, thanks for sharing your experience. I’m please to hear that your curry goat turned out well and that your husband loved it.
Can u use curry goat seasoning. Or is it best use curry powder. Is it same for curry chicken the powder used
This is the first time I have made curry goat using your recipe and it was absolutely delicious. I spent some time finding the right ingredients and as you suggest, the use of authentic Jamaican curry powder made it taste authentic. Thank you. On to your oxtail recipe next.
I followed your step of making mutton and it was super tasty thank you so much for the efforts you took in making such a delicious recipe we all loved it a lot.
My brother and I grew up with a Jamaican house keeper. All she wanted to do was enrich us with her Culture. I spent weeks in Jamaica since, but had a flashback with this recipe. Although she liked old school reggae, Lucky Dube, Buju Banton,…I was all Dancehall!!!
I am British and have always cooked jamaican cuisine but wanted more authentic recipes for partner who is jamaican. Your website is always my go to and always delivers exactly what I need. I will be giving this dish a go tomorrow!
Hi, lovely recipe, but please don’t encourage your readers to wash the meat. This does absolutely nothing to enhance the meat flavour or kill bacteria. What it does do is spread bacteria from the raw meat across the kitchen and areas you had washed the meat via the water droplets. A very dangerous practice. (I’ve been teaching food hygiene for 25 years).
Good morning Diane, I used to wash my meat until I seen that it has already been washed before buying. Plus the heat of cooking kills all the bacteria.
Hi, I am making a vegetarian version of the curry goat recipe using a meal alternative. I will let you know how it turns out.😊
My first time cooking didn’t realise I need the bones I will do my best thank you for the recipe
The curry goat 🐐 recipe was wonderful fabulous and delicious 😋
Thanks for sharing with us all who love’s to cook . And try different food’s & recipes ❤️🤗
I will be cooking your recipe tomorrow 😋 I’ve never cooked goat before. So I’m looking forward to it. I’m buying the goat meat this afternoon & will marinade it overnight. I will let you know how I get on. Thank you for leaving your recipe for us xx
Hi, I haven’t used your recipe yet so before I try it I was wondering if you can use curry goat powder ? Previously when I have made this dish I have used one curry goat and one Jamaican curry powder and wondered if that made a difference in authenticity of the flavour? TIA – love curry goat and look forward to trying your recipe with a few others!
Hi – Just want to say thanks for putting up this recipe. Very easy to follow and I can’t wait to try it tomorrow. I’ve just seasoned the meat and vegetables and they’re now marinating in the fridge until tomorrow. Cheers!
This is the first time I’ve ever tried cooking curry goat. To me it’s all about getting the ‘pre-cook’/seasoning smells just right!
When my mum used to cook this dish you’d know it was going to taste FAB from the time you smelt her ‘prepping’/seasoning the meat.
With the help of your recipe directions I was able to create the same gorgeous smell. FABULOUS!
The ‘cherry on the cake’ moment was tasting the gravy …… 😛👌🏾👍🏾🥳 🎉👊🏾💯🥇
I had to be sure it wasn’t my tastebuds or my biased opinion playing tricks on me, so I had my son sample some. His response had me SAVING your website, for future Caribbean Food references.
BIG UP SISTER LESA
Hi Le-Roi, thanks for stopping by and trying the recipe. I very please to hear that you and your family enjoyed. Big up to you and your son lol
This is such a great recipe, so full of flavour. We cooked ours on low for about 5 hours and the meat was so tender. Delicious – thank you for the recipe