The Goat Pie Guy

So this one weekend, Sports dragged me along to the markets at the Eatons Hill Tavern on Brisbane's north side. I was a little dusty from a late night the night before, and for reasons that don't bear repeating we had already been to the Rocklea markets at sparrows that morning, so the thought of another market experience that day was about as appealing as another 3 years of Julia Gillard. Did I say 3 years? Sorry, I meant minutes.

Anyway, my mood took a large bounce when I rounded a corner, the clouds parted, and a shaft of light from heaven settled on a stall emblazoned with the words, 'The Goat Pie Guy'. Halle-bloody-boo-yah!

I met the owner, Mick (lovely bloke) and he told me his story. BTW, that's not him above (but you can see him by clicking on the Facebook link below).

Mick was working as a chef at Spoon in James St The Valley, when his father in law came up from Tassie for a visit. Being a good son-in-law, Mick called him beforehand and asked if he had any special requests for dinner while he was in town. He requested a roasted shoulder of goat. What a great choice. So Mick got to work. He confit'd some garlic, pounded it up with thyme and lemon, and smeared it all over the shoulder before roasting it low and slow.

The father in law declared it a success, and immediately added that they needed to make it into a pie. What a thinker this guy must be. Big-picture kind of man. So the next day, Mick (who must be averse to sleep) stripped the remains of the roast and made it into a pie, which the family demolished with gusto. It was more of a success than the roast.

The following week, Micks wife Meg (also lovely) asked Mick if he could knock up a lazy 200 pies, as she had booked them a slot at the Newfarm markets. Mick, who was busting his hump from 4am - 2pm at Spoon, gave his heart a big rub and managed to bang out about 170. The markets opened at 6am. They were sold out of goat pies by 9am. So she booked him in for the next one. He knocked out 180. Same result. Fast forward a few weeks, and Mick is selling 600 by lunchtime and has developed a couple of new flavours. Fast forward a couple more weeks and he's given notice at Spoon and is a full-time goat pie-making machine. Mick now turns over around 1200 goat pies per week.

Every pie is hand-made. Literally. You can see how the (home made) short crust base is pressed into the pie tins by hand and crimped to the lid to form goaty works of art. They are made on a Thursday and Friday in Mick's commercial kitchen up at Strathpine somewhere and sold fresh to you on a Saturday and Sunday at the markets having never been frozen. He doesn't use fillers of cheaper meats, and all of the pies undergo a 6-hour braising process to ensure they're tender and juicy. They're egg-washed to produce a crispy golden top. Then there are the flavours...

That's fine craftsmanship there, folks.

The website lists 6 flavours, but there's a new one called The Guv'nor, plus Mick occasionally makes seasonal specials....like a scallop pie, which contained 8 roe-on scallops per pie in a white wine & confit garlic sauce. You can see why I was excited. Mick talks about his pies with a passion and enthusiasm that is evident in the first bite you take. These are seriously good.

The Indonesian

Salmon & Scallop pie

The Deluxe - slow cooked goat with honey and thyme; each pie has hand-piped port and redcurrant jus peeking out of the vent...the best part being that this melts into and through the pie when heated. Genius.

The Deluxe with port & redcurrant jus...mmmmmm

The Guv'nor - first, Mick toasts fresh rosemary to release the oils, then adds goat and English brown ale which is braised for 6 hours. Then, he caramelises red onion and combines it with marmalade for an added hit of flavour, adds Lancashire relish and plump beery raisins - all cut with apple cider vinegar for balance and topped with cracked pepper. An incredible depth of layered flavours which works on every level.

The Himalayan - a tomato based Nepalese curry which has a nice balance of sweet and tart in a smooth gravy with large chunks of tender goat. Left field, and really good.

The Indonesian - my favourite by a nose (over The Guv'nor). This is made with a rendang curry base. The challenge (as explained by Mick) is that a rendang curry gains its sweetness by cooking down the coconut-rich sauce, which caramelises around the chunks of meat and becomes slightly dry. Great for a curry, but no good for a pie. Mick solved this problem by making the sauce twice. The first one is to make the traditional sticky-dry caramelised rendang curry, and the second is to slightly loosen the mix so that the pie has the desired amount of gravy. As I said, genius.

Inner workings of the Indonesian

Good to the last bite...

The Grecian - derived from the first 'father-in-law' roast. Tender slow-braised goat with confit garlic, lemon, rosemary, and white wine. Just as good as it sounds.

I haven't had the pleasure of trying The Tuscan (tomatoes, Italian wine, herbs, chilli), or The Moroccan (cumin, coriander, ginger, turmeric, sweet potato & dates) yet, but I'll keep turning up and someday I'll get lucky and they will be in stock.

The Guv'nor - well-built, or what?

The Guv'nor

My only criticism - and it's a minor one - is that the heat can be a bit hit and miss depending on what time you get there and what demand has been like. I have had lukewarm, perfect, and scalding hot...but reheating them at home from frozen at 180 degrees (fan-forced) for 40 minutes gives perfect results every time. I haven't found that freezing these pies results in any discernible decline in quality at all, so stock up with confidence.

There is an increasing number of bakers out there claiming to be producing 'artisan' pies of true quality - and I'll concede that the overall quality of pies across the market is miles ahead of where it was only a decade ago. But there are very few people out there like The Goat Pie Guy. He understands flavour combinations, the layers and interplay between sweet, savory, and tart, he seasons his mixes well, and has the skills to pull all of the above into individually distinct pies that together form a stellar line up that any restaurant would be proud to serve.

I haven't individually scored the pies above; suffice it to say that they are all solid 8+, with the Indonesian an easy 9+.

You can find Mick's details on the website, place orders online, and find out where you can buy them from the man himself. If you're the kind of person who read the word 'goat' at the top and thought eeeeewwww, then you should really harden up and try one. Not only would you never pick it as goat if you didn't know; I guarantee that it will change any preconceived ideas you may have of goat as a product.  

Highly recommended.

The Goat Pie Guy Website

Facebook link - check this out! (if the Facebook banner doesn't make you hungry, you're not human)