“Gotta love a goat that cooks.”
Down a narrow paved road in Grainger County sits a small estate which shares its plot with a goat named Mow. The place is called Smoking Goat Farms, and Mow (pronounced: moe) guards it properly, for the farms grows over 300 red pepper plants each year and he is the proud “spokesgoat” of the business.
Smoking Goat Farms began in 2012 when co-owners Ron and Chris began farming in the interest of transition. They were looking for a value-added product outside of their main source of revenue and based the model of Smoking Goat Farms off of that idea. On the property in Blaine, an 11,000-pound smoker which had previously been used to smoke various meats sat. Figuring its colossus stature and that it probably wasn’t going anywhere, Ron and Chris took advantage of an excess crop of peppers that year and tried out a new breed of smoking.
The Product
The first time I took a whiff of the Smoking Goat Farms Crushed Red, I couldn’t believe my schnoz. My reaction, along with every other person I’ve held a jar of this stuff to, was one of surprise to say the least. The immediate response was to smell it again because the aroma is nothing that you’d expect from a jar of dried, crushed red peppers. I was lucky enough to keep my very own jar, which flavors each and every piece of pizza (among other things) that I’ve eaten since the initial encounter. What makes the red pepper flakes from this farm so different from the stuff you find on a pizza joint counter? This passage from the Smoking Goat Farms website gives a good picture:
“Smoking Goat Farms Crushed Red is an enchantingly aromatic and meaty flavor that can add that additional level of taste complexity to a range of cuisines, and will please palates from refined to adventurous. We start with Artisan grown Cayenne Peppers. Ripened by the sun and grown in our Grainger County soil, the little darlings are bathed in rich fruitwood smoke for just long enough to develop a thick meaty smoky presence. Crushed and sealed for freshness, the relatively modest heat of the Cayenne gives the chef the freedom to boldly strike the smoky note without fear of overstating the heat note.”
The Smoking Process
The type of peppers used are mainly cayenne, though they do a bit of blending to get the end product just right. The intriguing smell comes from the different types of wood they use in the smoker and the way they fuse together as they burn. Though peppers are their biggest product at the moment, the men at Smoking Goat Farms plan to expand the smoker’s duties. Chris said, “We also have local beer brewers who have their barley fruitwood-smoked because they like the aroma it gives.” Smoking Goat Farms hopes to work with other crafty Knoxville-area foodies who are really interested in expanding the foodie network and allowing a non-necessity hobby become a more welcomed trade. The core credibility of the Smoking Goat smokers comes from the fact that they are cooks before they are farmers.
The guys at Smoking Goat Farms plan to start mapping out the spring sow soon in order to hit the ground running once winter ends. Each year they are able to build upon the core plants from the year before, which allows for a Tetris-like growth pattern in the years following. This winter they plan to experiment with smoking other products to expand the line – an especially tasty snack they plan to fruitwood-smoke is the black walnut – a large, savory walnut that grows on one of two trees that Mow proudly guards on the property.
Smoking Goat Farms products can be found in several retailers across town and plans to move into half-a-dozen restaurants within the next season. Right now the peppers can be bought either as Crushed or Ground Red Pepper in 2-oz jars on their website, smokingoatfarms.com. Though they are a young business, the owners and farmers are doing their best to learn what their customers want; and with the help of Mow the Goat, it’s sure to be a good time.
