How can we let this man's question go unanswered, especially with the Hacksaw Jim Duggan reference? I'll provide a general response, but I urge others to correct me if I am wrong, as I'd hate to spread wrong information. Halal meat simply explains how the meat is slaughtered or prepared. It is similar in concept to kosher meat. I don't know all of the subtleties to the preparation to halal meat; but I believe the important things are that there is a prayer said while the animal is being slaughtered, and all of the blood is drained first. That means beef or chicken can be halal (pork is not allowed at all). So, going back to your question, Mediterranean food does not necessarily have to be halal. Many Mediterranean places offer halal meat, probably due to the demographics of their clientele, but they are not one in the same. I'm not sure if that helped at all. I am hoping that by explaining what halal meat is, might help conceptualize that halal meat can be any type of food (i.e. halal burgers, halal pizza, or halal chicken wings), so a Mediterranean restaurant does not have to offer halal beef or chicken (although many do). In any case, thank you for the Hacksaw Jim Duggan reference.
This is pretty much correct. You hang the live animal up by its back legs and slit it's throat. This is also the historically preferred Hill Country rancher method of slaughtering sheep, goats and pigs. Here's a handy rundown of the rules: Any Moslem having reached puberty is allowed to slaughter after saying the name of Allah and facing Makkah (Mecca). The animal should not be thirsty at slaughter time. The knife must be sharp, to minimize the time and hence save the animal pain associated with the slaughtering process. The knife must not be sharpened in front of the animal because it may cause undue stress to that animal. The slaughter is to be done by cutting the throat of the animal or by piercing the hollow of the throat, causing the quickest death with the least amount of pain. The name of Allah has to be mentioned before or during slaughtering, since the Creator is the granter and taker of life; the name must be said by a member of the Moslem faith. Meat slaughtered by people of the Jewish or Christian faith (People of the Book) may also be eaten. The blood must be completely drawn from the carcass. http://meat.tamu.edu/ansc-307-honors/kosher-halal/
This is a good demonstration of Halal Slaughter. It's awesome how the goat submits and becomes at peace when laid down and God's name is spoken. Note: This actually was filmed in Houston. Mercy Slaughter is a Halal Farm I believe in the Katy area. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/XHC9liKYdYMhttp://youtu.be/XHC9liKYdYM?t=1m38s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Oops. I was trying to forward to the beginning of the video. Skip to 1:38. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/XHC9liKYdYM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
2 years ago ElPigto and I were in NY at the same time, met up in Manhattan and tried Halal Guys because of this video <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/y_cjTjBsysc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I loved it, still prefer it than Jones Chicken here, it's probably because I tried Halal Guys first, which their white sauce is crack....
Muslims cheat other Muslims. They say it is halal when it is non-zabihah. Halal can technically mean it simply isn't pork, or any other prohibited meat. I've come to realize that a lot of Sunni people don't believe that it has be to zabihah meat to be okay. This all came out when a customer noticed that a popular halal joint called M&M Grill was using Oscar Meyer turkey bacon. They only admitted to this item being non-zabihah bc they got caught red-handed. It confused the hell out of me. If you can eat any meat, why the hell would you drive all the way out to the med center for a freakin burger?
You're absolutely right. The way I always viewed it was: Halal = No Pig, No blood in the meat. Animal slaughter questionable. But ignorance is bliss in that case. No need to overly prod about the origins. Just eat! Zabihah = SUPER DEE DUPER strict Halal. Strictly slaughtered in Gods name or I aint eating that crap. Some Muslims are sooo strict when it comes to eating Halal only or Zabihah only, you'd think its the primary principle of the religion. The Qur'an says that eat meat that has been slaughtered in God's name BUT it also says that the meat of those slaughtered by Jews and Christians is alright for you to eat as well. It's debated to death and I feel it's just nitpicky. If someone slaughtered a pig in God's name Zabihah-style , A Muslim still couldn't eat that crap because it's a pig! Everything that isn't a carnivore or swine is essentially Halal. If a Jew or Christian slaughtered it, same thing. You can have it and just stop sweating the small stuff. It's just a muddy situation that gets amplified unnecessarily and shouldn't be that big of a dang deal.
Tuesday night, brunch at Jones Halal Chicken. What do we have here? Exhibit A: Spoiler Like most fast food, you gotta contain the aroma and spices, sealed in a plastic container otherwise, my cannibalistic nature will devour it whole, it's a jungle out there baby!!! Exhibit B: Spoiler Mix/mix/mix/mash/mash/mash!!!!! lettuce/tomatoes, oh my!!!! The spices are kicking my senses are snapping-ly sharp, I'm diving in head first, hope I don't drown in gluttony!!! Oh neat, roommate decides to leave a leftover rib from Costco, not a problem. I'll take it from here. So I got pork and chicken, what a sin/sin/sin!!! SHHHHHHHSHHHH, don't tell my rabbi!!! Spoiler Final Grade: for your soul: C- Munchies for cure: A+ road trip time: 20 mins= C+ Presentation: C+
A thing of beauty it is! I've been craving me a lamb over rice plate but I'm on a diet for a weight loss challenge my company's having. Dammit!