Monty & Melo's "5 Months Mon Goat Can Eat" Trip Report - Oct 2012

[Monty&Melo]

So this is the view into the back of the car when our driver arrived to pick us up for the BBQ. (I am now using this pic as my wallpaper for my work computer, talk about some strange reactions from my co-workers!!!)



Remember he said that the goat would be in a box, well, he is officially in a box, but we pictured the box being a big box with holes in so the goat could breathe….this was more like he was riding with us and he was our pet. I knew immediately that this goat would not be meeting his ultimate demise at my hands, someone else would have to do the dirty work if we were indeed going to be eating goat that day…

The cookout was actually in Lucea so we had about a half-hour drive ahead of us. Not much was said on the way there, the idea that dinner was sitting in the car with us and that he was so cute made us all a little shy with our words on the way.

Upon arriving we started unloading things and icing down the beers, the rum started flowing and the party was well underway.



It was time….The goat was dispatched and it was all over pretty quickly…as you can see, Melo was not the least bit interested in this portion of the party as she sits in her chair with her back to the festivities nose buried in her book, I can’t really say that I blame her….



That work done, things started to pick up considerably, I guess the thought of the goat’s fate was all weighing on us pretty heavy, but once it was done, it was done. Now on to preparing the meal…..

All the major butchering is done…..



Spices and herbs applied



Fire readied



Curry Goat on the fire!!!



With the curry going on the fire pretty well, it was time to prepare the Mannish Water….This I was very interested in, because I have cooked curry goat at home (not from a goat that was alive a few minutes ago, I have to buy frozen goat here in the Midwest and usually it is from Australia, but you gotta work with what you can get your hands on!!) but obviously Mannish Water was new to me.

Vegetables for the soup…I think there is carrot, yam, irish and green banana in this pot



Lots of spices….



Mannish Water now on the fire

[Monty&Melo]

The whole meal cooked pretty quickly, the reason such a young goat is used is that the meat is very tender to begin with so it cooks quickly and doesn’t have as much “barnyard” flavor as they say. We even had some time to fry some chicken for the girls on the coolest grill I have ever seen:

The chicken well spiced and ready




Chicken frying….



That is just a wheel with hot coals in it and a trivet on top. The pan sets atop the trivet and gets very hot. I am making myself one of these next weekend, along with a jerk chicken barrel, I will post pics when I am done….

Finally it was time to eat….the party was held around a great little outdoor kitchen, complete with seats, a sink, many grills and nice tile work….



Everything was delicious…..even the Mannish Water!!!



Doesn’t it look like I am enjoying it!!!



I will be the first to admit that the Mannish Water was interesting....the broth was great and the veges in the soup were very good too. The goat parts however....let's just say it is an acquired taste. I could see me eating it again, but I don't think I am going to order it for dinner every night of my next trip. I'm glad I tried it though, check another thing off the list as they say....

Now the party is in full force……



Time for the Noni Juice…..I hear its good for the Bamboo!!! Melo looks less than impressed



We had a great time at the BBQ, it was truly a real Jamaican experience and we were welcomed by our hosts. During our conversations, we discussed tourism, Americans that travel to Jamaica and how most of them never see the real Jamaica, interact with real Jamaicans or even get out of the compound enough to give Jamaica a chance. It was fun getting Jamaican perspectives on things like that, it lets you know that a lot of Jamaicans are interested in what goes on, not only because tourism is good for their pocketbook (I think everyone at the party was employed in the tourism industry in one way or the other from hotel employees to taxi and bus drivers), but because they want people to come to their country and leave impressed with what they see. You can be impressed by the beauty of a big all-inclusive hotel but in order to be truly impressed, you need to peel away a few layers, get to know some people and see how they live and how the country is really put together. Sure there are some rough edges, but hanging out in the yard that day really reinforced with me the true beauty of Jamaica and its people and culture. OK…enough philosophy….I am not that good at this stuff anyway.

He headed back to the beach as it was nearing Sunset and we had taken up enough of these folks’ time. We were able to snap a couple of sunset pics to cap another great day in Jamaica





Tomorrow is our last full day in Jamaica before heading home