The notes say the Babylonians ate raw meat without removing the blood via salting. The Rambam holds it must be salted. Can we eat raw meat without salting it? What is the explanation regarding the ruling either way?
Barry Epstein, Dallas, TX
The allowance to eat unsalted meat depends on whether blood that is absorbed in the meat and has not moved is prohibited. Cooking moves the blood, so if it is cooked it is prohibited in any event if it was not salted.
D. Zupnik
People eat steak tartar, which is raw steak. Can one eat it without the blood being removed via salting (as the Babylonians did)?
The Rambam (Hilchos Ma'achalos Asuros 6:12) prohibits raw meat without salting. The Ra'avad permits it, as do most of the Rishonim. The Shulchan Aruch rules like the Ra'avad.
D. Zupnik