Jamaican Curry Goat

Pat Goat dry and rub it all over with 2 tsp Salt, half the Curry powder and the Black peppercorns, crushed. Get the curry and salt into every cut and crease of the meat. Cover the seasoned goat and leave it for 30 min while you chop everything else. It will look dry and gritty; that is right, the salt is pulling moisture out of the meat.

⚠ Tip: Bone-in curry-cut goat is the point: the bones, marrow and connective tissue are what thicken the gravy.

Crush and chop Garlic and 5 cm Ginger into a rough paste with a pinch of salt. Chop 2 Onions fine and slice 6 Spring onions, keeping the green tops separate for the finish. Peel and cut 3 Potatoes into large chunks and 2 Carrots into batons. Cut 1 Limes into wedges and park them with the scallion greens.

Stab 1 Scotch bonnet chillies once or twice with a knife tip and leave it whole. Whole, it perfumes the gravy; burst, it can blow the pot apart.

⚠ Tip: Never cut a Scotch bonnet open for this dish unless you want the whole pot screaming hot. Fish it out at the end.

Heat a heavy pot over medium heat and add 3 tbsp Neutral oil and 30 g Unsalted butter. When the butter foams, add the rest of the Curry powder — 3 tbsp — and stir it hard. It will spit, smoke and go a dark olive-brown in about 1 min. This is the step that gives Jamaican curry its colour and its deep, toasty backbone. Pull the pot off the heat the second it darkens; seconds later it goes bitter.

⚠ Tip: Burnt-but-not-black is the whole game: if it smells acrid rather than toasty, throw the oil out and start again.

Add the marinated goat to the burnt curry base and turn the heat to high heat. Sear it hard in a single layer — work in batches if your pot is small — until every piece is browned and crusted, about 8 min. It should hiss and stick a little; scrape up the fond as you go.

Push the goat to the sides and drop the onion, garlic, ginger and scallion whites into the middle with a pinch more salt. Fry until soft and sweet-smelling, about 3 min, then stir everything together.

Add 700 ml Chicken stock, the Allspice berries, the Thyme and the pierced Scotch bonnet chillies. Scrape the bottom clean, bring to a bare simmer, then cover and cook low for 1 h 15 min, stirring every half hour and topping up with a splash of water if it threatens to dry.

⚠ Tip: Goat on the bone needs real time. If it is still chewy at ninety minutes, it is not done — give it another thirty.

After the first long simmer the meat should be yielding but not falling apart. Add the potato and carrot, plus the 200 ml Coconut milk, and simmer uncovered for another 20 min, until the potatoes are cooked through and the gravy has thickened and darkened to a deep mahogany.

⚠ Tip: The coconut milk goes in late so it does not split; stir it in gently and keep the heat low.

Fish out the Scotch bonnet and the thyme stems and taste. The gravy should be dark, glossy, hot and just slightly tart from the coconut milk. Squeeze in the lime wedges, scatter the scallion greens over the top and serve with rice and peas.

⚠ Tip: Do not salt before tasting — a hot pot like this tightens as it reduces, and the coconut milk already hides salt.