Beef is one of the most difficult animal products to source for a Jewish diet, since there are restrictions on the cuts and joints which can be eaten from the animal, and there are also requirements about the way that the animal is prepared and slaughtered which mean that no every single cut of beef available at a butchers' is suitable for the Jewish menu. Understanding the particular dietary requirements when sourcing beef can help you to select the best cuts for your needs.

The Slaughter and preparation of the meat

Right from the beginning of the process of turning cattle into beef, kosher laws need to be applied. One of these laws is the rule regarding the death of the animal. When kosher animals, that are animals which have already been raised according to kosher requirements, are slaughtered, this must be done in a particular way. The animal needs to be killed with a single cut along the throat, allowing blood to drain quickly from a animal, and ensuring that it can go to the next stage of preparation having been drained of blood. In addition to the slaughtering, which must be done by a Jewish person who is an approved slaughterer, or Shochet, the animal must be used within three days, or then washed every third day until it is beyond 12 days old. At that point, it is no longer kosher beef.

Parts of the animal that are kosher

Even if the beef has been slaughtered and prepared according to Jewish law, there will still be a requirement which limits the amount of meat which can be classed as kosher. The rules include the amount of beef taken from particular areas. For example, only the forequarters, the front half, of the beef is considered to be kosher. This includes the shoulder, rib, leg and chest.  In taking the meat from the rib, anything beyond the 13th rib must be taken away. In Israel, some hindquarters of the beef are used, but in America, where there are more non-kosher meat eaters,  slaughter houses do not bother to remove the large nerve which runs across that portion, and simply ignore it as a source of kosher beef. The forequarters of the beef allows for a large number of dishes, and cut options, including short/spare ribs, Kalichel, which is the leg meat, beef marrow and marrow bones, corned beef and beef tongue, and a particular type of rib dish known as the Flanken, where it is either grilled or used for a pot roast. Steaks, of course, are completely kosher, and form another option when eating out, or when arranging for a celebratory meal.