Jamaican Curry Goat Recipe
My Jamaican curry goat recipe is an incredibly delicious slow-cooked stew full of fork-tender goat meat and spicy Jamaican flavor, all smothered in a creamy gravy! An absolutely must-make Jamaican recipe that takes out-of-the-ordinary into spicy deliciousness! Incredibly easy with minimal prep makes it even better.
We enjoy goat meat quite regularly in my beloved Cameroon. So when I tried curry goat in a Jamaican restaurant, it was like going home. Adding this recipe to my repertoire was only natural.
Ask anyone who loves Jamaican food to choose their favorite recipe, and curry goat will appear on the list. Although it has become increasingly popular in the States due to the influx of different cultures, it’s not celebrated nearly as it should be. While food choice is a personal matter, my personal opinion is that having an open mind leads to more joy.
Did you know that goat is the most consumed meat throughout the world? Plus, because goats and sheep are more likely to be free-range and pasture-fed, they’re better for us than commercially raised beef and chicken.
However, I love the flavor when properly cooked. I like it thick and creamy but sometimes adjust flavors and textures for the family. It would be a crime to miss out on trying this curry at least once in your life.
Jamaican Curry, the Perfect Spice Mix for Goat
The aromatic blend of garlic, ginger, thyme, onion, and hot pepper added to traditional curry spices takes center stage in Jamaican curry powder. Something about those spices marries well with the unique flavor of goat. For even more amazing results, make your own. You can use less of the homemade version because it doesn’t contain fillers, and fresh spices pack a bigger flavor punch.
How to Make Jamaican Curry Goat
- Season the meat with salt and pepper, and set aside.
- Sear: Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sear the goat meat, stirring frequently, scraping browned bits off the bottom of the pot. (Photo 1)
- Spice: Add the curry powder and stir for 1-2 minutes to bloom the flavors. Add the garlic, ginger, white pepper, onions, thyme, tomato paste, scallions (green onions), and scotch bonnet pepper and stir for another minute. (Photos 2-3)
- Simmer: Pour in just enough water to cover the meat, bring it to a boil, and simmer until tender. (It takes about 2 hours, depending on the cut and altitude.) Stir occasionally and add more water as needed. (Photo 4)
- Add the potatoes and bouillon powder about 20 minutes before removing the pot from the heat. Continue cooking until the potatoes are tender (for thicker stew, cook them until they start falling apart. (Photo 5)
- Serve: Adjust the stew’s thickness with water or stock. Remove from the heat and enjoy. (Photo 6)
Recipe Tips
- Goat meat is available at most international, halal, and Latin American markets. It’s comparable to beef shanks or briskets, so feel free to swap out beef if you can’t find it.
- Searing is optional but adds flavor. Sometimes, I skip that, assemble everything in a crockpot, and let it take care of itself when I’m short on time.
Batch Cooking and Storage
Making a double batch of stew and freezing it in serving or meal-size portions is a fantastic time-saver. It also helps me stay on a healthy diet without stressing.
Goat stew lasts 3-4 days in the fridge or 3-4 months in the freezer.
What to Serve With Jamaican Curry Goat
Rice and peas or beans and fried plantains are my favorite sides. You’ll be so happy you tried it. Enjoy!
More Mind-Blowing Goat Recipes to Try
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”nJSsvpCs” upload-date=”Mon Aug 06 2018 20:36:18 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Jamaican Curry Goat” description=”Jamaican Curry Goat – insanely delicious slow cooked Jamaican Spiced Curry that is full of flavour and tender to the bone! An absolutely must-make Jamaican food! So easy to make with minimal prep.”]
This blog post was originally published in April 2017 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video
Jamaican Curry Goat
Ingredients
- 3-3½ pounds (1.5-2k) goat meat (cut into chunks)
- ¼ cup (60ml) cooking oil
- 4-5 tablespoons (30-40g) Jamaican curry powder
- 2 teaspoons (10g) minced garlic
- 1-2 teaspoons (5-10g) minced ginger
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) white pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons (1-2g) fresh thyme
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1 tablespoon (15g) tomato paste
- water to cover
- 2-3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper (or any hot pepper; adjust to suit tastes)
- 1 tablespoon (10g) bouillon powder (optional)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Season the goat meat with salt and pepper, and set aside.
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat until hot, then add the meat, stirring frequently and scraping browned bits off the bottom.
- When the meat has browned, add the curry powder and stir for 1-2 minutes.
- Then add the garlic, ginger, onion, white pepper, thyme, scallions (green onions), tomato paste, and scotch bonnet pepper, and stir for another minute.
- Pour in just enough water (or broth) to cover the meat, bring to a boil, and simmer until tender. The time will depend on the meat, altitude, and preference, but mine takes 2-3 hours. Stir occasionally and add more liquid as needed.
- Add the potatoes and bouillon powder 15-20 minutes before the stew is done. Continue cooking it until the potatoes are tender. For a thicker stew, cook the potatoes until they start falling apart. You can thin it with water or stock if it gets too thick.
Tips & Notes:
- Feel free to use a slow cooker or a pressure cooker for this recipe. You may want to reduce the water or broth for a thicker stew
- Yuca, true yams, and sweet potatoes make tasty substitutes for potatoes
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe
Hello, Imma. Thank you, thank you, thank you a million times. My sister and her boyfriend recently visited my wife and me for the first time. Her boyfriend is Jamaican and I knew he loves goat with curry. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to make it for him. I’ve made goat and I’ve made curry but never goat with curry. Normally I probably wouldn’t serve something to first-time guests the first time I prepare it so I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous. There was no need to be. This recipe was such a big hit. Beautiful, delicious, and fun (with your Caribbean rice) and one of the best goat dishes I’ve ever had. Bless your heart.
Paxton, thank you so much for sharing this ! So happy you and your family enjoyed this and the other sumptuous recipes. It really warms my heart that you would take time out to let me know.
Hi! Sounds good. What do you serve it with
Hi, is it better to leave the scotch bonnet whole or finely dice? Would it result in a different taste? Many thanks x
Hi, Leanne. Leave the scotch bonnet whole.
How come there is no ginger in this recipe
You may add ,if desired .
Love this recipe use it all tge time especially in a slow cooker taste is superb
Thanks for letting me know, Phil! Now I have the hankering to prepare this one for tomorrow. =)
Hello Imma!
My name is Kiah. And I have been a fan of yours for months now. I love your site and your recipes are AMAZING, EASY AND SUPER DUPER EXTRA DOUBLELY DELICIOUS!
I’ve tried so many of them and have loved every one that I tried.
Now my question is about this recipe in particular. Can I use cubed goat stewing meat or does it have to have the bone in it?
Thanks!
P.S. YOUR FOOD IS AWESOME!! 🙂
Cubed goat works fine. But I prefer the bone-in as the bone adds flavor to the dish. And I simply love nibbling the bone. 😉
we have a celebration of Caribbean culture once a year where I live, and after going and my partner being too fussy too try goat(), I made this today and replaced with beef to keep as authentic as I could without the goat.
We both adored it!!! Nicest curry I’ve had! Nothing but compliments from the rest of the family either!
I’m glad your family loves it, Ella!
Hi Imma, What a great, no-nonsense curry goat recipe! I love the fact that there is no laborious marinading process as in other recipes, however I did add the juice of half a lime to my seasoned goat as I prepared all the other ingredients, and being a lazy cook just put my fresh sprigs of thyme in whole. (I will remove the stalks when the curry is cooked). I had a read through some of the comments from other people and have a few suggestions. I pierce my scotch bonnets with a sharp knife to release the flavour and spice into the curry, when I leave them whole. To the guy from the UK that cannot get goat meat, I am in London and use Shepherds Bush Market in W12. If he is anywhere near a city he should have no issue tracking down a respected Halal Butcher. When I lived in Manchester I used butchers in Rusholme on the Curry Mile. It is available on line, but expensive (even though it is a byproduct of the dairy industry! The Nannies are kept for breeding and milk while the young Billies are generally slaughtered for pet meat as the market is not huge in England sadly!) Also, Dunn’s river do a really good Jamaican Curry Powder thatis available in the uk, £3.89 for 500g. I love curry goat, and appreciate a recipe that I will be able to eat in the next few hours!! The perfume is filling my flat and my neighbours are going to be soooooooooo jealous! lol I will let you know how it compares to other recipes that I have used, lots of love, Eamonn
Glad to hear it turned out good for you, Eamonn! That curry goat smell is definitely mesmerizing. And thank you so much for all the helpful info. Have a good one!
can you use beef broth instead of water
you sure can.
After trying a few different Curry Goat recipes over the years, which have sadly disappointed.
I’m happy to report this one is our new GO TO recipe.
Authentic and more importantly “absolutely delicious”.
I sliced the Scotch Bonnet up to give it a little extra heat and for us it was perfect.
Thank you so much, I’ll be trying your Jerk
recipe next.
Yay! Thank you so much!
Hi Imma!
I want to make this recipe but cannot have bouillon powder and I definitely don’t want to leave out the extra flavor. What can I use as a substitute? 1 cup of broth? Would that be too much liquid?
Hi Danielle! You can replace half of the water with broth. That would help .Happy Cooking!!!
Great looking recipe! Am looking forward to attempting to make but I have a question, what could I subtitue for chopped onions or is it able to be left out? Granules?
Many thanks
Green onions or granules would do just fine.
I use chicken stock and I always add a stick of butter
Hi Imma,
My supplies of goat meat have do finally arrived today….. I’m so pleased as I’m so looking forward to trying ur recipe!! I was wondering if I exchanged the scotch bonnet for 2 tablespoons of hot sauce would this work as well?
Hi Steph, Yes it would do just fine. Happy Cooking!!!
Making this agen for the second time also going to serve it with white rice and veg x
Hi Emma. I’m very interested in cooking this dish. For dinner tonight but I’m confused as to why you mentioned it being confused with ginger, but then didn’t put ginger in the actual recipe?
***Infused
My bad! You really don’t have to use ginger , it works just fine with or without ginger. 1 teaspoon would do just fine .
What are green onions, never seen or heard of them until i saw your recipe.And what brand of curry powder. Thanks.
Hi Brian.
Green onions are also known as scallions and are available in most Super markets in the produce section next to the herbs . I make my own curry powder check it out here . If you are looking into buying chief or madras works just fine.
I made this curry last night! With yam carrots plus a small spoon of jerk seasoning and coconut. . Absolutely easy to follow and adapt. Thank you so much. I’m going to cook it today for my family reunion, I hope I can improve on yesterday’s .
What a great recipe , I’m so happy I stumbled across this blog.
So happy you are here Marie! I really appreciate your kind words and I’m so happy you liked it. Practice makes perfect that’s for sure ! Thanks again and Happy New Year!
I made this today and it was sooooo good! Thank you!!
Great! Thanks for the feedback! And Merry Christmas!
Hi there, I have a couple of questions. I’d like to cook your Jamaican Curried Goat recipe in a slow cooker. I’ve read through the comments section and see you have recommended it be cooked on high for 4-5 hours – which is great. Just wondering at what point in time the potatoes should be added? I was thinking at approximately the 4 hour mark? And also wondering if you feel it would taste better simmered over the stove as the original recipe states, or if a slow cooker would do just as good of a job. Thanks in advance and I can’t wait to try this tonight.
Hi Tammie! I tried both versions and they both deliver in flavor . Just a matter of preference. I usually add the potatoes same time as the goat. Make sure they are large chunks of potatoes. Happy cooking !!!
Love love love this recipe. Made it this weekend. An absolute winning dish. Just aroused my taste buds. Thanks a ton Imma for sharing this recipe. Will check and try out other recipes of yours.
Cheers,
Divya
Oh WOW! Thanks for feedback Divya. Can’t wait to see which ones you try out !
Happy Holidays!!!
I don’t consider myself a good cook but this came out perfect. I was wondering if I should have marinated the goat overnight like I have seen on other recipes, but I didn’t and it still came out tender and flavorful. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
My pleasure ! Glad to hear it worked out well for you. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know.
Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Awesome! Do let me know how it works out for you.
I had some frozen goat in the freezer that I had bought on a whim and never used. I thawed it out, made sure it wasn’t freezer burned, and found your recipe. I mostly followed it except for the following: I had to simmer much longer for the meat to get tender. The sauce was thin so I thickened with a little cornstarch. I noticed that you mentioned ginger in your narrative, so I threw in a teaspoon of dried at the end. Then for good measure, a teaspoon of coconut sugar. It was delicious with your Caribbean rice!
Awesome ! Thanks for taking time out to share such detailed feedback with us. Glad to hear it worked out well for you.
Excellent recipe thank you so much for such great and clear instructions and the pictures, I often get lost in the kitchen but had no problem with this. Thanks
YES! Glad to hear it was a hit . Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Hi, when cooking for thr 2 hours is it lid on or lid off?
Hi John! The lid is on.