Meat Dishes

The history of Jewish food shows a love and respect for meat and the Jewish kitchen holds it in very high esteem. A kosher butcher – or shochet – is required to be of the highest moral standing and of great learning, trained with exacting skills so that the animal does not suffer. Traditionally, in Eastern Europe, because meat was very expensive, many dishes bulked out the meat with other ingredients: meatballs are a great example. Dishes such as cholent, hamim, dafina, and all of the other long-braised dishes of beans, grains and meats were often served at special occasions such as Shabbat and festivals. They were warm and hearty and stretched a small amount of meat a long way.