It is permitted to eat any part of a properly slaughtered animal or bird except for blood, CHELEV, and the sciatic nerve (see Ch.2), and except that when a pregnant animal is slaughtered the fetus is permitted only if it resembles a hoofed animal and is not Siamese twins (13:5-6). If part of a fetus came out (even momentarily) before the mother was slaughtered, the mother’s slaughter is not effective for that part (14:2-3), but it is effective for the parts that remain inside provided the head or the majority of the body has not yet come out (14:1,3-4,6). A viable fetus must itself be slaughtered (rabbinically; 13:2,4) after it comes out (14:6) even if its mother was properly slaughtered before it came out (see also 13:4;14:5).

A BEHEMAH and its child must not be slaughtered on the same day, where a “day” is defined as from evening to evening; if they were, the one slaughtered second should not be eaten until the next day (16:1-4,7-10). On cases of doubt see 16:5-6,11.

After a bird or CHAYAH (80:1-2,5-6) has been properly slaughtered some of its life’s blood should be covered below and above with dirt, defined as a substance in which plants can grow or which is called “dirt” by the Torah (28:1,3-5,7,9-15,17-20,23-24). A person should not slaughter if no dirt is available (28:21), but the slaughtering is valid even if there is no blood or the blood is not covered (28:1,22). It is preferable that the covering be done by the person who did the slaughtering (28:8); he first recites the blessing “…Who commanded us about covering blood with dirt” (28:2).

After a BEHEMAH has been properly slaughtered its lower right foreleg, lower jaw and tongue, and stomach should be set aside (61:1-6,17-18) and given (see 61:11,14,32) to male or female KOHANIM (61:8-9) who should preferably be pious (61:7) and should each be given an entire part. If this was not done their value should be set aside and given to KOHANIM afterwards (61:10,15). The KOHANIM may do whatever they wish with the parts (61:12-13) and anyone may eat them with their permission (61:31). It is customary to set the parts aside only in the land of Israel (61:21). They need not be set aside if the slaughtering was done for a KOHEN or Levite or for a non-Jew (61:22-30,33).

Shulchan Aruch, Copyright (c) 1999 Project Genesis, Inc.