Slow Cooker Goat "Bourguignon"

I've submitted this recipe to October's Tasty Tools event on What's Cooking, Chicago?.

On a whim, I picked up some goat meat at the San Antonio farmer's market last week. I had never eaten it or cooked with it before, but I've been reading so much about it lately, and I was intrigued. It was frozen (the heat even at 10 in the morning down here is unbearable, and for food safety reasons, most of the meat sold at the farmer's market is frozen), so using the slow-cooker was a great solution. If it wasn't frozen, I would have browned the goat in some bacon fat before putting in the slow-cooker.

This by no means is a traditional "bourguignon," but it uses many of the same flavors. I kind of just dumped whatever reminded me of traditional boeuf bourguignon in the slow-cooker. We already had a ton of carrots from our Greenling local box, and I always keep onion in the fridge.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of carrots, peeled and chopped into medium-sized chunks
• 3 red spring onions (equivalent to 1 small red or yellow onion), plus 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 bunch of green garlic, chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/2 bottle red wine (I used a French burgundy.)
• 1-14 oz. can beef stock
• 1-6 oz. can tomato paste
• 1 lb. goat stew meat (I only had 1 lb., but I think this recipe could be used with even 1.5 lb. of meat. Just add more liquid if necessary.)
• 1/2 tsp. salt and a few grinds of pepper

Directions:

• Put the chopped vegetables and the herbs in the bottom of the slow-cooker, then add the tomato paste and liquids and stir well.
• Add the goat so that all of the pieces are covered in the liquid, then add the salt and pepper.
• Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, then on low for 2 hours (alternatively, low for 8 hours would be okay also).

Verdict:
This was PHENOMENAL. I've made boeuf bourguignon in the slow-cooker before using a similar recipe, but the goat was much more moist and flavorful. The goat was more flavorful than beef, but not game-y at all. I served this with mashed potatoes, so it was nice to have so much sauce with it, but if you want a thicker gravy, stir about 1 tsp. cornstarch into the beef stock before adding to the slow-cooker.