It is said that the development of one’s palate starts during childhood days. If so, then Kalderetang Kambing would be one of those dishes that molded my tastes as it was a childhood favorite of mine. Lola Charing, my maternal grandmother, used to serve this dish during her birthday. During those days, it was impossible finding goat meat at the supermarket. One had to go to great lengths to find one, have it slaughtered, then prepare and cook it. As the goat had to be cooked in its entirety, it really warranted a special occasion for its preparation since that was a lot of meat to eat just for a family meal. That is why Lola served it for her birthday celebration. When I was older and much more into cooking, I asked my grandmother how she would cook kalderetang kambing. I sat by her bedside and as Lola Charing was going blind, she gave me the whole process, as a storyteller from long ago would share a tale by the fire: “Choose a young, healthy looking goat; if it is male, it is preferable to slaughter it before it has begun to develop mating instincts otherwise the meat will be too gamey. “Before slaughtering the goat, force it to drink a pint of native vinegar. For the life of me, that was truly hard to do – the goat refused to drink the vinegar. “Then, with a very sharp knife, slit the jugular vein and let it bleed to death. When that is done, you can remove its skin and washed the goat with vinegar. Cut open its belly and remove its innards; set aside its liver for making the sauce of the kaldereta. “Truss and tie the goat’s hind legs then hang it upside-down to drain the blood for four hours. While the goat hangs suspended, rub vinegar over the goat to remove the gamey taste and smell. “Once it’s ready, you can begin to prepare the meat. Cut the meat into 2-inch cubes. Do not include the head and hooves. Do not cut the liver into pieces. Wash the meat, then drain well in a colander. “Transfer the meat and liver to a large wash basin (palangana). With your hands, mix in calamansi juice, and salt, making sure that all the meat cubes are coated. Let the meat stand in this mixture for 1 hour. This will further remove the strong taste. “Wash the meat well and drain it thoroughly. Dry the meat on a flat bamboo strainer in a shaded area, and not under the sun. “Soak meat in sherry, mixing the sherry well with the meat. “In a large, heavy frying pan, over a...