Sally’s Super Easy Delicious Cholent

The easiest slow cooker cholent to feed your hungry Shabbos guests

Photo taken after shabbos :)

A few years ago my mother-in-law bought us a slow cooker. It sat in the closet with a few other never been used appliances, until we decided to finally give it a go. Once we realized that all the slow cooker recipes (soups, stews and cholent) include dumping all the ingredients in and creating a delicious dish, we never looked back :) My mom’s super easy classic eastern-european cholent recipe has become one of our shabbat family winter favorites.

Ingredients (For 6–8 people)

1 kg meat (people love meat, so even extra meat will be eaten :)
1 cup of dry barley
2 large potatoes cut into 4 chunks
2 cups of soaked overnight beans (we add 1 cup of soaked white+1 cup of soaked red
1 large onion or 2 small

Spices

1 heaping teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic / also fresh chopped garlic is good too.
A little red wine (optional, recommended)

Instructions

1. Layer potatoes in crockpot first ,followed by onions,barley ,beans.
2. Add just enough liquid to almost cover the solid ingredients. The onion and meat exude a lot of liquid so no need to add too much(#matter of taste- some people actually prefer soupier cholent)
3. Add the meat right before shabbos, mostly submerged under liquid. Add some extra spices on the meat.
4. Set crockpot to “low” setting.

Secret tips-

1. Fatty meat- hey that’s what gives the cholent its unique flavor and texture. You’ll want to find the exact cut of meat that has the amount of fat your family loves. (flanken #9 , tzavaar #10 are good fatty cuts or shrir #8 with some added fat)
2. Extra bones- adding marrow bones packs a lot of fat and flavor! The bones will be beneficial only if they still have some meat on them. My mom is a bit grouchy that her mother used to get unlimited marrow bones for free yet now it costs almost as much as meat… :)
3. Avoid meat drying- add right before shabbos, preferably frozen and in one piece. (you can cut into smaller chunks before serving)
4. Avoid stirring- by stirring it can lose some texture and appearance.
5. Alter recipe- do you like more spicing? Less potatoes? More barley? Feel free to make changes to the recipe to arrive at your family’s exact taste.

Shabbat Shalom!