Halacha Date: 25 Sivan 5783 June 14 2023
Liver Sold Nowadays
Both chicken and beef liver sold in stores nowadays has not yet been koshered, for salting is an insufficient method of koshering for liver and it may only be roasted or grilled. Even if the liver is torn in half, salting will still be insufficient, for the liver is completely saturated with blood and contains in it sealed tubes filled with blood and it may only be koshered and prepared in the following manner:
Method of Koshering Liver
Before grilling the liver on an open flame, the liver must be cut along its length and width (the cuts must be deep enough so that the tubes are torn open) along the entire length and width of the liver (i.e. it must be cut vertically and horizontally). It is customary to salt the liver lightly (nevertheless, if no salt was placed on the liver at all, this does not forbid its consumption), after which the liver is grilled with the vertical and horizontal cuts facing downward (towards the fire). In this way, the blood flows out of the liver and it is then permitted for consumption.
Liver Served in Restaurants and Wedding Halls
Sometimes, grilled liver is served in restaurants or wedding halls without it having been cut vertically and horizontally, for they wish to keep the aesthetic appearance of the liver (in addition, they also cook or fry the liver without it having been cut which causes a more complex halachic issue). This is a great problem and must be addressed (one should not be astounded how such a thing can happen if the restaurant or hall is under Kashrut supervision, for many issues arise regarding liver and heart served in these places, as we have pointed out in the name of Hagaon Harav Shalom Messas zt”l in the previous Halacha).
The Duration of the Grilling and Washing the Liver
One must continue to grill the liver until it is edible and it is then permissible for consumption. Even if it appears that blood is still flowing out of the liver, this does not pose an issue, for such blood is not forbidden for consumption after the liver has already been grilled to a point where it is edible. Additionally, it is not necessary to wash off the blood on the liver’s surface after it has been grilled; nevertheless, the Ashkenazi custom is to act stringently and wash off the blood on the surface after it has been grilled. If this was not done, however, it does not pose an issue.
In the next Halacha, we shall discuss whether or not it is permissible to cook or warm up liver after it has been grilled.
