Cholent

Lita Lotzkar – via Alex (Lawson) Rosenstein

In this cholent recipe, you use 2 Tablespoons of honey in with your
beans – this would give it a sweeter taste -you can either add more garlic and
pepper or decrease the amount of honey if that is the way your family likes
their cholent.. All recipes are “to your taste”
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Here is a cholent recipe that I got from a friend over the phone
which was given in terms of “a nice chunk of this” and “a little
of that”) which I subsequently derived quantities for. Cholent with Beans
and Potatoes

1 T. oil
1 large onion, cut into 1″ cubes
1 lb. beef (I’ve used brisket and London broil), cut into 1″ cubes
6 medium potatoes, pared and halved
1/2 c. pink beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
1/2 c. barley
1 (16 oz.) can vegetarian beans
1/2 c. ketchup
1 t. seasoned salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
2 T. honey
2 t. onion soup mix (I use Osem)
Hot water
pepper to taste

This recipe should be made in a 4-quart crockpot. Scale down the
quantity if yours is smaller or don’t add so much water if yours is
bigger. You should start cooking 3 hours before Shabbos begins.
Put the oil in the bottom of your crockpot and coat the bottom and a
bit of the side (about 2″). This will help keep stuff from sticking
on the bottom too badly. Heat some more oil in a large pan
and saute the onion over medium heat until just starting to turn
translucent. Add the beef and cook just until browned on the outside. (Your
kitchen should smell terrific at this point ). Put the onion and
beef into the crockpot and level it out somewhat. Add the
potatoes, pink beans, and barley. Pour the can of vegetarian beans over the
contents of the crockpot, moving things around a little to get the
sauce to reach the lower layers. In the now empty can, mix the ketchup, salt
garlic powder, honey, and soup mix. Fill up the remainder of the can with hot
water and stir until the consistency is even. Pour into the crockpot, again
moving things around. Add hot water to the crockpot to 1/2″ from the rim.
Cook at HIGH until just before candle- lighting. Check to see that the cholent
has not gotten too dry. (This part is a little tricky. Too much water means
you’ll get cholent soup. Too little water gets you a very sparse Shabbos
lunch. Just enough water means you’ll have a great Shabbos nap.) I usually end
up adding about 1/4 cup of water or enough to bring it back up to 1/2″ from
the rim. Lower the setting to LOW. (Very important — Otherwise, the cholent
will probably burn.)

You can check the cholent again in the morning before you leave for
shul. More hot water can be added, but you should not stir it
(constitutes work). It should be ready for consumption when
you get back. If, on the other hand, it looks a little thin, allow the
cholent to sit a little before serving. It will thicken as it cools.