Does Halal meat taste different?

Blisterman

Maybe it's just my imagination, but I feel that chicken from Halal restaurants tastes very different to non Halal meat.

I mentioned it to a friend of mine, and he said that because the animal's die slowly, that adrenaline's released into the bloodstream, and effects the taste of the meat.

Is this true? Sounds like a bit of an old wive's tale. Has anyone ever done a blind taste?

Sonic_exyouth

Blisterman wrote: »

Maybe it's just my imagination, but I feel that chicken from Halal restaurants tastes very different to non Halal meat.

I mentioned it to a friend of mine, and he said that because the animal's die slowly, that adrenaline's released into the bloodstream, and effects the taste of the meat.

Is this true? Sounds like a bit of an old wive's tale. Has anyone ever done a blind taste?

Err... No!

Halal and Non-Halal chickens (unlike cows and sheep) are not killed particularly differently.. you cut it's little head off with a very sharp knife or guillotine.

Most Irish halal chicken is also free-range, it's hard to get non-free range halal chicken that is Irish bred. That could be it.

The only difference I've ever noticed, though, is the spices the Arabs and pakistanis put on the chicken in the halal fast food places .. and that I like!

Blisterman

Well, I live in the UK, so I don't know if it's free range here. (I doubt it, it's pretty much the same price as non free range chicken.)

c - 13

Nah, no taste difference IMHO, living in a predominantly muslim country for the last year and almost all the meat here is halal, it would be rare to find non halal stuff.

Most of the places that cook the meats may use different oils, spices etc so that might be why it tastes different, I find the same with restaurants but it always tastes the same when i cook it myself.

Monkey61

In Ireland and the UK anyway there is a masive taste difference between halal and normal chicken. I always found halal completely vile - an entirely different texture - more spongy or something.

It's probably something to do with the quality of the meat though as opposed to the prayer tape playing in the background...

Sonic_exyouth

Monkey61 wrote: »

In Ireland and the UK anyway there is a masive taste difference between halal and normal chicken. I always found halal completely vile - an entirely different texture - more spongy or something.

It's probably something to do with the quality of the meat though as opposed to the prayer tape playing in the background...

I've eaten a fair share of chicken thats halal.
No difference.

Where-ever you got your vile chicken from, don't go back.

Lovely halal chicken kebabs, if you like that sort of thing, can be found in Sultans on Georges street.

Sonic_exyouth

Blisterman wrote: »

Well, I live in the UK, so I don't know if it's free range here. (I doubt it, it's pretty much the same price as non free range chicken.)

IN the UK it's mostly not.

Most Irish halal chicken (HFC, AHFC, Chicken Cottage, etc) shops get their chicken from the UK, rather than the limited Irish produce. Its the restaurants and shops that get the Irish stuff.

Minder

Is halal meat hung the same way that non halal is - or is it butchered soon after killing? That could affect the taste?

foodiefanatic

Did a bit of research on this before and Halal meat and non-halal meat is the same. If it tastes differently, it is the quality.

When it comes to chicken I know that all chickens in Denmark, where I come from, are slaugtered the halal way so that the meat can be exported to muslim countries. It probably also makes it easier when selling the meat to shops around the country so that they don't need to keep track on what meat is halal and what is not when selling to muslim shops or restaurants.

When it comes to a cow for instance the only difference is the way they 'knock out' the cow prior to the slaughtering. The heart is still beating when doing it halal which actually means it is easier to drain the blood.

Minder

Minder wrote: »

Is halal meat hung the same way that non halal is - or is it butchered soon after killing? That could affect the taste?

I don't think so. One of the factories I worked in did halal meat.

The only difference was there was a muslim chap who would slit the cows neck with a big knife while saying a prayer instead of using the stunning gun.

The meat went through the same process after that. Halal just means it was killed in accordance with Islamic rules.

NickNolte

There's not really a huge difference between Halal chicken and non-Halal chicken although the quality of chicken meat (both Halal and non-Halal) varies greatly anyway!

Red Halal meat is comparitively flavourless though.

vard

No - It's just killed the way dem crazy muslims like it. The spiritual humane way, is it?

Slice their throats and let their guts fall out their head. Yum.

Sonic_exyouth

vard wrote: »

No - It's just killed the way dem crazy muslims like it. The spiritual humane way, is it?

Slice their throats and let their guts fall out their head. Yum.

err.. it's in the bible too.. and is pretty much the way we did it in Ireland til the 1930s, when we bagan instead blowing their brains out with a shotgun

Faith

vard wrote: »

No - It's just killed the way dem crazy muslims like it. The spiritual humane way, is it?

Slice their throats and let their guts fall out their head. Yum.

Watch it. Any more posts like that and you'll be getting infractions and/or bans.

vard

Faith wrote: »

Watch it. Any more posts like that and you'll be getting infractions and/or bans.

Don't worry, I wasn't really insinuating that all Muslims are mental - Just some light-hearted banter. Craic. Y'know the way.

biko

Isn't Kosher the same thing as Halal? I mean prepared the same way?

edit: http://meat.tamu.edu/kosher.html

NickNolte

If you're in the Middle East and you're looking for really good ethnic food (be it Indian, Chinese, Thai or Middle Eastern food) then Halal is the way to go. The fact that the red meat is so flavourless, they go all out on spicing the meat up. The best Indian food I've ever had was in Qatar with Saudi coming in a close second. Which is saying a lot considering the quality of Indian grub in Ireland and particularly the UK. Nom nom nom.

Sonic_exyouth

Magnus wrote: »

Isn't Kosher the same thing as Halal? I mean prepared the same way?

edit: http://meat.tamu.edu/kosher.html

Nooooo.. what sort of good catholic are you?!

Muslims invoke Allah and point towards mecca.. Kosherites just kill the thing.

helena47

Halal meat is much healthier that the meat you buy in the butchers and supermarkets, except organic. The animals are fed on only vegetarian feeds. They are given no female growth hormones to fatten them up.It is unlikely a halal cow will have bse.

kraggy

The video below is graphic but tells the truth.

It shows the process involved in producing halal meat including the slaughter of the animals.

Mods, I have warned posters about the severity of the video. I feel it should be allowed to stay where it is. The discussion is about halal meat. Therefore, shouldn't the way it comes to be be considered as part of the discussion?

People should be more informed about the meat they eat, if they want to learn that information.

They don't have to view the video below if they don't want to.

And the halal process is just as relevant to non-Muslims as the international fast food chains and other restaurants are using halal meat in their products as it is cheaper to produce and undergoes less scrutiny when it comes to animal welfare.

<snip>

Mr Magnolia

kraggy, this discussion is about the taste of halal meat and that video is not material that I want to see debated in the F&D forum, it may be a topic more suited to humanities.

I've left the rest of your post intact so readers can decide to research the topic further if they wish, but again, it's not a discussion for F&D.

kraggy

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

kraggy, this discussion is about the taste of halal meat and that video is not material that I want to see debated in the F&D forum, it may be a topic more suited to humanities.

I've left the rest of your post intact so readers can decide to research the topic further if they wish, but again, it's not a discussion for F&D.

Ok Magnolia, I respect the fact that you left the rest of my post intact.

I just thought that it was relevant as food, and the consumption thereof, has lasting effects on our bodies, and the world in general.

Thanks for the careful consideration.

the beer revolu

<snip>




Let me make it clear - this forum is not the place to debate the rights & wrongs of food production. Much the same as social impacts of alcoholism are not up for discussion in Beers, Wines & Spirits.

Further discussion of moderator comments on-thread may result in a ban. If you have an issue - PM the forum mods.


HB

wonderfulname

I think its a quality thing, there's not a heavy enough demand in Ireland for true battery production of halal meats and as a result at the lower end of the scale there's better meat.

Pizza inn in dublin is a good example, the cheapest pizza you can find but better meat on it than any delivery pizza around. I haven't noticed a difference on the pricer end.

wonderfulname

helena47 wrote: »

Halal meat is much healthier that the meat you buy in the butchers and supermarkets, except organic. The animals are fed on only vegetarian feeds. They are given no female growth hormones to fatten them up.It is unlikely a halal cow will have bse.

Didn't notice this earlier - That may be true in america but not here - Having grown up on a farm I can tell you that Irish cattle are fed only vegetarian meal since meat and bone meal was made illegal several years ago, all that is given to fatten them is grass and concentrate feed (for those who dont know these contain nothing of animal origin) and Irish beef can not be contaminated with BSE - BSE is a notifiable disease, it is also tested for.

Be sure to check where your facts are applicable to.

jdivision

For those living in the UK - restaurants and takeaways seem to have different standards there - meat past its sell by date can be sold to them afaik, there was a documentary on it a while back. that accounts for some of the taste - it's been bleached.
Halal and non-halal is just a different way of killing the same thing.

loveisdivine

I know this is an old thread. But does anyone know if Zaytoons in Temple Bar uses halal meat?
It has no mention of halal on their website, even in the section that comments on the meat they use.

Im tempted to ring and ask but I have a feeling they may just answer with whatever they think I want to hear.

Dizzyblonde

This thread really is too old - better to start a new one.
Locked.