Don't like my chulent, what am I doing wrong?

mochacoffee

Fri, Aug 16 2019, 3:51 pm

ra_mom wrote:

Skip this for this week and concentrate on seasoning. If you didn't add your meat yet, put in all ingredients besides for meat. Season very very well with salt, paprika, garlic and onion. Then TASTE the liquid on a spoon. Keep seasoning until liquid is very tasty, just a bit salty.
Then add the meat.
You can't go wrong.

That's what I did. I tried one version this week and figured I'd update here after shabbos. I wanted to try the kishka this week in silver foil and maybe next week in the actual chulent.

ra_mom

Fri, Aug 16 2019, 7:23 pm

lovemytwins wrote:

That's what I did. I tried one version this week and figured I'd update here after shabbos. I wanted to try the kishka this week in silver foil and maybe next week in the actual chulent.

Enjoy & good Shabbos!

mochacoffee

Sat, Aug 17 2019, 10:40 pm

Ok, I'm on a mission now to find a chulent we like. I'm going to be measuring to make sure I get consistency. This is what I did this week.

1 package Flanken - very fatty, no bones (we don't like bones in the chulent)
4 Potatoes
1 Sautéed onion
1 ½ tablespoons salt
1 ½ tablespoons onion powder
1 ½ tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1/2-3/4 bag beans
1/2 bag barley
water to cover an inch above ingredients

It definitely tasted better than my old chulent, but still tasted like something was missing. The sauteed onions added a lot of flavor, which was great, it just tasted like I forgot to put something in. As DH put it, "it's.... interesting...we're getting there."
Now I need to figure out how to tweak it for next week.

On a different note, I made Shanie5's kishka recipe and put it in silver foil in the chulent. It was fantastic!

Last edited by mochacoffee on Sat, Aug 17 2019, 10:55 pm; edited 1 time in total

srbmom

Sat, Aug 17 2019, 10:48 pm

These are the spices I put in each week:
2 frozen garlic cubes
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp onion soup mix
2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
1/2 tbsp seasoned salt
And a few dashes of hot sauce
(No ketchup, no other sauces)

srbmom

Sat, Aug 17 2019, 10:56 pm

Quote:

How much beans and barley? How much water?

The spices I posted are for about a cup of barley, 1/3 cup of beans. I use one large red potato cut up (don't peel it). Cover with water about an inch higher than the contents of the crockpot. I make my cholent and put it
on low less than a half hour before shabbos.
This is for 2 adults and 3 kids.
When I have guests I usually double everything

losingweight

Sun, Aug 18 2019, 1:57 am

lovemytwins, if you have the sauteed onions, skip the onion powder.
I put sauteed onions, salt, black pepper and a clove of garlic to great northern beans and flanken. That's all. And the chulent is super delicious. Also I find that a full pot tastes best so make sure you're using the right size and not too big.

groovy1224

Sun, Aug 18 2019, 2:59 am

lovemytwins wrote:

That sounds like a lot of potatoes in proportion to the beans/barley. Also I find the that I get the best consistency when I do mainly barley with a bit of beans. (1/4 to 1/3 cup beans for every 3/4 cup barley) I'd do just one, maybe 2 potatoes, diced small.

Maybe also try swapping out the ketchup for something with a stronger sweet flavor, like a BBQ sauce.

amother1223

Sun, Aug 18 2019, 4:52 am

For those of you who don’t want to clean the crock pot- do you use the plastic liners? I use them but I’m trying to minimize cooking with plastic as much as possible. Anyone have any suggestions on what else to use if I don’t want to soak and scrub the crock pot?

33055

Sun, Aug 18 2019, 6:51 am

People love my chulent. I am told often that it is the best chulent they ever had. I use real onions and real garlic. I skip ketchup, duck ssuce, and onion soup mix.

I saute the seasoned meat first. I use cheek meat and beef cubes or cheek meat and finger meat. I remove the meat. Then I saute the garlic in the juices, add onions and saute. I keep adding a little water to keep the mixture from drying out as I add my spices. The texture is muddy.

I then add barley and extremely well washed partially cooked beans. Add the meat back in. Place marrow bones in the bottom of the crockpot, add in the mixture, water goes into the cooking pan first to transfer the delicious flavors. Add eggs and kishka.

My spices are cumin, turmeric, hawaij, essence, salt substitute. I add a tablespoon sugar and a tablespoon lemon juice.

Cooking the spices and sauteing the meat, onions, and garlic brings up the flavor. The flavor keeps developing in your mouth as eaten.

I started with a Hungarian recipe, added Cajun, Yeminte, Peruvian influences. The lemon and sugar are from Chinese recipes.

Shuly

Sun, Aug 18 2019, 9:02 am

amother1223 wrote:

For those of you who don’t want to clean the crock pot- do you use the plastic liners? I use them but I’m truing to minimize cooking with plastic as much as possible. Anyone have any suggestions on what else to use if I don’t want to soak and scrub the crock pot?

Line the pot with parchment paper.

lora

Sun, Aug 18 2019, 9:36 am

my tip: saute everything. first onions then add in the Flanken and marrow bones and saute some more, add in the barley and beans then in a cup mix oil with salt pepper minced fresh garlic and ketchup and add that to the sauteing ingredient. meanwhile cook up how water and add it in once its boiling. another thing measure your salt and if its not perfect up or down it the next week till it is perfect. I also add in kishka and potato kugel later on friday both wrapped in parchment paper. and sometimes turkey necks that I would throw out from the chicken soup. but those dont effect the flavor really it just makes the kugels and turkey taste gourmet

rakcna

Sun, Aug 18 2019, 12:09 pm

I am one of the few people I know who have a cholent that comes out the same every week. Here is my recipe:

1/2 C barley
1/2 C beans
1 large potato diced
1 onion diced
1 beer (lager not ale)
2 T decaf instant coffee
4 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp harissa
1 T soy sauce
2 T barbecue sauce
1 T olive oil
1 tsp hot sauce
1-1.5 Lb of beef (kalichel or stew meat)
1 egg per person

I put 2 cups of water in the crockpot, then the crockpot bag. I put in all of the ingredients except the beef early in the day. I add about 1 cup of water, leave it on high for a few hours. Then I switch it to low. I add the beef right before I light candles (based on our minhag).

mochacoffee

Sun, Aug 18 2019, 9:56 pm

We don't like anything really spicy, I see many people mentioned things that will make the chulent spicy which won't go over well in my house.

It was just the flavor that's off, consistency of the chulent was good.

From what I'm reading here, many people said smoked paprika instead of regular. Anyone know the difference taste wise? I think I'll try swapping the regular for smoked next time and maybe add a table spoon of honey or bbq sauce like others mentioned. Maybe a spoonful of onion soup mix also.

We're looking for kiddish type of chulent. Good, hearty, chulent that's not spicy but you can taste all the delicious flavors.