Best Shabbos Chulent

Raizy Fried Raizy Fried
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I’ll admit: Although I never follow a recipe, I’m a very good intuitive cook and I make a great-tasting chulent by pouring in a little bit of this and a lot of that…Baruch Hashem! But here’s the “big admit” part: not too long ago, my chulent would burn or dry out every second week… and although it tasted great, it was a disaster. At one point, I got so tired of all the flops, I went on a chulent-cooking strike… At the time, I cooked my chulent in a pot. Why I never got a Crock-Pot is beyond me! I have every machine you can imagine in my kitchen, including an Instant Pot, a Bosch mixer, a Kitchen-Aid mixer, a Vitamix blender, a Breville juicer, a sandwich maker, a panini maker, a waffle maker, a Betty Crocker pizza maker – and the list goes on. Why I only got a Crock-Pot after almost 10 years of marriage is one of those things I’ll never understand… maybe it’s because my mother cooks delicious chulent in a pot? Or because for years, I was successful doing that too? Until I wasn’t…

Anyway, I got a nice Crock-Pot, and that was the end of the struggle! Now we have the most delicious chulent with the perfect consistency every week. If you don’t have a Crock-Pot yet, I suggest that you don’t wait 10 years. Get yourself a Deluxe Slow Cooker lekoved Shabbos Kodesh. I have one made by Magic Mill which is really nice because it’s made out of steel, rather than earthenware, which means I can put it on my stovetop either to sauté the onions or re-warm the food in a jiffy. It’s also got a great nonstick base, comfortable handles, and a flat reversible glass cover, which allows you to turn the cover over and place additional food on top to warm.

Or cook your Chulent in the oven. I cook my cholent in the oven really often- it tastes just as good, and there’s no pot to clean!

Beyond the basic meat and beans, I sometimes add jachnun, kishka, kielbasa (see the add-ons below for ideas), changing it up every week.

Tip: Instead of adding water, I sometimes like to use chicken soup – it adds so much depth of flavor! Sometimes I add pieces of chicken to the chulent as well; it comes out really tasty in there!

Yield: approximately 8 servings

5h 30m 8
Easy Meat

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in an eight-quart Crock-Pot on high heat. Add the diced onions and sauté until soft and golden. (If you have a regular Crock-Pot, sauté the onions in a pan on the stove, then add to the crock when soft and golden.)

  2. Once the onions are sautéed, add the beans and cover with the liquid. Add the garlic, spices, and ketchup and mix well with the beans and meat. If you’re adding in pieces of potatoes, add them now.

  3. Add the meat and barley on top, plus any additional add-ons you would like to add, such as kishka, jachnun or marrow bones. Add water if needed, to make sure everything is covered in water. Cook on high for about five hours.

  4. Before Shabbos, make sure there’s enough water covering the Chulent and then set the Crock-Pot to low.

About

Tips:
To Bake Chulent in the Oven:

In a deep 9×13-inch pan, add a bit of oil and sauté your diced onion on the stove. Yes, you can sauté right in the pan – just be careful not to do it on a high flame, as it can burn quickly. Then add in the beans and the rest of the spices as you usually do. Add the meat. Cover with water, plus a bit extra. Cover the pan tightly and bake at 400 degrees for one hour. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional four to six hours. Check periodically to see if you need more water . Add more water to the pan before rewarming for Shabbos so that it does not dry out overnight.

Notes:
Slow cookers each behave somewhat differently – it may be necessary to adjust cooking times and heat levels to work for your model.

Description:
This recipe was excerpted from Raizy’s book Lekoved Shabbos Kodesh.

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