Jessica's B-day Party

Today, we took on the torch of tradition and in the spirit of our ancient ancestors from the old country (Yugoslavia,) my immigrant grandfather, and most recently, my uncle by slow-roasting a goat (traditionally it has been lamb, but I am sure the old ways included goats too) on an open spit. Uncle Bill was kind enough to offer his custom-made spit with electric motor to the task and for that we are VERY grateful. It made the whole chore a pleasure. We started early with the slaughter of one of our homegrown goats (see this post and this post) Homegrown means we know that he never got into any sort of nasty medications that could be lingering in his flesh and that he has been healthy. He was born here on the farm, raised on this farm, and consumed on this farm. That is kind of a fun concept.

We had a bunch of family and friends over to share in the fun/food (part of the ancient tradition) and everyone brought tons of tasty side dishes and it was awesome. After all was said and done (and after Sterling's brazen cat nabbed about a pound of meat right off the table right in front of our faces and ran off in a mad dash to the bushes with it) we still ended up with at least 15-20 pounds or so of good meat for the freezer! Everyone seemed to enjoy the meat and for all you Benac relatives, it was actually very similar to the lambs we usually do. Today I discovered the benefits of being at the table when it first comes off the spit. Those who are cutting the meat off and putting it on the platters for all the others are those who get first dibs on the best cuts of meat. There's a mental note to keep for the future!

For my own personal reference the next time we do this, here's the important info:

Shopping list:

• 1 bottle of pepper
• 1/2 pound salt
• 10 or 12 large garlic bunches
• 4 bags of charcoal
• Some olive oil for basting

We slaughtered the goat at 10:30a and it took till 12:45 to get it skinned/cleaned and all the garlic "implanted" in it. The salt/pepper went on quick as did the process of getting it onto the spit. We pulled it off the spit at 7p and it was perfectly done.

Thanks to all who contributed by bringing food, helping with the prep or cleanup, etc. We had a blast. Jessica will remember this B-day (hopefully) with fond memories - I know she really enjoyed all the company.