Goat, Mutton & Lamb in Nairobi

Goat, Mutton & Lamb in Nairobi: A Buyer's Guide

Goat, mutton and lamb are the cuts Kenyan celebration cooking is built on, and this section is where our counter and our charcoal culture meet. Nothing on a Nairobi grill draws a crowd faster than a rack of goat ribs, and nothing feeds a Sunday table better than a shoulder that has been in a pot since morning.

The three meats are often used interchangeably and they should not be. Goat is leaner and more strongly flavoured than either, with less fat to protect it, so it rewards long, moist cooking and punishes rushing. Mutton is meat from an older sheep: higher in fat, sweeter, more distinctive, and the right choice for heavily spiced cooking such as keema and curry. Lamb is the youngest and mildest, tender enough to be served pink, and the one you roast when you want a centrepiece.

Knowing which one you have in your hand tells you almost everything about how to cook it. A goat shoulder wants two hours in a covered pot. A lamb loin chop wants three minutes a side and nothing more. Both are excellent; treating either like the other is the only way to go wrong.

We break down whole animals at City Market, which means we can also supply a whole goat or a side of lamb for a party or the freezer, cut and packed the way you want it, with a few days' notice. Below is the counter, and then a guide to picking the right cut.

Choosing and Cooking Goat & Mutton

Cuts for the pot: shoulder and mince

Goat shoulder is the cut we point people towards when they want goat but do not know what to ask for. It is well marbled by goat standards and laced with the connective tissue that makes a stew great, and after two hours of gentle heat it pulls apart with a spoon. Brown it hard first - goat needs that caramelisation - then onion, tomato, garlic, ginger and time. Bone-in gives a richer sauce; boned and cubed is easier to serve. Mutton mince is the keema cut: fattier and sweeter than beef, which is exactly why it holds together in koftas and seekh kebabs without egg.

Cuts for the charcoal: ribs and chops

Goat and lamb ribs are the definitive nyama choma cut, because the layer of fat over the bone renders as they cook, bastes the meat and picks up smoke. Cook them over indirect heat for thirty to forty minutes first so the fat renders and the meat relaxes, then move them over the coals to finish and colour. Lamb loin chops are miniature T-bones - loin one side of the bone, fillet the other - and they want three minutes a side after the fat edge has been rendered. Do not trim that fat off; it is where the flavour lives.

The centrepiece: a leg of lamb, and why you should butterfly it

A whole leg of lamb is the thing you put in the middle of a table when there is something to mark. Left on the bone it roasts evenly and carves impressively. But ask us to butterfly it - bone it out and open it flat - and it becomes a different and arguably better proposition: marinade reaches the whole surface, it cooks in about thirty minutes over charcoal instead of two hours in an oven, and because the flattened joint varies in thickness you can serve rare and well-done from the same piece. We do it at no extra charge.

How much to buy

Goat and lamb carry more bone than beef, so budget accordingly: 400-500g per adult for bone-in cuts such as ribs and shoulder, 250-350g for boneless, and two to three loin chops per person. A whole goat typically yields 12-15kg of meat and will comfortably feed thirty to forty people at a choma. For anything bigger than a family dinner, call us with the headcount and we will build the list with you - that conversation is free and it is the most useful thing a butcher does.

Whole goats and sides of lamb

Because we butcher whole animals on the premises, we can supply a whole goat or a side of lamb broken down to your specification: by cut, by meal, or simply packed for the freezer. It is usually the most economical way to buy meat in quantity and it is very popular for weddings, funerals, harambees and end-of-year parties. We need a few days' notice and a phone call to get the specification right. Talk to us on 0707 700511 or see our bulk supply page.

Also at the counter

Not everything is listed online. Goat head and goat legs for mutura, mutton shoulder, lamb racks and neck for soup are all things we cut regularly - ask when you order. Our deli also marinates lamb chops in-house and prepares beef mshikaki with two days' notice, both of which belong on any choma spread alongside the ribs.

Ordering and delivery

We deliver goat & mutton across Nairobi every day - see our pages for Nairobi CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Kilimani, or all the areas we serve. Orders placed before 4:00pm go out the same day, chilled and insulated straight from our cold room. Delivery is a flat fee by area, from KSh 300 to KSh 1,000 depending on where you are, and it is added to your basket total automatically, so nothing is ever sprung on you at the door. Full details are on our delivery and payment page, and if you are ordering in volume for a business, see wholesale and bulk supply.

You are equally welcome to walk in. We are at Stall 55, ground floor, City Market, Muindi Mbingu Street, beside Jamia Mosque in the Nairobi CBD, open every day from 6:30am to 7:00pm Monday to Saturday, and 9:00am to 5:00pm on Sundays. Buying meat in person, where you can see it cut and ask questions, is still the best way to buy it - and it is the reason this stall has been here since 1959.