Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Goat Water
A rich, spiced goat stew thickened with breadfruit or flour and scented with clove and rum, the Saturday pot.
Kittitian · medium · serves 6
prep 25 min · cook 150 min
~338 cal · 52g protein · 14g carbs · 6g fat · 2g fiber · 7g sugars · 2g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Goat water is the national stew of Saint Kitts and Nevis (and neighbouring Montserrat), a rich, spiced pot traditionally simmered for weekends, celebrations, and gatherings. Its unassuming name belies a deeply flavourful dish.
Goat is browned and simmered slowly with onion, garlic, thyme, clove, and until falling from the bone, and the broth is thickened, traditionally with or a flour dumpling batter, into a rich gravy. A splash of rum is a classic finishing touch.
Served with crusty bread or dumplings to soak up the gravy, it is warming, communal food. Goat water is Kittitian and Nevisian heritage in a bowl, the Saturday pot that brings people together around its spiced, savoury depths.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2.5 lb goat meat, bone-in, cut up
3 tbsp flour or , for thickening
2 onion
5 cloves garlic
1 tbsp and 3 thyme and (chible)
1 tbsp whole cloves, crushed
1 tbsp ground mace or grated nutmeg
2 tbsp fresh marjoram
1 green sweet pepper, chopped
1 tbsp and 1 tsp brown sugar (to caramelise) and gravy browning
to taste salt and black pepper
3 tbsp tomato paste
1
2 tbsp dark rum
1 lime
Instructions
1
Caramelise the brown sugar in the oil until dark and golden, then brown the seasoned goat (or mushrooms and jackfruit) in it, turning, before adding the onion, garlic, scallions and sweet pepper.
✎ Chef’s note
Burnt sugar and gravy browning are what give goat water its deep colour, which islanders judge as carefully as the taste: the stew must be neither too thick nor too thin. Traditionally it is cooked in a metal pot over a wood fire, and the smoke is part of the flavour.
2
Add the thyme and marjoram, the crushed cloves, the mace, tomato paste, Scotch bonnet, salt and pepper, and enough water to cover, skimming the foam as it rises.
3
Simmer very gently for 2 to 2.5 hours, until the goat is falling off the bone.
✎ Chef’s note
Goat is a tough, lean meat that rewards patience. Keep the simmer low and slow until it is truly tender; rushing it leaves it chewy.
4
Stir in a flour-and-water slurry (or mashed breadfruit) to thicken the broth into a rich gravy.
5
Finish with rum and lime, and serve with crusty bread or dumplings.
Basseterre Saturday tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Basseterre. The dumplings that go in are called droppers, made from flour and water and dropped straight into the pot to cook in the gravy. Breadfruit and green papaya thicken it as they break down, and clove is the spice that tells it apart from every other Caribbean goat stew.
🗺️
Saint Kitts and Nevis. Goat water is Montserrat's first. Montserrat's own tourism authority insists on male-goat meat and links the stew to Irish stew brought by settlers, with Saint Kitts described as the place it is most prominent after Montserrat. That means the federation cooks it seriously without having originated it, which is the accurate way to put it.
🌍
North America. North America's table began with Indigenous foodways, the "three sisters" of corn, beans, and squash, plus chiles, tomatoes, and cacao, then layered on colonial, African, and immigrant influences. From Mexico's UNESCO-recognized cuisine to the Cajun and Creole pots of Louisiana and the fiery jerk of the Caribbean, the region turns ancient staples into something new. Barbecue, tacos, gumbo, and mole all carry stories of migration and adaptation.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Saint Kitts and Nevis
Stewed Saltfish with DumplingsSalt cod stewed down with tomato, onion, and pepper, served with boiled dumplings and ground provisions, the national breakfast of St. Kitts.
Coconut Sugar CakeChewy pink-and-white coconut candy set in ginger sugar syrup, a nostalgic Saint Kitts and Nevis sweet.
Conch SouseTender boiled conch pickled in a cool, bright broth of lime, onion, cucumber, and scotch bonnet, a St Kitts weekend favorite.
Browse all Saint Kitts and Nevis recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Saint Kitts and Nevis meal
Kittitian SorrelDrink
Coconut Sugar CakeDessert
Conch SouseLunch
Similar dishes from around the world
Stobá di KabrituCuraçao
Curry GoatJamaica
CunilloAndorra
TukirTimor-Leste
Trinidadian Curry GoatTrinidad & Tobago
Stuffat tal-Fenek (Rabbit Stew)Malta
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Goat Water?
A rich, spiced goat stew thickened with breadfruit or flour and scented with clove and rum, the Saturday pot.
Where does Goat Water come from?
Goat Water is a Kittitian dish from Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Can Goat Water be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Goat Water recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Goat Water safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Goat Water take to make?
About 175 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 150 minutes cooking), serving 6.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.