Comments on: Does meat need to be hung up after it’s slaughtered? http://jcarrot.org/does-meat-need-to-be-hung-up-after-it%e2%80%99s-slaughtered/ Jews, Food, and Contemporary Issues Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:26:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Michael Green http://jcarrot.org/does-meat-need-to-be-hung-up-after-it%e2%80%99s-slaughtered/#comment-2273 Michael Green Mon, 27 Aug 2007 10:19:25 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/does-meat-need-to-be-hung-up-after-it%e2%80%99s-slaughtered/#comment-2273 Red meat should definately be hung for around 21 days. If your steak is bright red - i.e. fresh and not hung - then don't buy it! Red meat should definately be hung for around 21 days. If your steak is bright red - i.e. fresh and not hung - then don’t buy it!

]]> By: der http://jcarrot.org/does-meat-need-to-be-hung-up-after-it%e2%80%99s-slaughtered/#comment-2210 der Fri, 24 Aug 2007 01:40:11 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/does-meat-need-to-be-hung-up-after-it%e2%80%99s-slaughtered/#comment-2210 Shalom can probably elaborate on this since I have not studied shechitah, but my understanding is as follows: 1. After slaughter, meat has to be soaked and salted to remove as much blood as possible in order to be kosher. This is how most kosher meat is prepared 2. OR, the meat can be cooked on an open flame (read: BBQ) immediately upon slaughter. At my Yeshiva in Israel, each year this is done - 3 lambs are bought from local Arab herdsman, slaughtered (as part of a larger class) and a barbeque is held right there. (as a side note, we sold the non-kosher hind quarters back to the Arabs). However, after slaughtering the animals, we did hang them up since its much easier to check the various internal organs and remove the skin / wool (which we also sold back to the Arabs) when you can walk around the carcass, rather than having it lay on the ground. Shalom can probably elaborate on this since I have not studied shechitah, but my understanding is as follows:

1. After slaughter, meat has to be soaked and salted to remove as much blood as possible in order to be kosher. This is how most kosher meat is prepared

2. OR, the meat can be cooked on an open flame (read: BBQ) immediately upon slaughter. At my Yeshiva in Israel, each year this is done - 3 lambs are bought from local Arab herdsman, slaughtered (as part of a larger class) and a barbeque is held right there. (as a side note, we sold the non-kosher hind quarters back to the Arabs).

However, after slaughtering the animals, we did hang them up since its much easier to check the various internal organs and remove the skin / wool (which we also sold back to the Arabs) when you can walk around the carcass, rather than having it lay on the ground.

]]> By: Shalom http://jcarrot.org/does-meat-need-to-be-hung-up-after-it%e2%80%99s-slaughtered/#comment-2208 Shalom Fri, 24 Aug 2007 01:22:51 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/does-meat-need-to-be-hung-up-after-it%e2%80%99s-slaughtered/#comment-2208 I can only tell you from personal experience that if the goat(s) are young enough the animals can be grilled or roasted right there on the spot with absolutely no aging process. While studying for my shechitah certification I had the opportunity to shecht several goats on a moshav and the youngest were grilled that evening and were quite tender and delicious! If they are older animals then I would recommend the aging process or you might end up doing more chewing than you would care for. The one thing to keep in mind is that not all animals that are slaughtered with shechitah are necessarily kosher... sometimes they have internal problems with the lungs or other organs that renders them treif, hence the need to have a qualified posek to make any such halakhic decisions. Bete'avon I can only tell you from personal experience that if the goat(s) are young enough the animals can be grilled or roasted right there on the spot with absolutely no aging process. While studying for my shechitah certification I had the opportunity to shecht several goats on a moshav and the youngest were grilled that evening and were quite tender and delicious!

If they are older animals then I would recommend the aging process or you might end up doing more chewing than you would care for.

The one thing to keep in mind is that not all animals that are slaughtered with shechitah are necessarily kosher… sometimes they have internal problems with the lungs or other organs that renders them treif, hence the need to have a qualified posek to make any such halakhic decisions.

Bete’avon

]]> By: Shmarya http://jcarrot.org/does-meat-need-to-be-hung-up-after-it%e2%80%99s-slaughtered/#comment-2206 Shmarya Fri, 24 Aug 2007 00:16:18 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/does-meat-need-to-be-hung-up-after-it%e2%80%99s-slaughtered/#comment-2206 Actually, before vacuum packing and refrigeration, most meat was not aged at all. It was slaughtered, butchered and sold within a day of slaughter. Not only that, the aging you refer to causes shrinkage and meat loss (due to necessary trimming), and substantially raises the price of meat – which is why most meat sold today is not aged in any way. (In fact, a large portion of it is frozen soon after slaughter and sold upon thawing.) So, not only does meat not need to be hung, it *rarely* (no pun intended) is hung or aged in any way. The best cuts of meat cost more because they are the most naturally tender and the most flavorful. Cheaper cuts like chuck and shoulder are much tougher and historically were prepared as stews or ground because of this. Anyway, the point of my post was not just the point about hanging meat – it was the idea that a Jewish organization that deals with food from a supposedly Jewish perspective and has done so for many years has seemingly little if any understanding of basic kosher food production. The slur historically hurled at hazon and other left-of-center Jewish food organizations like JVNA is that these organizations make up a Judaism to fit their non-Jewish or non-historically-Jewish outlooks. In other words, intentional or not, the mold Judaism to fit their needs rather than mold their needs to adapt to Judaism. While I often reject this claim, there are times when it seems to have some merit, and this seems to be one of those times. Actually, before vacuum packing and refrigeration, most meat was not aged at all. It was slaughtered, butchered and sold within a day of slaughter.

Not only that, the aging you refer to causes shrinkage and meat loss (due to necessary trimming), and substantially raises the price of meat – which is why most meat sold today is not aged in any way. (In fact, a large portion of it is frozen soon after slaughter and sold upon thawing.)

So, not only does meat not need to be hung, it *rarely* (no pun intended) is hung or aged in any way.

The best cuts of meat cost more because they are the most naturally tender and the most flavorful. Cheaper cuts like chuck and shoulder are much tougher and historically were prepared as stews or ground because of this.

Anyway, the point of my post was not just the point about hanging meat – it was the idea that a Jewish organization that deals with food from a supposedly Jewish perspective and has done so for many years has seemingly little if any understanding of basic kosher food production.

The slur historically hurled at hazon and other left-of-center Jewish food organizations like JVNA is that these organizations make up a Judaism to fit their non-Jewish or non-historically-Jewish outlooks. In other words, intentional or not, the mold Judaism to fit their needs rather than mold their needs to adapt to Judaism.

While I often reject this claim, there are times when it seems to have some merit, and this seems to be one of those times.

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