Chef Isabel
Baifo Asado Canario
Baifo Asado Canario is kid goat barrado, rubbed with garlic, pimentón, vinegar, cumin, and oregano, then roasted gently before a sharp red mojo browns the edges and wakes the pan juices.
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Cabrito Asado Castellano-Aragonés
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Cabrito asado belongs to the Castilian and Aragonese uplands: young goat rubbed with garlic, thyme, salt, and lard, roasted gently until tender, then finished hard so the skin catches.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Special Occasion
Celebration
Christmas
25 min
Active Time
2 hr cook•2 hr 25 min total
Yield6 servings
Cabrito asado castellano-aragonés is the roast kid goat of the dry uplands, where sheep and goats are not decoration but supper. It is stronger than cordero lechal, suckling lamb, leaner too, with a clean pasture taste that needs no disguise. Garlic, thyme, lard, salt, white wine. That is enough.
The method that decides it is the heat. Roast it first at a steady, moderate temperature so the joints soften without drying, then raise the oven and baste until the skin turns browned and crisp at the edges. If you blast it from the start, the outside looks brave and the meat underneath is tight. Cabrito is small. It doesn't forgive showing off.
If you are far from Castilla or Aragón, ask a proper butcher for young kid goat, cut into shoulders and legs. No hace falta haber pisado España. If you can't get cabrito, use cordero lechal or the smallest young lamb shoulder you can find, and know what changes: the meat will be sweeter, fattier, and less sharp. Still good. Not the same animal, so don't pretend it is.
Use lard if you can. Olive oil works in a pinch, but lard gives the old roast its roundness and helps the skin brown. In the Margin beside this one I wrote only: don't drown it. Wine bastes the meat, it doesn't turn the roasting dish into a bath. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Cabrito asado belongs to the pastoral country of Castilla and Aragón, where young goats from small upland herds were saved for feast days, Christmas tables, patron saint meals, and family celebrations. The roasting method follows the same Castilian logic as lechazo asado: little seasoning, a clay dish, animal fat, wine or water, and a steady oven that lets the meat speak for itself. In Aragonese and Castilian homes, thyme and garlic are common because they belong to the hills around the animal, not because the cook wanted to hide it.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
young kid goat
Quantity
2.5kg
bone-in shoulder and leg pieces
fine sea salt
Quantity
18g
garlic cloves
Quantity
6
peeled
fresh thyme leaves
Quantity
2 teaspoons
or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
lard
Quantity
80g
softened
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
dry white wine
Quantity
200ml
water
Quantity
150ml
bay leaves
Quantity
2
lemon (optional)
Quantity
1
cut into wedges for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| young kid goatbone-in shoulder and leg pieces | 2.5kg |
| fine sea salt | 18g |
| garlic clovespeeled | 6 |
| fresh thyme leavesor 1 teaspoon dried thyme | 2 teaspoons |
| lardsoftened | 80g |
| extra virgin olive oil | 2 tablespoons |
| dry white wine | 200ml |
| water | 150ml |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| lemon (optional)cut into wedges for serving | 1 |
Equipment Needed
- •Large cazuela de barro or heavy roasting dish, about 35 x 25cm
- •Mortar and pestle
- •Basting spoon
- •Instant-read thermometer, optional
Instructions
- 1
Salt the cabrito
Pat the cabrito very dry and weigh the salt. Pésalo, no lo adivines. Use about 18g salt for 2.5kg meat, rubbing it over every piece, especially around the bone. Leave it at room temperature for 45 minutes while the oven heats to 170C. Cold meat goes into the oven sulking and cooks unevenly.
If the pieces are very small, check early. Cabrito is leaner than lamb and dries faster once it is cooked through. - 2
Make the majado
Pound the garlic and thyme in a mortar with a pinch of the measured salt until you have a rough paste, a majado. Work in the softened lard and the olive oil until it looks pale and smeared rather than smooth. Rub this over the meat, keeping most of it on the top and sides where it can brown.
- 3
Set the dish
Put the bay leaves in a large clay or heavy roasting dish and lay the cabrito in one layer, skin side up where there is skin. Pour the wine and water into the side of the dish, not over the rubbed meat. The liquid should cover only the bottom. This is roasting, not boiling, and that little difference is the dish.
- 4
Roast gently
Roast at 170C for 1 hour 20 minutes, basting every 25 minutes with the juices in the dish. Turn any pieces that are browning too fast, but keep the best skin facing up for the last stretch. Add a splash of water only if the dish goes dry and the juices threaten to burn.
- 5
Brown the skin
Raise the oven to 220C and roast for another 20 to 30 minutes, basting twice, until the edges are dark gold, the garlic smells sweet, and the meat pulls easily when you tug near the bone. The juices should be glossy and shallow, not soupy. If the top needs more colour, give it five minutes more. Watch it now.
- 6
Rest and serve
Rest the cabrito in the dish for 12 minutes before serving. Spoon the roasting juices over the pieces and put lemon wedges on the table only if you like a sharp edge with the meat. Serve with panaderas potatoes or a plain green salad. The roast has already done the talking.
Chef Tips
- •Ask for milk-fed or very young kid goat, cut bone-in. The bones protect the meat and give the juices their depth. Boneless cabrito dries before it tastes of much.
- •If you substitute cordero lechal, suckling lamb, use the same method but start checking 15 minutes earlier. Lamb is fattier and sweeter, so the roast will be gentler and less mineral than cabrito.
- •Use a clay roasting dish if you have one. Barro holds heat softly and gives the juices a different finish. A heavy metal roasting tin works, but watch the bottom because wine reduces faster in metal.
- •Do not add rosemary, pimentón, honey, or a pile of vegetables to make it look festive. This roast is garlic, thyme, lard, wine, and the animal. Add more and you leave Castilla and Aragón behind.
- •A young red from Campo de Borja or a dry white from Rueda works well. Nothing too heavy. The meat has strength already.
Advance Preparation
- •The cabrito can be salted and rubbed with the majado up to 12 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate, then bring it out 1 hour before roasting so it loses its fridge chill.
- •Do not fully roast it ahead for a celebration meal if you can help it. Cabrito is best when roasted and rested once. Leftovers keep 2 days and are best warmed gently with a spoonful of the roasting juices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 380g)
Calories
445 calories
Total Fat
24 g
Saturated Fat
8 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
15 g
Cholesterol
160 mg
Sodium
1350 mg
Total Carbohydrates
2 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
53 g
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