Filet Mignon in Los Angeles

[Charles in Hollywood]

Is there a butcher in Los Angeles that sells Filet Mignon?

[dudee]

Is real filet mignon even a kosher cut? I was of the impression that it wasn't...

[Beerhound]

I have also often been confused as to which cuts of meat are available kosher. For example, I had heard that t-bone steak was not, I have never seen it at a kosher butcher, but then someone told me that they had such a steak at a kosher restaurant.

Anybody have any knowledge on this subject?

[baruch]

There is nothing intrinsically unkosher about these cuts. However, the sciatic nerve and its related arteries are not permissible to eat. These are located in the hindquarters where the sirloin, T-bone, and filet mignon cuts come from.

Removal of this nerve/arteries is a labor and time intensive process which is why for the longest time you did not see these cuts available to kosher consumers. As the culinary demands of kosher consumers grow, you are beginning to see butchers taking the time to remove this nerve. I can find all these cuts of meat at glatt butchers in the Boston area. I also see it when I go home to NY and NJ. This was not the case growing up.

These cuts are even more expensive than regular kosher cuts due to the time and labor involved in making these cuts kosher.

[Beerhound]

Which butcher(s) in NY?

[DiscoStu]

Please don't take this as rudeness, but I have had some affiliation (sp) with them and can't stand them. Besides their prices are beyond ridiculous. That one piece of mock Filet Mineon would cost about 30 dollars (no joke) I would not like to promote them or give them any more business.

[uncle Moishy (not "the")]

My belief was that the hind quarters of the cow are not kosher. Period. And that the cuts of beef that come from the hind quarters are therefore not kosher. I have seen kosher "filet mignon" for sale at kosher butchers, but my understanding was that it wasn't really filet mignon, but a cut from the kosher parts of the animal that resembled filet mignon.

If, as you say, these cuts can be kosher if the sciatic nerve is removed first, and that they are therefore available at certain kosher butchers, that would be great. Please advise where in NYC? Having eaten traif in my life, I can attest that these cuts can be quite delicious. In fact, Peter Luger's in Brooklyn, which has a well-deserved reputation for the best steak anywhere, serves pretty much nothing but t-bones.

[baruch]

Hindquarters have been considered non-kosher by some but only due to this nerve. Consult your rabbi to be sure, but if the nerve is removed, then you can have these cuts. Again, consult your own authority. I say this because i am sure there is controversy over the proper way to do it, and the amount of viens, etc that need to be taken to be considered "removed".

as far as specific places in NYC i am at a loss right now. They do have it in Boston for sure.

[Discostu]

Regarding the "Kosher Fillet mineon", some butchers do sell it. As you wrote it is in fact from a Kosher portion. What they do is cut just the eye of the rib, cut it 2" thick and tie it with string so it resembles Filet Mineon. As far as a Kosher T-bone, depending on how religous you are, whether they remove the vein or whatever. It is not kosher. In New York almost all Glatt Kosher Butcher shops get their meet from Rabashkins or Ali and neither of them sell this cut. You can always speak to the Masgiach of the store and he will give you the down low. If it is a Glatt kosher store they will usally be under some sort of rabbinacal supervision (such as the Kuf-K) I believe the Kuf-K has a website where you can read more info.

[mel levy]

Is the tail of a cow kosher? Are cows feet kosher?

[Hillel]

I was under the impression, and right now I can't remember why, that (kosher) meat from the hindquarters of the animal was only available in Israel. As I remember it, in Israel there is a kabbalah for performing this butchering. Due to the high cost of beef there, it has been worth the effort you described to extract this meat. However, outside of Israel that kabbalah had not been established and so such cuts are not available. Of course it would be great if that kabbalah could be communicated here.

In any case, if these cuts are available in NY, which butchers offer it?

Hillel

[sarah]

I was under the impression, and right now I can't remember why, that (kosher) meat from the hindquarters of the animal was only available in Israel. As I remember it, in Israel there is a kabbalah for performing this butchering. Due to the high cost of beef there, it has been worth the effort you described to extract this meat. However, outside of Israel that kabbalah had not been established and so such cuts are not available. Of course it would be great if that kabbalah could be communicated here.

In any case, if these cuts are available in NY, which butchers offer it?

AAARRRGGGHHH!!!! Kabbala is a body of Jewish mystical thought. It has ZERO to to with the laws of slaughtering meat. The deal is that getting that sciatic nerve is timeconsuming and pesky (expensive to do). So here in the US it is more profitable to sell those prime cuts to non kosher butchers or non kosher food outlets. In israel more folks are trained in dealing with the sciatic nerve, there is less of a market for the rest of the animal - it is a matter of economic sense having nothing to do with mystical writings

[Hillel]

Kabbalah is a hebrew word with many common uses. It is a general term for a method or mechanism that has been accepted halachically. There are often rabinical kabalot handed down through generations of rabbis teacher to student, and there may be kabalot based on community.

Use of that same hebrew word to refer to certain "mystical" studies is independent of the use I described above. For your benefit this is general to language, where a word may be used for multiple purposes and it is left to the reader to determine from context which meaning is intended.

Hillel

[marlene]

what kosher butcher in new jersey can i get filet mignon. i have never seen it in any that i go to.

[Zev Sero]

A kabalah is a body of received wisdom. Anything that
is transmitted from one person to another, rather than
written down, is a kabalah.

The secrets of the Torah are a kabalah, because, at
least until the time of the AriZal, they were meant to
be transmitted only in private, to those students whom
the teacher found worthy (Chagiga chapter 3). In the
16th century, the AriZal was told by Eliyahu Hanavi
that the time had come to relax this protocol, and
that `it is permitted and commanded to reveal this
wisdom'.

But there are many other kabalot - generally skills
that can't be learned out of a book. Two of the most
important kabalot are shechita (slaughtering) and
nikkur (butchering). The Torah says to kill animals
`as I have commanded you' (Devarim 12:21); but this
commandment, the laws of shechita, are not written in
the Torah. They are a kabala - Moshe taught the first
shochtim how to do this, and they taught the next
generation, and the kabalah of shechita was transmitted
right down to our shochtim today. Anyone who wants to
be a shochet has to find a shochet who will teach him,
and when he has successfully learned the skills and
laws he will be given a certificate called a kabalah,
because it certifies that he has received the kabalah
of shechitah. When he applies for work at a kosher
slaughterhouse, he will have to show his Kabalah to the
supervising Rabbi, who will test him to verify that he
knows his stuff. He will also have to regularly
submit his knives to the Rabbi for inspection; the
knowlege of how to prepare the knives, and how to
inspect them, is also part of the kabalah of shechita.

Safrut is also a kabalah, though it's easier to learn
the basics from books. Still, if someone wants to work
as a sofer, he will need a certificate of kabala from
an existing sofer, who will verify that he has learned
what he needs to know.

Nikkur, or kosher butchering (aka `traibering') is also
a kabalah, which was transmitted from butcher to
apprentice for millennia. In recent decades some
problems arose with kosher butchers in the NY area,
who did not properly learn this kabalah, and came under
the supervision of Rabbis who themselves had never
learned it, and depended on the butchers to tell them
about it. As far as I know, this problem has now been
corrected.

In any case, the kabbalah of how to butcher the
hindquarters was not transmitted in the USA for many
years, because the economics of the kosher meat
industry made it impractical. The older butchers
didn't butcher the hindquarters, so the apprentices
never learned how. In Israel the kabalah on this has
been kept alive, because it is economical to do it
there, and now USAn butchers are beginning to learn it
from Israeli ones, as well as from those USAn butchers
who did learn it for their own use.

[butterfly]

That's the best explanation of kabbalah and butchering that I've ever read. Thanks very much for taking the time to write it.

[Anne]

What exactly is Kosher beef?

[sn]

i would appreciate if anyone could give me one or two examples of northeast butcher shops that have hindquarter meat under reliable hashgacha ie name of store and address, phone no etc

[Irwin Koval]

Regarding Kosher Beef Cuts, from the Beef Hindquarter. There have recently been American Rabbi's who have been trained in Traibering [Nikkur} Hindquarters, by Specialist Traibering Experts skilled in removing blood vessels, nerves and fat from Beef under Rabbinical Supervision for many years in Isreal. Under this supervision these Kosher Beef cuts, are delivered directly to Butchers where they are not required to treat this product any different then other Kosher meats. I understant that the volume is not very large , but should become larger over time.

[John & Jill]

Read a partial note regarding kosher fillet mignon and its availability. Is it avail and where?
I'm in LA.
Please reply

[akmeyer1]

Irwin-- do you know the name of a Rabbi or Rabbis that have been trained in Traibering the hindquarter here in US? if you prefer to email me privately -- thats fine too. thank you.