Village's 'goat pot' ultimate adventure in eating

When autumn’s chill arrives, goat meat is sold: That was the seasonal task for many years for villagers in Cangqian, a village in Yuhang District, Hangzhou.

The change in temperature meant it was time to get busy buying live goats, slaughtering them and selling the meat.

But after selling the meat, how to deal with the rest of the animal, like the feet, head and stomach? Every part of a goat is a treasure, according to an old saying, and to villagers, the traditional way of solving the dilemma was to turn them into dinner.

Skull, tail and viscera — clean them and throw them into a large pot placed over a wood fire, with simple seasonings, and the result would be a feast for at least 10 people.
The only uncertainty was you didn’t know what you would pull out of the half-person-tall pot to eat. The hot steam would make it all but impossible to pick and choose, but that was considered part of the fun of “Drawing from the Goat Pot,” as locals call the meal.

As time has passed, “Drawing from the Goat Pot” is not a necessity to save food anymore, but rather a pleasure of locals and a culinary adventure for tourists — as well as a signature dish for Cangqian.

One modernization is that goat meat is added to the pot, so it’s not just leftover pieces. Now, the best goat (one to two years old, weighing 15-25 kilograms), as well as best firewood (dry and aged) are the must to make the pot.

It’s also been turned into a fancy treat for tourists. In 2006 Cangqian Village started the Goat Pot Festival, and up to last year it had seen almost 2.4 million tourists attend, bringing in revenue of 190 million yuan (US$31.16 million).

Cangqian Village has about 20 restaurants run by locals that only sell goat pot during the festival. The local government makes sure they charge the same price and sell the same thing, so visitors don’t need to worry about which one to pick.

This year the festival starts on Monday and lasts until February.

The prices this year are, as follows: a small pot for two to three persons is 280 yuan, middle-sized pot for four to six person is 480 yuan, and large pot for seven to 10 persons is 660 yuan. Vegetable dishes are included in the set. Every part of the goat is boiled, simply, with no soy sauce, no spice.

The drawing part is now done in the kitchen, and what is served at the table is a goat hot pot, including boiled sliced goat with skin, boiled goat feet, boiled goat tail and all kinds of boiled goat viscera.For the most adventurous, there’s also goat eyeballs and testicles, too.

I’ve tried them both. Eyeballs (cut in halves) are very good, soft and spongy with a special kind of savory umami, with a mouthfeel like a semi-done yolk. To try them for the first time, just close your eyes, screw up some courage and gulp. The testicles, sliced into pieces, have a strong smell, kind of gamey.

Wei Zhen, a butcher in the village, said he slaughters 30 to 40 goats every day during goat pot festival. He works for only one of the 20 goat-pot restaurants in the village.

He said a very large pot can accommodate as much as 200 kilograms of goat. The recipe calls for putting the pot on an old-fashioned brick oven at 5am so the first meal, lunch, can be done at 11am.

The village has been getting ready to welcome visitors since the beginning of the month, and you can also go before November 11 to avoid the crowds.