Kid stuff

A few years ago 140 members of the Guild of Food Writers ate goat as the main course of their annual dinner at a London hotel. It was almost inedible: dry, tough, bony.

The illustrious body should have enlisted the services of Theodore Kyriakou, chef-proprietor of London's Real Greek restaurant. The Greeks realise that although young milk-fed goat may look similar to spring lamb, it has a different texture and taste. Of course it is possible to spit-roast it with herbs, but kid is better pot-roasted so that all the meat around the bone can be eaten and flavour from the bones and trimmings, rather than an extraneous stock, forms the central part of the gravy.

In Greece, kid is a seasonal delicacy, eaten with hortes (wild greens) during the four to six weeks following Easter. In Britain the season runs parallel to that of new-season spring lamb - roughly through May into mid-June.

Goat meat is more widely available than some chefs may realise. It's popular in several ethnic communities, and is generally under six months old. However, Kyriakou isn't interested in buying young goat, similar in size to lamb. What he orders is milk-fed kid, often imported from France. The carcass, including offal, is between 5.5kg and 6kg. It doesn't require any special hanging - between three and five days post-slaughter is normal. Kyriakou expects to obtain between 11 and 12 main-course portions per kid. In addition, the offal forms the basis of eight meze (appetizers).

The key difference between lamb and kid relates to the structure of the meat. Kid contains more collagen, which makes it firmer. Rapid cooking makes meat tighten up; slow cooking breaks collagen down, making the meat more succulent and tender. Milk-fed lamb virtually melts in the mouth. Milk-fed goat has a slightly gelatinous texture.

The Real Greek buys its meat via the wholesale butchery department of Harvey Nichols (contact Kai Marsand on 020 7201 8538). Although price and availability fluctuate, expect to pay between £45 and £65 per kid.