Kosher meat issue is both extremely simple and extremely complicated, but here we present you with an overview of the process and the basics of the laws.
The most important piece to understand about kosher meat is that this is an ancient practice that is carried out using todays technology to ensure reliability, safety, and kashrut.
The first step in kosher meat is the actual species of meat. Chicken, turkey, duck and geese are all kosher species; there are varying varying traditions regarding the kashrut of other fowls, such as quail, pheasant, squab and pigeons. Birds of prey are generally not kosher.
For larger animals, kosher laws permit the consumption of species that both chew their cud and have split hooves. This includes, cows, sheep, goats, bison, deer, elk and even giraffe, though beef and lamb are generally the most common meat in the kosher marketplace.
Jewish law prohibits the consumption of the lifeblood of the animal. All kosher meat and poultry must undergo a special process to remove it. The meat or poultry is soaked in clean water for thirty minutes, then removed to drip dry. After a few minutes of dripping, the meat is salted and left to hang for sixty minutes to further draw out any remaining blood.
After sixty minutes of salting, the meat is washed three times in cold, clean water to remove any remaining salt. The result: clean, fresh, and kosher meat. After the final washing, the meat is dried, further butchered into retail cuts, and packaged and sealed for safety and kashrut.
