# Can kosher franks have natural casings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 14, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415 "2008-03-14T23:30:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/1 "2008-03-14T23:30:52Z")
We all know what sausage skin is. And while it may sound disgusting and be umpleasant to comtemplate, there isn’t much that of anything that is better suited to the purpose of not only containing chopped meat in a nice little package, but also providing that delightful tiny “crunch” when you bite down. But beef intestines would be organ meat, wouldn’t they, and therefore not kosher, right? So is an exception made kosher sausages, or is animal intestine not considered organ meat, perhaps since it’s only the container and not the real meat, as it were? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/2 "2008-03-15T18:08:28Z")
One bump ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/3 "2008-03-15T18:13:23Z")
Ahh the old Kosher Question Rule, it’s been a while! You’ll probably get some answers once Sabbath is over and those most familiar with the kosher laws are back online. ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/4 "2008-03-15T18:25:33Z")
In the meantime, I found this in an article by Ted Levine at [the NY Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/dining/25dogs.html): > [@](#): > > Let’s define our terms. A kosher hot dog is all beef and made under rabbinical supervision. It is skinless or stuffed into collagen casings, because natural casings are not permitted. Hebrew National and Empire National are the kosher hot dogs most often found in delis and supermarkets. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/5 "2008-03-15T19:30:37Z")
[QUOTE=MikeG] Ahh the old Kosher Question Rule, it’s been a while! You’ll probably get some answers once Sabbath is over and those most familiar with the kosher laws are back online. [/QUOTE] I propose a new SDMB law - If someone has a question about kosher rules, it will inevitably be posted on a Saturday. It seems to happen often enough (I think i’ve done it myself, as well). ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/6 "2008-03-15T19:50:43Z")
Say, why not just ask Kosher Frank? Hey Kosher Frank, do you have a natural casing? “Khe Sanh? There was nothing natural about Khe Sanh, _boychik_… 120-degree heat, leeches as long as my arm… When they sent in the 26th Marines, we knew something big was going down… Charlie was massing to the north and east… Sometimes I’d wake up at night and those big jungle cockaroaches would be sitting right on my forehead, drinking my sweat…” Okay, let’s not ask Kosher Frank again. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/7 "2008-03-15T20:29:29Z")
Well, it was Friday after all, and the sun was still out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/8 "2008-03-16T00:05:09Z")
Is liver considered “organ meat”? You couldn’t escape the stuff at my grandma’s house, and my understanding was that liver was kosher. ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/9 "2008-03-16T01:06:07Z")
At least some organ meats are kosher. Liver can definitely be kosher - it is a staple ‘stereotypical’ Jewish food. I even remember ages ago the guys from Queer Eye got some kosher foie gras for one of their projects. Natural casings are not not kosher because they are organ meat, but they do indeed appear to be not kosher. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/10 "2008-03-16T17:23:59Z")
Yes, to the OP Pork intestine natural casings are not kosher because they are pork, of course. The general kosher substitute for natural pork casings are natural sheep intestine casings. Lamb and mutton are kosher animals. Really, any kosher animal’s intestines could be used as sausage casings but sheep/lamb casings are similar in size to pork casings and make the ideal sized sausage. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/11 "2008-03-16T18:09:32Z")
Scratch that entire post…I was totally wrong. apparently some Rabbi decided sheep casings aren’t kosher. So, there you go. I guess the answer would be no. No such thing as a kosher natural casing. I’m guessing it has to do with the fact that intestines are unclean, period. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/12 "2008-03-16T19:45:11Z")
Kosher beef casings are used for kishke. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/13 "2008-03-16T20:07:30Z")
I had [kishka](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kishka_%28food%29) at [Rubin’s](http://rubinskosher.com/menuframe.html) in Brookline. Mrs. Plant told me the casing was made from lamb intestine, and we know wikipedia doesn’t lie. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/14 "2008-03-16T20:35:43Z")
If it’s kosher for kishke, it’s kosher for hot dogs. But it’s been a long time since I’ve seen \*real \*kishke. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/15 "2008-03-16T20:41:00Z")
[QUOTE=sciurophobic] Kosher beef casings are used for kishke. [/QUOTE] Sorry I jumped on your post; I couldn’t get to the web site for a bit. So while I’ve got you here, what is the gravy that kishka is served with? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-kosher-franks-have-natural-casings/441415/16 "2008-03-18T00:28:42Z")
[QUOTE=devilsknew] I’m guessing it has to do with the fact that intestines are unclean, period. [/QUOTE] I’m going by that NY times article, but does anyone know why sheep casings are deemed not kosher? Could it also be because the sheep casings available commercially cannot be certified Kosher slaughtered under supervision? What exactly does Kosher-Style Frank mean? (Or, is that just your Gay Jewish Uncle? 😃 )