Cholent -HELP | Imamother

amother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 8:30 pm

sara1232 wrote:

Ye sure I add meat.
Im clearly the minority but I actually don't add onions to my cholent. I don't find it adds much and I don't like the texture of onions in my cholent.

My recipe goes something like this:
1 bag cholent mix with barley
2-3 cubed potatoes
Beef stew
Sometimes I add fatty beef bones for added flavor
Seasoning including: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika (I eyeball these)
Beef bullion as mentioned above.

I dump everything in the crockpot anytime between Friday morning and a min before the zman lol. No sautéing anything. Always tastes delish.
(When I have leftover kugel I add it to the crockpot to cook with the cholent and the kugel tastes amazing shabbos morning)

If I can avoid onions I would!
I’ll have to try this recipe to see if onions are necessary or not.
Excited to try and compare.

amother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 8:33 pm

amother Bergamot wrote:

1/2 bag navy beans
1/3 bag barley
3 marrow bones
One flanken (with bones)
Three frozen onion cubes
Ketchup
Paprika
Dash of garlic powder
2.5 tsp salt (approx.)

Spray craockpot with cooking oil
Put in all ingredients and Cover with water
Leave on high, bubbling for 1 hour, keep on low (2) overnight
Turn down to 1.5 before shabbos (and add water if necessary)

Yum! Enjoy

This seems like a solid heimish recipe.
3 marrow bones. I can already taste that goodness

amother

Kiwi

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 8:36 pm

Sweet potato and lots of paprika.

I just put a small amount of barley and beans and lots of potatoes, onions and sweet potatoes. A big piece of fatty meat (not cut up). Pepper the meat very well.

Chopped onions and barley and beans on the bottom.
Peppered meat.
Potatoes, chopped onions, and sweet potatoes on top.
Season with: garlic powder, onion powder, chicken soup powder, salt and ketchup. Add enough water to cover and cook on low.

amother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 8:36 pm

funkyfrummom wrote:

My secret (not a secret) is that every cholent has to have both an umami flavor and an add-in to make it "special."

Favorite umami-s are beer, ketchup, onion powder, pastrami, or msg powder (don't judge me)

Favorite add-in's (in order of preference) are potato kugel, kishke, and eggs (don't use homemade kugel... this is for the store-bought or any that has been in the freezer a little too long)

Beer?
So interesting to read all these things.
Ketchup of course I’ve heard of, but beer and coke are new ones.

amother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 8:38 pm

funkyfrummom wrote:

PS - combine the beer with kiske that's in a natural casing for amazing cholent... the beer causes the casing to burst... my son swears this is the absolute best version we make

I must must try this one.
For my own sake. Otherwise I’ll dream about it fir sure.

amother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 8:40 pm

amother Kiwi wrote:

I would prob love this one.

Does it taste like a heimish style cholent ?
I’d try it!

amother

Candycane

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 8:48 pm

Here's mine. Also no onions (unless I'm in a particularly gracious mood Wink

).
I use a pot.

Beans - great northern beans. Chulent mix also works but we like that better.
Meat - I like flanken best. If the store is out of it (read- I shopped too late...) then whatever I find that looks fatty enough.
Spices - approximate - 1 Tbs salt, 1 tsp each onion powder, garlic powder, paprika a little more maybe 1.5-2 tsp. Sometimes I add some smoked paprika. I rarely use black pepper you can add if you like.
Occasionally a potato (yukon), or a few cloves garlic chopped large pieces

When I have enough time I sear the meat a bit, then add the rinsed beans and some oil for a minute or two
Usually I just - add water 2-3x as much as beans, add spices and meat - cut in chunks, bring to a boil, then cook on low a few hours. Keep an eye on the water level.
The trick for good Chulent is to cook low and slow. The meat is super soft by shabbos morning.

As you see, I go for easy!

Eta: Kisha makes a heavy chulent. I add that occasionally.

amother

Kiwi

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 8:54 pm

amother OP wrote:

I would prob love this one.

Does it taste like a heimish style cholent ?
I’d try it!

I actually don’t eat meat so I don’t know but it looks and smells delicious and my husband really likes it 😁
Looks like pretty traditional cholent.

(Btw I started putting the sweet potato in because I wanted something a little healthier than Kishka that would add some flavor)

amother

Dodgerblue

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:00 pm

amother OP wrote:

Hmm- adding a wing. I love that idea.
Thank you.

Coke scares me. What happens if my family loves it too much? It’s a possibility!

I only add coke maybe once a year. It is too good! Beer is also a good option.

Another tip- I add a little molasses to my cholent. I'm giving out all my secrets here!

ittsamother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:03 pm

OP, if you hate the smell of sauteed onions, do this- sauté a huge batch of onions, then spoon them (along with the oil they fried in) into dedicated ice cube trays (I got the ones from TJ Maxx that come with a cover) and freeze. Empty the cubes into a ziplock and keep them in your freezer. Every week, take out as many as you need and dump them into your crockpot, then pour in some boiling water to start the defrosting quickly.

This way you don't have to deal with the smell every week! Also saves so much time each Friday- you can jumpstart your cholent.

amother

Taupe

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:07 pm

I don’t like sweet cholent.
This is mine that we devour all Friday and shabbos.
1/2 Bag of cholent beans
Bag of barley
Lots of paprika, garlic powder, salt, black pepper and Hawaj spice. Add kolichel
Water to cover
Cook on high all day. Mid way through add kishka. Then turn low before shabbos.
It’s yum!

ittsamother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:15 pm

This is my tried and true cholent recipe. I follow this formula each week and it never fails- it's perfect every time! I can make a small cholent with 12 tbs each of beans and barley for the two of us, or a large one of 20 tbs each if we have guests, it always works. Here it is:

Sauteed onions
Beans and barley (soaked overnight)
Salt and pepper (1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper per 4 tbs of barley)
Boneless flanken, cheek meat, or whatever cholent meat you like (and I agree that a large solid piece cooks so much nicer than small chunks)
2 or 3 small potatoes, chunked small
Fill the rest of the way with boiling water
(If you want to add kishka or kugel, wrap it in parchment paper and sit it on top.)

Cook on high all day and turn to low right before Shabbos.

That's it! No other seasoning- just salt, pepper, and sauteed onions. Makes the best cholent, you don't have to worry about it not being to picky people's taste, the flavor of the meat shines through... and Friday night it's HEAVEN.

(Also- always use a Reynolds crockpot liner. I stock up when they're on sale on Amazon. Makes the cleanup a breeze. Also, makes it easy to save leftovers- I just transfer the whole liner full of cholent to the fridge (I usually place the bag of cholent into another vegetable bag, just for cleanliness, in case any cholent dripped on the liner as I was dishing it out.)

Last edited by ittsamother on Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:22 pm; edited 1 time in total

pause

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:18 pm

Here's what I do:
The night before, soak beans. I use all white beans, pinto beans, and cranberry beans. This way we avoid the kidney beans that comes in the chulent mix bag. I add long grain brown rice instead of barley at a ratio of an 1/8 of rice to beans.

The next day, saute 1 chopped onion and 4 chopped garlic cloves in light olive oil. Rinse the soaked beans and add them to the pot. Add water to cover, and sprinkle spices generously. I use salt, white pepper, garlic powder, and lots of paprika. Medium to high flame. When the water boils, add the meat and chicken (flanken is best IMO but some of us prefer chicken legs), and lower the flame to a gentle bubble. Sometimes I make it pareve and omit the meat/chicken and it's delicious that way too!

Let it cook about 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally so that the beans don't get stuck to the bottom. If need be, add more water, a little at a time. Cut up a potato into smallish cubes and mix it into the pot. If you do chulent eggs, now is the time to add them raw as well. Cook for another about half hour. Enjoy!

amother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:45 pm

amother Kiwi wrote:

That’s what I was thinking - a lot healthier. But I’m conflicted between healthy and hearty. I know it can be both, but cholent kishka kugel is one giant heart attack.
Don’t worry, we still continue to eat it every week without fail. May we stay healthy always.

amother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:46 pm

amother Dodgerblue wrote:

I only add coke maybe once a year. It is too good! Beer is also a good option.

Another tip- I add a little molasses to my cholent. I'm giving out all my secrets here!

We’re here for the secrets!

I’ve never used molasses. Can I get it at any local shop?

amother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:48 pm

ittsamother wrote:

This is a genius method of storing homemade sautéed onions.
I’d love to hear more of your kitchen tricks. Not necessarily cholent related.

amother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:49 pm

amother Taupe wrote:

I see you also make a barley cholent. I will try this one as well.
I wonder if a barley cholent is better.
Only one way to find out…
Keep you posted!

Thank you for sharing.

amother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:51 pm

ittsamother wrote:

Thank you for the perfect instructions.
I will try this one as well.

Funny that you mentioned crockpot liners. I was/am under the impression that it doesn’t let the cholent cook well. Is that not true?

ittsamother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:53 pm

amother OP wrote:

The only thing I can think of is that the very bottom of the cholent sticks to the bag. Otherwise, it cooks beautifully! Never had an issue.

Only Reynolds tho! I've heard other brands melt or have issues.

amother

Wed, Feb 21 2024, 9:54 pm

pause wrote:

This reminds me of when I went to someone in Monsey for shabbos and she used brown rice instead of barley. And I remember loving her cholent.
This is all done in a pot on the stove, not a crock pot, correct?