Authentic Jamaican Curry Goat Recipe

Name: Jamaican Curry Goat
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 315 min
Ingredients: 3 lbs goat meat (chopped into 2 inch chunks, rinsed and dried); 2.5 Tablespoon Jamaican curry powder (separated); ½ teaspoon ginger powder; ½ teaspoon all-purpose seasoning; ¼ teaspoon allspice; 1 yellow onion (chopped); 6 garlic cloves (chopped); 3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried); 2 Tablespoon oil; 1 ¼ cup water; 1 scotch bonnet pepper; 1 large russet potato (chopped); Salt and pepper to taste

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This Jamaican Curry Goat recipe is a flavorful, succulent dish made with Jamaican curry, goat pieces, and other spices. It’s a traditional Jamaican dish that you and your family will love.

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The full recipe with ingredients/instructions is available on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Important tips/tricks are also included in the blog post.

I’ve shared many Jamaican recipes here on the site, and it’s about time I shared how I make one of my favorite Jamaican dishes, curry goat. Curry goat was one of the must-have items on my wedding menu (that and mannish wata a.k.a goat head soup).

When made right, curry goat should be flavorful, the goat should be fork-tender, and it should make you feel warm all over. I use the electric pressure cooker to make my curry goat, but the stovetop works fine too.

Although goat meat isn't too popular where I live, it should be as it's a great alternative to beef, chicken, and pork. I’m thrilled to share my method of making this Caribbean staple.

close up photo of curry goat in white bowl

Ingredients Needed for this Recipe

Use vinegar to rinse goat meat before cooking, even though it's not an ingredient in the recipe.
Goat meat - I usually find my goat meat in International markets. It'll come fresh or frozen. If your goat meat is frozen, thaw it before using it in the recipe.
Spices & Seasoning - Jamaican curry powder, Ginger powder, all-purpose seasoning, allspice, and fresh thyme
Vegetables - onion, garlic cloves, scotch bonnet pepper, and russet potato.
Other ingredients - oil and water.

Tools Needed:

knife
cutting board
Pressure Cooker for quicker cooking, or a large pot.

How to make curry goat

Gather all your ingredients.

ingredients of Jamaican curry goat on white background

Rinse your goat pieces with water and vinegar and then pat them dry.

Season goat meat with 1 ½ tablespoon curry powder, all-purpose seasoning, ground ginger, all spice, onion, garlic cloves, and thyme. Marinate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Remove onion and garlic from goat and set aside.

2 white bowls, 1 with onions and seasonings and the other with goat with seasonings

Set an electric pressure cooker, like an Instant Pot, on high sauté. Add oil. Add goat meat and brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. I usually only brown ½ of the goat meat. This allows me to build flavor but not spend too much time browning meat.

Remove goat from insert and add 1 tablespoon oil and remaining curry powder and sauté for about 10 seconds. Then add onions and garlic and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes. If the onions look dry, add a little water and continue to sauté.

goat being seared in an instant pot pressure cooker

onions being sauteed in an instant pot pressure cooker

Add goat and water to the pressure cooker and cover the pressure cooker. Cook for 40 minutes on high pressure. Please note that the water will not cover the goat before you pressure cook it.

Allow the pressure cooker to naturally release for 10 minutes, then release the remaining pressure.

Once all the pressure has been released, open the pressure cooker. Place on sauté for 10-15 minutes, add potatoes and a whole scotch bonnet pepper. Cook until potatoes have softened. Remove scotch bonnet pepper.

Serve and enjoy.

How to make Curry Goat on the Stove Top

Making curry goat on the stovetop is similar to making it in the pressure cooker. Follow the above directions except cook the goat in a large covered pot over low heat for 1.5-2 hours, until the goat is tender. Add the chopped potatoes and pepper during the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Tanya's Top Tips

The longer you cook curry goat, the more tender it will become. Either cook low and slow on the stove or in a slow cooker on low; or speed things up by using a pressure cooker.
Use Jamaican curry powder for an authentic Jamaican curry goat.
Wait to add salt and pepper to taste until the goat has finished cooking. Some brands of curry powder contain salt. adding salt to soon may cause the goat to be salty.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jamaican Curry Goat

Where can I buy goat?

You can typically find goat in your local International market or Caribbean market. It's usually already chopped into pieces for you.

What is the best curry to use?

For Jamaican curry goat, you need to use Jamaican curry. For store-bought options, I like to use a combination of Blue Mountain Curry and Betapac. You can also use homemade curry powder. Your goat will taste like whatever brand of curry you use.

How do I thicken my curry goat?

Once you add the chopped potatoes and allow the goat to simmer on the stovetop for 10-15 minutes, your curry will thicken a little.

What should I serve this with?

Many people like to serve this dish with rice and peas, but I prefer the goat and the gravy over a nice heap of white rice. Sauteéd Jamaican cabbage and fried dumplings also go along well with this dish.

I sure hope you love this recipe as much as we do.

Other Jamaican recipes

Jamaican Curry Chicken or Curry Shrimp
Jerk Chicken
Oxtails
Brown Stew Chicken
Ackee and Saltfish

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4.92 from 12 votes

Jamaican Curry Goat

This Jamaican Curry Goat recipe is a flavorful, succulent dish made with Jamaican curry, goat pieces, and other spices. It’s a traditional Jamaican dish that you and your family will love.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Caribbean

Keyword Jamaican curry goat, Jamaican curry recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Marinate 4

Total Time 5 15

Servings people

Calories 395kcal

Author Tanya

Ingredients

3 lbs goat meat chopped into 2 inch chunks, rinsed and dried
2.5 Tablespoon Jamaican curry powder separated
½ teaspoon ginger powder
½ teaspoon all-purpose seasoning
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 yellow onion chopped
6 garlic cloves chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
2 Tablespoon oil
1 ¼ cup water
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1 large russet potato chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Rinse goat meat with vinegar and water.
Season goat meat with 1 ½ tablespoon curry powder, all-purpose seasoning, ground ginger, allspice, onion, garlic cloves, and thyme. Marinate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
Remove onion and garlic from goat and set aside.
Set an electric pressure cooker, like an Instant Pot, on high sauté and add oil. Add goat meat and brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove goat from insert and add 1 tablespoon oil and remaining curry powder and sauté for about 10 seconds. Then add onions and garlic and sauté until softened. About 4 minutes. If the onions look dry, add a little water and continue to sauté.
Add goat and water to the pressure cooker and cover the pressure cooker. Cook for 40 minutes on high pressure. Allow to naturally release for 10 minutes, then release the remaining pressure.
Once all the pressure has been released, open the pressure cooker. Place on sauté for 10-15 minutes, add potatoes and a whole scotch bonnet pepper. Cook until potatoes have softened. Remove scotch bonnet pepper.

Stovetop

Making curry goat on the stovetop is similar to making it in the pressure cooker. Follow the above directions except cook the goat in a large covered pot over low heat for 1.5-2 hours, until the goat is tender. Add the chopped potatoes during the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Suggested Tools

6 Qt Pressure Cooker

Notes

The kind of curry you use is important to this dish. I used 2 tablespoon Blue Mountain Country Curry and ½ tablespoon Betapac. Your goat will taste like whichever curry you choose to use.
Scotch bonnet pepper is optional in this recipe and added whole to infuse flavor during the code. Do not add it before pressure cooking and make sure the pepper is whole with no bruises or rips. Scotch bonnet peppers are spicy. Placing it in whole allows us to get some flavor without the spice.
If you can’t find scotch bonnet pepper, a habanero pepper is a great substitute.

Nutrition

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Although myforkinglife.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Under no circumstances will myforkinglife.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.

This post was originally published on July 21, 2021. It has been updated with additional helpful information and tips.

Comments

4.92 from 12 votes (5 ratings without comment)