Jamaican Goat Curry

Dinner | Jamaican

Prep time: 1 min Cook time: 3 min Servings: 4

Jamaican goat curry is a slow braise dish that's fairly easy to cook, you just need a bit of time. The goat shoulder goes in bone-in, which means better flavour throughout the cook and meat that falls apart naturally after three-plus hours in the pot. The marinade is doing two jobs here: the scotch bonnet, garlic and ginger penetrate the meat, while the curry powder forms a coating that blooms in the coconut oil at the start of the cook, building the base of the sauce. I leave the goat in the marinade for at least an hour and a half, though overnight in the fridge is better if you have the time.

The homemade Jamaican curry powder is what makes this different from a standard curry. It’s built around ground pimento (allspice), which is the defining flavour of Jamaican cooking. Adding some of the raw powder at the very end of the cook gives the curry a fresh, sharp spice note that balances the deep, rounded flavours built during the braise. Serve it with rice and peas or steamed rice and put a sliced scotch bonnet on the table for anyone who wants more heat.

Ingredient Notes

Goat shoulder: Bone-in goat shoulder is the cut you want for this recipe. The bone releases collagen during the long braise, which gives the sauce body and the meat a silky texture that boneless cuts can’t replicate. Ask your butcher to cut it into chunks for you, which saves a lot of work with a bone-in piece. Goat shoulder is available from good butchers and many halal butchers. If you genuinely can’t source it, bone-in lamb shoulder or neck cuts are the best substitutes.

Scotch bonnet chilli: Scotch bonnet is the defining chilli of Caribbean cooking. It has genuine heat, around 100,000-350,000 on the Scoville scale, but also a distinct fruity flavour that habanero chillies can replicate reasonably well if scotch bonnets aren’t available. The recipe uses one scotch bonnet in the marinade and an optional second during the cook. De-seeding before chopping reduces the heat while keeping the flavour. Handle with care and wash your hands immediately after.

Ground pimento (allspice): Allspice is the backbone of the Jamaican curry powder and the spice that distinguishes it from Indian or Thai curry blends. It’s called pimento in Jamaica. Ground allspice is widely available in supermarkets, but if you can find whole dried allspice berries and grind them fresh, the flavour is noticeably more complex and warm. Don’t confuse it with a spice blend; allspice is a single spice from the dried berry of the Pimenta dioica tree.

Equipment

Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Grater (for garlic and ginger)
Medium bowl (for the curry powder)
Large bowl (for marinating)
Heavy-based saucepan with tight-fitting lid
Wooden spoon or spatula
Ladle

Ingredients

Jamaican Curry Powder
1½ tbsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp yellow mustard powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground pimento (allspice)
1 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground black pepper
Curry
1kg goat shoulder, bone in, cut into chunks
2 spring onions, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely grated
4cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated
1 scotch bonnet chilli, finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp coconut oil
jamaican curry powder (from above)
1 white onion, finely chopped
1 scotch bonnet chilli (optional), sliced
500ml (2 cups) water
sliced spring onion, to garnish

Directions

Make the curry powder
Combine all the spices for the curry powder in a medium bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Marinate the goat
Place the goat in a large bowl, along with the spring onions, garlic, ginger and chilli. Mix through, then squeeze over the lime juice and stir through 1 tablespoon of the curry powder you just made.
Mix the goat well through the marinade, then cover and refrigerate for 1½ - 3 hours.
Cook
Heat the coconut oil in a heavy based saucepan over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of the curry powder and cook to bloom, stirring constantly, until fragrant (around 2-3 minutes).
Stir in the onion and cook for a few minutes until soft. Add the scotch bonnet, if using.
Add the goat to the saucepan and mix through the onion and spice mixture. Cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 10 minutes.
Uncover and stir the goat well, then pour in the water. Stir until well incorporated, then place the lid back on and cook on low heat for 3 hours, until fall apart tender.
Finish and serve
Uncover the saucepan and stir in the remaining curry powder. Remove from the heat and taste for seasoning.
Serve curry on some steamed rice or with Rice and Peas. Garnish with some extra sliced spring onions.

Recipe notes

Chef Tips

Don’t rush the spice bloom

Adding 3 tablespoons of curry powder to hot coconut oil and cooking it for a minute or two before anything else goes in is the step that builds the aromatic base of the whole curry. Heat converts fat-soluble flavour compounds in the spices, which wouldn’t dissolve into a water-based sauce, into the coconut oil. Keep it at medium heat only. Too hot and the spices burn and turn bitter within seconds, which is very hard to recover from.

Add raw curry powder at the end

Stirring in the remaining uncooked curry powder a few minutes before serving gives the finished curry a fresh, sharp spice note on top of the deep, rounded flavours from the braise. The two layers of spice at different stages of the cook give the dish a complexity that adding all the spice at the start can’t achieve. This is a classic Jamaican technique and I wouldn’t skip it.

Storage

Store leftover curry in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It actually improves overnight as the flavours deepen and meld. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water if needed, as the sauce thickens considerably in the fridge. The curry freezes very well in individual portions for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat on the stovetop.

FAQs

Is this curry spicy? Yes, it has real heat from the scotch bonnet and chilli powder. To reduce the heat, de-seed the scotch bonnet before chopping and omit the optional second scotch bonnet during the cook. You can also reduce the chilli powder in the curry mix to half a teaspoon. The allspice and other aromatics give plenty of flavour without needing the full heat level.

Can I freeze it? Yes, and it freezes very well. Allow it to cool completely before portioning into airtight containers or zip-lock bags. It will keep for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water to loosen the sauce. The flavour is excellent after freezing.

Can I use a different meat? Yes. Bone-in lamb shoulder or neck is the closest substitute and will give a very similar result. The cook time may be slightly shorter, so check for tenderness after 2½ hours rather than waiting the full 3. Beef short rib also works well in this curry with a similar cook time to the goat.