Goat Belly Banh Mi

012/18: Goat Belly Banh Mi

012/18 – Goat Belly Banh Mi:

I have been running the freezer down this month to get everything used up before I order any more meat. It’s been really interesting as it’s forced me to find recipes for cuts of meat I haven’t really cooked before. The last thing left in the freezer was a Goat Belly. Looking through my list of recipes to cook I spotted Lamb Belly Banh Mi by Steven Raichlen – Result! Goat Belly Banh Mi.

The Meat:

In previous goat posts I mentioned that I bought half a goat for Goatober – great value for £120, this belly is part of that delivery:

Butchery: Half a Goat

The Prep:

I had trimmed and shaped the goat belly when I had chopped the meat up before freezing so no further work was required.

Goat Belly Banh Mi

I made a simple rub from Black pepper, salt and muscovado sugar before sprinkling it over the meat and rubbing it in.Goat Belly Banh Mi

The recipe suggests 3 to 6 hours at 225f. My smoker still had a fair amount of unused heat beads in from the previous cook so I just dumped half a chimney of lit charcoal on top of those briquettes and left it for 20 minutes so the lump lit the briquettes. I then put the smoker together and poured half a bucket of hot water into the water tray. Again, I left it for 20 minutes just to settle at 225f – top vent fully open, 2 out of 3 bottom vents closed with the 3rd one half open.

The Cook:

Once the smoker was at 225f I added a couple of Oak chunks from Smokewood shack then placed the meat on the top shelf.

4 hours in and the meat had a nice colour, the internal temperature of the meat showed 80c on the Thermapen so I left it in to keep cooking.Goat Belly Banh Mi

After 6 hours the meat was probing like butter and reading 90c in most places so I took it off to rest for 40 minutes.Goat Belly Banh Mi

Whilst the meat was resting I made Sriracha-Lime Hot Sauce from the same book (Project Smoke) with Sriracha, lime zest and juice, soy sauce, honey and chopped coriander. I then made vinegar slaw with carrots, cucumber, radish, salt, sugar, rice vinegar, cloves and black peppercorns. 

After the meat had rested I started slicing it, the colours of the rub/bark, meat, smoke ring and fat was fantastic. So much juice came out the meat where the fat had rendered.Goat Belly Banh Mi

Once sliced I chopped it up.Goat Belly Banh Mi

Time to Eat:

The baguettes were sliced open, layered with meat and the vinegar slaw then topped with the hot sauce.

Goat Belly Banh Mi

Goat Belly Banh Mi

Summary:

This was a really easy cook and didn’t need much prep or intervention whilst cooking. The Banh Mi tasted really nice as the meat, slaw and hot sauce all worked well together in the baguette. The meat was really juicy but it was the right thing to do to chop it as it made it easier to eat. Good dish to make if you find a spare belly in the freezer!

Cook Difficulty: 2/5 
Cook Duration: Short: 2/5
Cook Equipment: Weber Smokey Mountain
Cook Method: Smoker
Charcoal: Heat Beads – 2 bags
Smoking Wood: Smokewood Shack Oak
Cook temperature: 225f
Cook time: 6 hours plus 40 minute rest
Internal temperature: 91c
Notes: No major changes to make

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