Air Fried Goat Meat Bites (Caribbean Style)

Learn how to make these delicious, juicy, tender and crispy goat meat bites in the air fryer. A Caribbean inspired recipe that doesn't require any deep fat frying or large amounts of oil. Perfect to eat alone or to serve as a side dish for a number of island recipes.

Goat meat is my absolute favourite meat to eat (sorry my vegan audience will have to sit this one out).

This recipe was inspired by the Haitian Tasso/steck bites recipe and just me experimenting with different flavours.

In the Caribbean, goat meat plays a crucial role, some people use goat interchangeable with mutton, this might be just a disapora thing but whatever the case. 

Whenever I am cooking with goat meat, I am actually using goat meat and not using it interchangeably as stated in my other goat recipes.

I personally prefer to use goat because it is leaner and less fatty than mutton (mature lamb).

If you don't care for the excess saturated fat and want red meat with a high protein content then goat will be the most viable choice, especially for those that want island inspired food but want to keep things low in fat.

As goat isn't very popular in the western hemisphere it is very very expensive and difficult to get hold of.

I usually get mine from my local halal butchers since goat meat is also eaten by the both the Asian and African community too.

I can't afford to mess up any of my goat meat recipes because it is very costly to re-make it several times over so perfection is key and nothing goes to waste in our household.

Preparing the recipe

The key to making great tasting goat meat bites is to make the meat tender. Tenderising the meat is a crucial aspect to yielding meat that isn't tough.

Patience is key here, as per all Caribbean recipes, the meat will need to be washed first.

This is a standard Caribbean practice and this recipe post entitled How to Clean Meat will guide you through the process.

Once the meat is washed and blotted dry, the next step is to add some of the seasoning (the seasoning is added in 2 parts).

Typcially with my meat recipes, the meat will need to be marinated, I usually leave my meat to marinate overnight.

However, I found that this recipe doesn't really require much resting time, so you can use it immediately or leave to rest for a short period of time.

Goat meat takes time to cook, the slow cooking process helps to break down the collagen in the meat.

Pressure cooking goat meat

Without the use of a pressure cooker, the cooking time takes up to 3 hours, depending on the recipe.

Just like Jamaican Oxtail Stew , it benefits from cooking at a low temperature for several hours.

We can fast track the cooking time by using a pressure cooker. Nowadways, I have moved on from the old fashioned pressure cooker which my mother and grandmother would heavily rely on.

Instead I like to use my instant pot, it is an eletronic pressure cooker. The principle is the same where heat produces steam which cooks the meat faster by raising the boiling point.

It takes less than 20 minutes to pressure cook via the instant pot. You can use a stovetop pressure cooker instead if you don't own an electronic one.

To pressure cook the meat you will need to add some stock. I personally like to use my homemade Mutton Stock but you can use some lamb stock cubes (make sure it is low sodium and gluten free).

By pressure cooking the goat this will cut down on the cooking time that is needed to tenderise the meat.

Once the meat is cooked, reserve some of the stock (don't throw it away, although you won't need all of it).

Then it's just a simple case of seasoning the meat with the remaining ingredients and air frying the meat.

While the meat is being air fried it's best to prepare the sauce which will accompany the meat.

It's really simple and made from the stock, tomato paste, parsley and any additional black pepper and pink salt to taste.

The steps

• Place the washed meat in a large bowl.
• Season the meat with the all purpose seasoning and green seasoning.
• Pour the stock into the instant pot along with the seasoned meat.
• Switch on the instant pot and select "pressure cook" and adjust the +/- to "18 minutes".
• Switch the knob to "sealling" then allow the unit to pressurise (this will take several minutes).

• Once the meat is cooked, do a quick release by switching the knob to "venting" becareful as the steam will immediately shoot into the air.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat and set aside.
• Reserve the stock as we will be using that to make our sauce.
• Preheat the air fryer.

• Place the meat in a medium sized bowl then add the browning sauce, soy(a) sauce, oyster sauce, all purpose seasoning, paprika, thyme, parsley, red pepper flakes and hot sauce and olive oil.
• Use a spoon or your hand(s) to thoroughly coat the meat.
• Do a taste test of the meat and add the desired amount of black pepper and pink salt.
• Place the meat in the air fryer basket (you may need to do this in batches).
• Air fryer for 6 minutes @180C/356F.

• While the meat is air frying, prepare the sauce by adding the stock mixed with tapioca starch to a medium sized saucepan on medium heat.
• Stir in the tomato paste, parsley and black pepper and pink salt to taste.
• Simmer on medium-low heat while stirring until the sauce begins to thicken (this should take 5-10 minutes).
• Serve the sauce with the air fried goat meat.

Notes and tips

• If you are using stock cubes, use 2 of them and make sure they are gluten free and low in sodium.
• Make sure the stock is hot when adding it to the instant pot, cold water will make the meat tough. Even if you are using my homemade stock, heat it up first before using it.
• I recommend using boneless goat for this recipe. I used boneless leg but you can get away with using lamb's leg instead. I have tried this and it's just as lean.
• These are the link that you need for my Homemade Browning Sauce, Green Seasoning and the All Purpose Seasoning.
• Be sure to do a taste test of the meat, prior to air frying in gauge the amount of pink salt and black pepper that is needed.
• As per Caribbean custom, the meat should be cleaned before hand. This link on How to clean the meat.
• It is VERY important that you pressure cook the meat before air frying it. This isn't optional and a requirement to get the melt-in-your-mouth meat texture.

More goat, lamb and beef recipes

• Lamb Chilli Con Carne
• Lamb Fried Rice
• Slow Cooker Lamb Stew
• Grilled Lamb Koftas Kebabs
• Lamb Leg Steaks
• Slow Cooker Curry Goat
• Jamaican Curry Goat
• Stew Beef
• Jamaican Curry Beef
• Liver and Onions with Gravy
• Jamaican Beef Soup

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