Is Round Steak Kosher?

Why isn’t round steak or kidney available in my kosher store? My butcher tells me that it’s not kosher. Surely, if the animal is kosher, isn’t all the meat of the animal also kosher? – A Consumer’s Question

The Torah commands us to abstain from eating cheilev (Vayikra 3:17). These are specific fats which are found in the hindquarters of certain animals, sheep and cattle included. While the cheilev can be removed (using a method known as treibering), rendering the remainder of the meat kosher, this is a tedious and time-consuming task which can only be performed by professionally trained rabbis. It is not normally commercially viable to carry out this procedure. Additionally, due to the severity of the prohibition, some communities have adopted a custom of not using the hindquarters at all. This is the predominant custom in the USA, and it is followed by the OU.

As both round steak and kidneys are found in the hindquarters, they are included in this custom.

The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.