What's your BEST Cholent recipe?

JewishMommyNYC

Wed, May 14 2014, 7:04 pm

Hello-

I just bought my first crockpot and I want to make cholent for the first time. I really need a descriptive recipe that tells me exactly how to prepare everything because I have no clue.

I'm not sure if I have to the soak beans first?

What type of potatoes do I use?

What setting do I leave the crockpot on?

How much of everything do I need like cups of beans, ounces of meat, how many potatoes?

How long do I cook it for?

Do I mix it while it's cooking or do I just leave it until the required time is up?

I would prefer a meat recipe but if you want to share an amazing chicken recipe I would be happy to try that as well.

Thank you!!

tweety1

Wed, May 14 2014, 7:12 pm

I sautee 1 onion, 3 cubes garlic, 1 tomato, and package chulent meat. I sautee it in the crockpot on high for 2-3 hrs.
Then I add, 2 tablespoons chicken soup mix, 1/4-1/2 cup barley, beans that were either cooked for 45 min or soaked over night. I use chulent mix beans. I add abt 4 sm idaho potatoes and salt. Add water to cover nicely. Sometimes when my kids drive me crazy I add 3 franks sliced in thin circles. I then let it cook till serving.

mummiedearest

Wed, May 14 2014, 7:19 pm

ok, I don't do measurements for cholent. it depends on the preferences of your family. do they like potatoes? one potato per family member should be more than enough. for my family of four (there are five in my family, but I don't eat cholent), I use two potatoes. one onion, a few garlic cloves. beans and barley: about a third of a bag of each. this depends on the size of your crockpot and how much people like the ingredients. I use meat. the amount you put in depends solely on how much you expect to be eaten. a small amount goes a long way in terms of flavor. I've even used pan drippings and gotten the same meat flavor. as for extra flavoring, I add salt, paprika, whatever herb I feel like using, and a generous dose of black pepper. sometimes I use different types of pepper. depends on my mood. I also throw in random spices at times. whatever sounds good.

other commonly used additives:
ketchup
honey
bbq sauce
coke
any other kind of sauce you want to use up.

I've also added coffee, mustard, wheat germ, lentils, buckwheat, rice, quinoa, tomato paste/sauce, and probably some other odds and ends.

add water to your crock pot. you'll get a sense of how much to add as you get used to your crock pot. how much you add depends very much on the size and shape of your pot. fill it as much as you can, just leave about an inch empty on top. I keep it on low from friday morning until shabbos lunch. you can keep it on high for friday and switch it right before shabbos.

oh, soaking the beans is a good idea. not an absolute must, but definitely smart.

one tip: spray the crock pot with pam or some such before filling. it might help with the clean up.

oh, and one other thing: ask a rav about when you should cook it on friday. there are halachos about this. if the food takes a long time to cook and is not cooked a certain percentage (2/3?) by shabbos, there is a concern that you might adjust the flame to change the cooking time. so you should either put it up early or add a piece of raw meat right before shabbos, iirc. don't take my info as a psak, just letting you know that there's what to discuss.

enjoy! let us know how your cholent is.

Lady Bug

Wed, May 14 2014, 7:46 pm

I cook my chulent on the flame first before putting it in the crock pot. I just have some weird aversion to slow cooked meat. So for a family of 4, I saute 1 large onion, 4 garlic cloves, and half a pack of meat until browned. I add 1/2 pack of chulent beans that were soaked overnight, 4 potatoes (leave them whole of you don't want them to fall apart and disappear), a ton of paprika, 1 Tbsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper and any other interesting spices that I am in the mood of (schwarma spice, duck sauce, soy sauce, tomato sauce, chili powder). Cover with water, cook on low flame for two hours, stir occasionally, then I transfer to crock pot, add 1/2 cup barley and water to the top, and cook on low till eaten. I also sometimes add franks or eggs in the shell. The reason I add the barley later is because I find that the beans stick to the bottom of the pot after I add the barley. Good luck and the trick is to figure out your own best recipe.

debsey

Wed, May 14 2014, 10:05 pm

1) I have a crockpot but we like chulent on the blech, so no setting advice.
2) even if you use a crockpot, I suggest boiling it on the oven first and then transferring to the crockpot warmer after. It's yummier that way because it gets hotter faster.
3) Recipe (serves a family of 9, many of whom are pre-teen boys, so we eat a lot of chulent)
1 onion, peeled and left whole
1 marrow bone
2 cups mixed beans (I make my own mix from red kidney beans, chickpeas, white northern beans, speckled beans or cranberry beans, soybeans if I happen to have them) Mostly kidney beans, we like them best
1.25 cups barley
1 can Heinz baked beans.
1 package bone-in flanken, cut into cubes.
anywhere from 6-15 potatoes, depending on kids' mood for potatoes. I tell them they can have as many potatoes in the chulent as they'd like to peel and dice.

Rinse onion, throw into pot.
Rinse marrow bone, throw into pot.
Cut potatoes into quarters. Throw into bottom of pot.
Rinse beans WELL. Throw into pot.
Rinse barley WELL. Throw into pot.
dump can baked beans in (I got tired of writing words "throw into pot")
dump cubed flanken in.

Seasoning: BIG squirt ketchup. 6 frozen garlic cubes. BIG handful kosher salt. garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder to taste. Tiny squeeze maple syrup.

Cover with water.
Bring to a boil.
Cook low and slow till shabbos or until your kids can't wait anymore.

That's our chulent. SOunds odd, tastes delicious.

Debs