Butcher only had 9 lb goat legs - how long to smoke/braise for pulled goat?

[u/tgjer]

I had planned on getting two, 4-5lb goat legs and putting them on the smoker at 225* F for about 5 hours, or until they reached 165* F internally, then braising for about three hours until they reach 203* F.

But all the butcher had were big goat legs, so now I have one 9lb bone-in goat leg to cook. I'm having trouble finding recipes for such a large leg, and what I am finding is ranging from saying about the same cook time as I'd already planned, to saying 8 hours grilling/smoking and 4-5 hours braising.

At 225* F, how long is it likely to take to get to 165* F internally? How long is the braise likely to take before it hits 203* F? And should I rest it for longer before shredding than I would a 5lb leg?

My original recipe, assuming two 4-5lb goat legs, is:

Ingredients:

Two whole bone-in goat legs, about 4-5lb

Marinade: olive oil, brown sugar, salt, pepper, rosemary, cumin, coriander, thyme, lemon zest, garlic, onion powder, fresh ginger, fresh mint, dried ground habanero, paprika, and Worcestershire

Basting/Braising liquid: dry white wine, white onions, beef broth, pomegranate molasses, cider vinegar, bay leaves, plus some of the reserved marinade

For serving: rolls, tzatziki, tomatoes, lettuce, feta, and pickled red onions

Cooking:

1. Cut any surface fat off the goat, cut fat into small pieces, and reserve
2. Remove silverskin if present

3. Score the goat leg, rub in the marinade, wrap in saran wrap, and let marinate for up to 48h in the fridge

   3a. Reserve some of the marinade to add to the braising liquid later

4. The night before cooking, unwrap the goat leg and put on a rack in the fridge uncovered overnight

5. Cut slits in the meat and insert slivers of garlic and the small pieces of reserved goat fat

6. Preheat grill to 225* F, with the coals on one side and chunks of cherry wood on top

7. Cook goat on indirect heat for about 5 hours or until it reaches 165* F internal temp

   7a. Let cook undisturbed for the first 2 hours, then baste and flip every hour

   7b. Check temp every time I flip, pull it and start braise at 165* F

8. Put braising ingredients in a large foil pan, half-submerge the goat in it, cover with foil, and continue cooking at 225* F for about 3 hours or until it reaches 203* F internal temp

   8a. Top off braising liquid as necessary to keep goat half submerged

   8b. When done, skewer/meat probe should go in like butter, little to no resistance

9. Preheat the cooler by pouring a kettle of boiling water in and shutting the lid for 15 minutes; drain and wipe dry then line with a thick layer of towels

10. Remove pan from grill, uncover to let the steam blow off, remove meat from liquid, wrap tightly in foil with a few ladlefulls of the braising liquid over it, wrap it in a towel, put it in a the cooler, and let rest for 1 hour

    10a. Reserve 1.5 cups of the braising liquid, and as much fat spooned off the top as possible

    10b. Dipping sauce: While it's resting, strain and boil the cooking liquid down on the stove until it coats the back of the spoon; taste and adjust seasoning as needed

11. Shred meat. Add reserved juice and fat.

12. Serve on rolls with optional dipping sauce, tzatziki, tomatoes, lettuce, feta, and pickled red onions

[u/rebop]

At 225F it's going to take forever. Get your temp up to 250-275. There's no advantage to cooking it as low as you're planning.

[u/tgjer → u/rebop]

Cooking at 275* F won't dry it out?

[u/wwb_99 → u/tgjer]

No -- magic number is below 300. Most instructions say 225 because smokers are hard and thermometers are not accurate. If you have good pit control you can run at 275 all day. 250 might be safer if you have not.

[u/tgjer → u/wwb_99]

If I cook at 250* F, how would that affect how long it is likely to take to hit 165* F?

[u/wwb_99 → u/tgjer]

Hard to say. If murphy's law holds, it will either run too fast or take way too long but that is neither here nor there.

To be more helpful -- big question is the shape of the piece of meat. See https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/more-cooking-science/what-influences-cooking-time/ for a really good explanation, but if the 9# comes from length more than thickness it will not take that much longer. If it is thickness it scales logarithmically until it doesn't.

[u/Training-Barnacle310 → u/tgjer]

Exposed bone will also conduct heat to interior. Also depends on thickness of the leg. I've had 10lb briskets(relatively thin by comparison) take 16 hours, then the next time 9hrs. Low and slow big cuts ain't a science it's an art. And pulled goat is 203deg F.

[u/collectadot → u/tgjer]

I'm not sure about goat but based on my experience with pork and beef, the meat won't even really be remotely pullable at 165. You really need to get it to 208+ for that.

[u/tgjer → u/collectadot]

165* F is just for the grilling/smoking part. Then I'll pull it and braise it the rest of the way, though most recipes I've been seeing say to braise it to 203* F.

I'm also going to be testing it with a skewer. If it hits 203* F but a skewer still won't go in like butter, I'll leave it in the braise a while longer.

[u/rebop → u/tgjer]

Not in my experience. Especially if you're only smoking until you hit the stall, then braising. You'll be good.

[u/tgjer → u/[deleted]]

Yea I figured. I can start at 4 AM if necessary, I want to serve around 7 PM. I just need to know how long to plan for.

[u/youaintnoEuthyphro → u/tgjer]

this might be a situation where I'd consider smoking over night, as I mentioned in my other comment where I linked to amazingribs.com, I don't think basting is absolutely necessary and I'd say the flipping is completely unnecessary. if you're experienced enough with your smoker then you should be fine letting it ride for several hours without needing to attend to it - especially with a probe thermometer.

consider soaking your wood in water prior to adding to the grill, and if you can toss some apricot or pecan in there as well I'd say go for it!

[u/tgjer → u/youaintnoEuthyphro]

If I smoke it overnight, and it's ready before guests arrive around 7 PM, would this "faux Cambro" technique work with an admittedly kinda cheap cooler?

Or would I be better off just putting it (done but unshredded) into the kitchen oven on warm, wrapped well in foil?

[u/wwb_99 → u/tgjer]

Depends on how much time you need. A big hunk of meat like a goat leg will hold pretty close to 165 for a few hours wrapped in foil presuming your house is not cold. Faux cambros are for when you need hours of holding.

[u/youaintnoEuthyphro → u/tgjer]

ngl /u/wwb_99 nailed it, faux cambro is prolly overkill. if you smoke overnight and then start the braise early afternoon prior to guests arriving you should be fine. low oven might be overkill, faux cambro works well enough cheap oven cooler or otherwise.

ngl I've literally buried cooked/smoked meat before (wrapped well first, of course) & had it hold temp above 53c (kinda my definition of the low end of "safe"), the thermal volume of a 9# goat leg is gonna do most of the heavy lifting for ya. I wouldn't sweat it too hard.

ninja edit: typo

[u/wwb_99 → u/tgjer]

Seconding the "start at midnight" suggestion -- you can go at 225, slow roll the goat and then pull the trigger on the braise step at the right time.

[u/tgjer → u/wwb_99]

If I start at midnight, and it hits 165* F way early (like idk, 8 AM) can I pull it, put it in the fridge, then pull it out and start the braise at 1 PM? That would give me 5 hours to braise it and still give it an hour resting time before serving at 7 PM.

[u/wwb_99 → u/tgjer]

Putting it in the fridge is probably a bad idea, I suspect the meat needs to ramp up to 203 not lose a lot of temp.

I also suspect 165 is an idea here -- if it gets to 175 in the smoker it will just make it better. And given the stall, it will take a long time in that range.

What I would do is leave it on the smoker a bit longer, hold the meat for an hour or so then start the braise a bit earlier then hold the braise.

[u/I_deleted → u/[deleted]]

Debone it

[u/youaintnoEuthyphro]

I'd say that sounds broadly correct! you could always joint the leg at the knee & smoke/braise them differently, the bottom of the leg has significantly smaller radius & slightly different musculature than further up towards the "shoulder" of the goat.

do you have a smoking/grilling thermometer a la thermoworks or combustion? that will massively simplify your process as these things do tend to have a bit of a non-linear cooking timeline including but not limited to the "smoking stall" (which is mostly just evaporative cooling).

I'd plan on extending your smoking by about 2 to 4 hours or so? but it's tough to say precisely, as a lot of it is dependent on what kind of smoker you have (offset, kamado, bullet, etc.). this is what makes those leave-in probe thermometers so worth the investment, imho, removes a ton of the guess work.

further reading about basting

[u/tgjer → u/youaintnoEuthyphro]

TBH my grill is extremely basic. It's an old 50 gallon cooking oil drum that my brother turned into a grill.

I do have a leave in probe thermometer though, so that'll help.

Should I extend the braising and resting times too?

[u/youaintnoEuthyphro → u/tgjer]

Should I extend the braising and resting times too?

nah, not a concern for either. braising works fundamentally differently than smoking given heat transfer through liquids is literal orders of magnitude more efficient! I wouldn't worry about extending the rest either.

other folks in the comments here are suggesting going to a higher temp to shorten the cook time, I'd advise against going north of 250f & if you do up the temp consider tenting the leg with aluminum foil to prevent drying out - though the braise will definitely make that less of a concern.

leave in probe is definitely your friend here!

It's an old 50 gallon cooking oil drum that my brother turned into a grill.

badass. I've smoked a whole goat before, it's a relatively forgiving process & with an older animal (that 9# leg is gonna be from an older goat than the two 5#'ers would be) you're actually going to get an even more forgiving cooking process - age increases connective tissues that break down into flavor etc.

do consider upping the wine content in your braise though, this goat is gonna be extra goat-y, even my persian wife (a massive fan of goat meat) would probably be able to pick up on those barnyard-y flavor compounds. white wine will help mitigate that!

[u/tgjer → u/youaintnoEuthyphro]

Maybe I'll omit the beef broth from the marinade, and just use wine/onion/spices/pomegranate molasses/cider vinegar?

[u/youaintnoEuthyphro → u/tgjer]

you could! I'd say keep it though, it'll add body and flavor. you could also just dope in gelatin powder to compensate for its absence

[u/tgjer → u/youaintnoEuthyphro]

What about adding beef better than bullion and gelatin powder directly to the wine? Add flavor, without diluting the wine?

[u/youaintnoEuthyphro → u/tgjer]

sure, that works! but I wouldn't worry about dilution too much, you're going to be reducing it anyhow post-braise

[u/tgjer → u/youaintnoEuthyphro]

Dumb question - should I preheat the braising liquid on the stove before submerging the goat in it, so it doesn't cool it down and take forever to reheat in the smoker?

I might even do the braise in the regular oven. It doesn't seem like the smoke would add anything after that point, since it's wrapped in foil, and it's much easier to control the temperature. Plus it would free up grill space for making burgers and stuff too.

[u/youaintnoEuthyphro → u/tgjer]

not dumb! yeah I'd braise in an oven or on the range if I were you, preheating is optional imho, it'll jump to temp fast enough.

how I'd prolly do it: braising liquid in a large pot (I don't like those aluminum things they are prone to hotspots & scorching, plus just kinda wasteful), bring to a boil, add the goat leg (you can break it down a bit first if you like to make it a bit more manageable), bring back to a simmer & hold at simmer (~85c/~185f) for the allotted time, then strain & reduce the braising liquid accordingly, skimming for scum etc.

to remove excess fat my trick is freezing a metal cube I have (no idea why I have a metal cube but it's 304 stainless & weighs about 500g), once the liquid cools a bit I dip the frozen cube - the fat will congeal on the cube without diluting the sauce! if you don't have a stainless cube you can freeze (I have no idea why you would) then you can do the same thing with a big ice cube, I've made large format ice for de-fatting soups in empty tin cans & the like but you can really do whatever.

cheers & good luck!

[u/dalcant757]

I’ve learned through cooking many briskets it’s best not to try doing these type of things the same day. Cook it the day before somewhere in the vicinity of 250-275 degrees. Then hold it at 140-150 degrees. I use a temperature controlled yeti nowadays. This alleviates any time pressure. I stop smoking at around 195-200F. If you want to wrap, do it at the stall. After a countertop test, I’ll wrap in Saran or several layers of foil to avoid drying anything out. It will loosen up a lot as it rests.

[u/Individual-Brief1116]

probe thermometer, don't overthink it