For most people, cabrito, or goat meat, might not elicit great food memories. The dish is often dismissed as stringy or “gamey,” and because so few places serve it, most aren’t sure what to expect when they order it. Of course, nearly every major city around the state has a few places that serve it, and try to do it well—But nothing compares to the cabrito served in South Texas or Nuevo Laredo, which is the best I’ve ever eaten.
All cabrito is goat, but not all goat is cabrito. Cabrito is the veal of the goat world. A goat is milk-fed and slaughtered young, usually around a month old. “Once they’ve eaten grass, it’s not cabrito,” Keeping them on their mother’s milk ensures more tender meat as well, but it comes at a price. Ayyyy how I miss my Cabrito.