# Kosher question. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 26, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-question/478688 "2008-12-26T00:13:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-question/478688/1 "2008-12-26T00:13:10Z")
It’s not friday night đŸ™‚ I understand that on a slaughtered animal the Sciatic nerve, and close areas are not to be eaten. There is a commercial for Hebrew Nation Hot Dogs(mmm good dogs) that says they only use the front half of the Cow. Personally I love some of the south end of the cow but that’s not important. Back in the pre industrial days, when excess food was rare for pretty much everybody, but did the traditional Jews do with the Sciatic area. Most every group was pretty thrifty when they slaughtered something, as waste was deadly. Did they sell it to Gentiles? Give it to dogs? Have surgical butchers who cut the bad areas exactly but, saved a large amount of meat? And how much is expressly bad, It’s not actually the whole back half ofthe cow is it? It seems impossible to believe that they would kill the cattle, then leave half to rot. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-question/478688/2 "2008-12-26T00:31:15Z")
[http://everything2.com/node/117094](http://everything2.com/node/117094) : > [@](#): > > In addition to the organs that any butcher would remove, this includes the sciatic nerve, which is specifically forbidden. (Since it is difficult to remove, the entire hindquarters of the carcass are often sold to non-Jewish butchers.) ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-question/478688/3 "2008-12-26T15:09:05Z")
It is possible to remove the sciatic nerve and the forbidden fats from the back end of a cow. The process is called porging. It’s not often done when the option of selling those cuts to the non-kosher market is feasible. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-question/478688/4 "2008-12-26T15:56:39Z")
Yes, what they said. It’s never just wasted. It’s either sold to the non-kosher market, or experts remove the specific nerves and fats, whichever is more profitable/convenient. Today in the US it is usually/always sold to the non-kosher market, but in Israel they often/usually remove the problematic stuff.