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At my local (kosher, Ashkenazi) butcher, one of the cuts of beef they sell is kulkie, or kolichel/kalichl. It's a tough, lean cut with copious connective tissue which is great for stewing. However, I haven't the faintest what it is, which presents a problem if I'm going to a Sephardi, or non-Jewish kosher butcher, who wouldn't likely be familiar with the term.

Which part of the cow is the "kulkie"?

Catija
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NoahM
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3 Answers3

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My understanding of Kosher is limited, but from what little I know it's limited to the front half of the cow, although how that differs between the two branches I couldn't tell you. The picture of the cut you sent looks a lot like beef leg, so it would be foreleg, although it could be from the shoulder/neck area as well.

GdD
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  • You're correct: in the United States, it would likely be the shin meat and referred to as the foreshank, or from the hind leg and called the hindshank. – Giorgio Dec 21 '16 at 22:31
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    Many kosher butchers are now capable of removing the sciatic nerve and fats which make the back half of the animal non-kosher. As such, assuming that all kosher meat comes from the front half is no longer a safe move. – NoahM Dec 22 '16 at 16:05
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It looks a lot like the mock tender: enter image description here

That's the teres major muscle, from the shoulder. In a different butchering, it would be part of the chuck. Despite the tenderloin-esque shape, it's rather tougher and benefits from stewing. (It's sometimes sliced to make steaks, but while the tenderloin yields filet mignons, this is considerably chewier.)

Joshua Engel
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  • Is there another common term for the teres major? – NoahM Dec 21 '16 at 22:35
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    Culinarily, I see it listed as the "chuck tender" or "shoulder tender" and names like that. – Joshua Engel Dec 22 '16 at 15:55
  • Anatomically, it's one of the numerous muscles involved in rotating the shoulder, just below the shoulder cuff. (The teres minor is part of the shoulder cuff.) I don't think it has a common name; there are a LOT of muscles in there. – Joshua Engel Dec 22 '16 at 15:57
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Google searching various ways, this is what I found on Kosher Eye:

Kalichel: this refers to the animal’s leg meat and is usually sold boned. It is always very tender. It’s sometimes cut crosswise with the bone in and is excellent for hearty soups

So, it seems that @GdD is correct that it comes from the front half of the cow and is leg meat.

Cindy
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  • The pieces I had were not very tender, it seemed to follow more along Joshua's definition – NoahM Dec 21 '16 at 22:35
  • I questioned that but, in light of the fact that the source says it excellent for hearty soups, it seems to be suitable for long cooking. Also, from the picture, it looks more like shin meat than shoulder meat. – Cindy Dec 21 '16 at 22:44
  • if it had ever had a bone, I would have mentioned it in the OP. I guess it's possible, but I assume that I would be able to tell if it were boned. – NoahM Dec 21 '16 at 22:46
  • Well, it only says that *sometimes* it has a bone. – Cindy Dec 21 '16 at 22:47
  • Could it be possible that there are two cuts with the same name? – NoahM Dec 21 '16 at 22:48
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    Possible. I'm not an expert on kosher. Just posted what little I was able to find. – Cindy Dec 21 '16 at 23:20
  • Re differences between Jewish communities: Sephardim don't use Yiddish, while many Ashkenazim have at least some familiarity with it. – NoahM Dec 22 '16 at 16:04