Shooting Times & Country – 17 July 2019

pickingourwaycarefully between

rocksandgorse.

Aheadofme,JJ suddenlyducked

lowandraisedhishandthen,peering

overtherockinfrontofhim,gestured

meforwards.Shufflingupbesidehim,

I couldseethat,lessthan 100 yards

away,thegoatsgrazedunaware.

Weselectedthebestanimalfor

thepot,a loneyoungfemalegrazing

slightlyapartfromtherest.Settling

behindtherock,I slidtherifle

forwardinslowmotion,painfully

awareofeveryrustleofclothing,

butthegoats,upwind,remained

oblivioustoourpresence.

Slidingthebolthome,I loweredthe

cross-hairsontothetargetandwaited

forseveralbreathsasmypulse,

elevatedfromoursteepclimb,began

slowlytolower.Finally,I thumbedthe

safety,pausedmybreathandfired.

Beneathus,thegoatbuckedand

dashedforwards 10 yards,before

stumblingandlyingstill.Astheshot

reverberatedaroundthevalleythe

restofthegoatsscattereddownhill,

lostinmomentsamongthefurze and

boulders of the lower slopes.

Goat stalking

42 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Wescrabbleddowntoourprize

andfounda youngfemaleinexcellent

condition,cleanlydespatched.After

a quickgralloch,weheadeddown

thehillsidewith the goat slung easily

betweenus.

I reflectedonthemanybenefitsof

huntingà deux.ThelastgoatI carried

offa mountainstalkingsolohadbeen

slungovermyshouldersandthe

memoryofthatfragrantdescent

hasstayedwithmeeversince.

Missionaccomplished,strongtea

andfreshbread— wasthereevera

betterrestorative?— awaitedusback

at thefarm.It wasa reluctanthand

thatwavedfarewelltoJJ andfamily

asI pulledawayfromtheyard to

beginthedrivehome.

Thegoatwaseatena fewdays

later,grilledtogreatacclaimas

kebabsona midsummer’seve

barbecue.Sittingoutsidenursing

a glassofwineasthesunfinallyset

onthelongestdayoftheyear,I

wonderedif it wasstillrainingin

Sussex,andfoundmyselffeeling

verygratefulindeedforthewild

goats of the Black Valley.

“Thegoatbuckedanddashedforwards 10

yards, before stumbling and lying still”

Grallochingtheyoungfemalegoatwasthe
first step in preparing it for the barbecue

Idon’tbarbecueasmuchfresh
gameasI’dliketo,mainlybecause
mostgameseasonshereare
confinedtomonthswithless
clementweather.Notsothe
humblegoat,whichcanbetakenall
yearround,andthesesimple,spicy
wildgoatkebabsmakea tasty
additiontothegrill.
If youarepreparingthegoat
meatyourself,besuretoremove
asmuchsinewandsilverskinas
possible.If theanimalisparticularly
lean,replace100gofgoatmeat
with pork belly or fat bacon.

BARBECUED

SPICYGOAT

KOFTA KEBABS

FORTHEGOAT

500GMINCED

G OAT

100GPORKBELLY

ORFATBACON

(IFNECESSARY)

1 MEDIUMONION,

FINELYCHOPPED

2 CLOVESOF

GARLIC,PEELED

ANDFINELY

CHOPPED

½TSPSALT

½TSPGROUND

BLACKPEPPER

1 TSPGROUND

CUMIN

1 TSPCHILLI

POWDER

1 TSPPAPRIK A

A PINCHOF

CINNAMON

SMALLHANDFUL

O FPA RS L E Y,

CHOPPED

SMALLHANDFUL

OFCORIANDER,

CHOPPED

WOODEN

BAMBOO

SKEWERS

FORSERVING

GREEKYOGHURT

F R E S HM I N T,

CHOPPED

CUCUMBER

P I T TA B R E A D

Ingredients

1

Placeallthe

ingredients

ina mixingbowl

andcombinewell

byhandbefore

addingtoa food

processor.Pulse

toa finetexture.

2

Ifyouhave

time,leave

themixturein

thefridgefor

a fewhoursto

allowtheherbs

andspicesto

infusethe meat.

3

Soakthe

bamboo

skewers in warm

waterfor 30

minutespriorto

use,thentakea

smallfistfulof

themixtureand

mouldit around

theskewerinto

a sausageshape,

around1in thick.

4

Grillona

hotbarbecue

for5 minutes

oneachside,

turningonce.

5

Enjoyina

warmedpitta

breadwithmint,

yoghurtand

fresh cucumber.

THEMETHOD

Serves 4