How do you make cholent in a crock pot?

LiLIsraeli

Wed, May 18 2011, 1:32 pm

This might sound funny, but I have always cooked my cholent in a pot, then transferred the pot to a hot plate for Shabbos.

I saute onions first, add meat and potatoes, and beans and water and spices.

How do I make cholent in a crock pot? Do I saute onions first? Will it taste good if I don't saute onions? How do you do it?

RachelEve14

Wed, May 18 2011, 1:36 pm

I saute the onions in the crock pot. I start them early on high, it takes a couple of hours. You can saute them in a pot first, but I like doing it right in the crock because then all the flavor is there. Just watch about putting it on high if you are not watching it because they can burn.

After I do the onions, add the meat, potatoes, beans, water etc. I leave it on high until boiling, and then put it on low until served on Shabbot.

suzyq

Wed, May 18 2011, 1:42 pm

I don't saute the onions first. I just throw everything in the crockpot, cover it with water, stir it up a little, and set the crock pot to high. It's no maintenance cholent.

obagys

Wed, May 18 2011, 1:46 pm

I don't saute onions at all. I just add all the ingredients, cover with water, mix, and set on high until shabbos. Then I put it on low and that's it.

ra_mom

Wed, May 18 2011, 1:53 pm

suzyq wrote:

I don't saute the onions first. I just throw everything in the crockpot, cover it with water, stir it up a little, and set the crock pot to high. It's no maintenance cholent.

Same here.
(Except I just set it on low. And use a crockpot liner (follow pkg instructions) for easy clean up.)
Comes out much better this way in the crockpot.
(I only saute the onions first when I make the cholent stovetop.)

suzyq

Wed, May 18 2011, 1:55 pm

ra_mom wrote:

suzyq wrote:

I don't saute the onions first. I just throw everything in the crockpot, cover it with water, stir it up a little, and set the crock pot to high. It's no maintenance cholent.

Oops. I wasn't paying attention. I also set it on low. Sorry!

AlwaysGrateful

Wed, May 18 2011, 3:07 pm

I do this also. Except I don't mix it. Just dump it in, turn it on, forget about it.

I do the high-low thing too, so that it gets cooked enough before Shabbos comes in. (It could be it's fine otherwise, but since I never knew, this is how we've always done it.)

flowerpower

Wed, May 18 2011, 3:10 pm

I put in the beans, oinions, garlic, meat, spices... and put on high with water, before shabbos I make it on low. It comes out very good. Secret is the bones and meat that gives a good taste.

Mrs Bissli

Wed, May 18 2011, 8:44 pm

I sautee (LOTS of) onions in the crock pot but on a regular hob. My crock pot has a ceramic casserole/pot that can go on a hob. Once I sautee onions and spices, I move the pot to the metal base (where the heating element and swich are), add other ingredients (wheat, beans) cook for a few hours on high, turn to low right before shabbat.

Sauteeing onions adds one process but it really makes difference, IMHO.

Soul on fire

Thu, May 19 2011, 3:23 pm

it depends on how lazy I am feeling...sometimes I dump it all in, sometimes I saute the onions and garlic, sometimes I even brown the meat a little first. they all turn out tasty.

Grandmama

Thu, May 19 2011, 3:41 pm

No onions, just brown the meat, add potatoes spices and water. Soak for 24 hours or cook up the beans first. Use quality meat like cheek meat that tastes buttery and soft.

OOTBubby

Thu, May 19 2011, 4:11 pm

Isramom8 wrote:

The biggest taste difference is in adding kishka.

I agree completely. It took me over 30 years to figure that out and since then my cholent has gone from mediocre to great.

LiLIsraeli

Fri, May 20 2011, 4:13 pm

Does everybody use crock pot liners? Don't they get burned from the heat?

When using a crock pot, does it matter in what order I add the ingredients, or can I just dump everything in?

I'm not sure I want to make another pot dirty by sauteing onions and browning the meat.

Grandmama

Fri, May 20 2011, 4:19 pm

Those plastic liners can and do occasionally rip, and the ceramic crock pot is very easy to wash.
Ideally the food should be cooked before putting it into the crock pot. Also different crock pots have different temperatures, some overcook, and some undercook.
It can be perfected with practice, and everyone likes something else.
When meat is browned, the cholent is tastier, and not so heavy. Less heartburn. Same goes for precooking the beans. I realized this after having a hard time resting peacefully Shabbos afternoon.
So kishke, onions, and spices are unnecessary for my tastes, you have to experiment and see what works for you and your family.

ra_mom

Fri, May 20 2011, 4:22 pm

LiLIsraeli wrote:

The liners are designed to withstand the heat of the crockpot.
You need to follow directions on the package exactly though. They need a specific amount of water under them, so that they don't burn or melt. (I like the way the cholent cooks in the thinner liners, not the heavier ones.)

There's no specific order you need to use in the crock. I just throw it all in. It might take you time to figure out how much water you need for your specific crockpot.

Do (hot) soak the beans first though. But probably already when you make cholent stove top.

LiLIsraeli

Fri, May 20 2011, 4:37 pm

Thanks, ra_mom!

And if I don't use a liner, I can just throw everything straight in?

Halachically, I can't add water to the crock pot on Shabbos, right? Even if I think it needs more? DH lets me do it with the pot, as long as its straight from the percolator.

ra_mom

Fri, May 20 2011, 4:46 pm

LiLIsraeli wrote:

Yes, you can throw everything straight in. (Barley should not be first thing placed on bottom though.)

I'm not sure about adding water to the crockpot on Shabbos. I was under the impression that straight from the percolator was okay. But I just don't know.

(FYI, there is a shita that one should create a blech between the heat source and the actual crock. We place a piece of foil (not the heavy kind) into the pot, before inserting the crock on top.)

Once you figure out how much water your cholent / crockpot needs, it's a sure thing. Not like cholent on the stovetop, which might need more water, depending on where on the blech (how close to the flame) the cholent is sitting.