Stovetop cholent

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  • #605795
    yentingyenta
    Participant

    my family decided to try stove top cholent instead of in a crockpot and I (I make the cholent) have some questions about it

    when should the cholent be put up?

    should the beans cook a bit before adding the meat?

    is more water needed and if so how much more?

    how high should the flame be on under the blech?

    any ideas, tips, suggestions are welcome.Thanks and Have a good shabbos!

    #995086
    2scents
    Participant

    Cooking the chulent isn’t really my thing, however we stove cook it, but use a recipe from someone that uses a crockpot, so I dont thin that there should be any difference in the recipe.

    Just a side note, I think that it is best to delay the meat until right before shabbos, that way the chulent has more of a meat taste.

    #995087

    My opinion is why mess with something that is working well. If crock pot chulent comes out yummy and you know the time it needs to cook for as well as measurements and the like, it sounds like too much work to create a new ‘system’,if you will….go with what you know!

    Enjoy and gut shabbos!

    #995088
    Health
    Participant

    Yenta -“my family decided to try stove top cholent instead of in a crockpot and I (I make the cholent) have some questions about it

    when should the cholent be put up?”

    ASAP

    “should the beans cook a bit before adding the meat?”

    The beans should soak overnite in a bowl, but it’s too late for that -so put it all up now. You can start cooking the meat separately in different pots, if you want.

    “is more water needed and if so how much more?”

    Water -right now you can put in a lot. Right before Shabbos make sure the water is about equal to the top of the food.

    “how high should the flame be on under the blech?”

    Cook it on high right now. Right before Shabbos adjust the flame to low – medium – then put on the Blech. The exact height -you’ll have to experiment with.

    For payment -I want some Chulent -if it’s edible. 🙂

    #995089
    yentingyenta
    Participant

    2scents, we tried it last week during the blackout and it I used the same recipe as usual but with more water. by lunch the barley was cooked but not the beans.

    estherhamalka, we tried it last week but it kinda flopped so i’m trying again

    Health, we put it up @ 10 so its bubbling now. and we add water as we need to. 1 marrow bone went in now and a piece of minute steak is going in later. but its cooking and smells good

    but if its edible, there shouldnt be any leftovers 🙂

    #995090
    Imaofthree
    Participant

    because of the power situation I made the choulent on the stove instead of my crock pot.

    #995091
    TORAHPSYCH
    Member

    “Just a side note, I think that it is best to delay the meat until right before shabbos, that way the chulent has more of a meat taste. “

    Careful – we don’t put raw meat up right before shabbos, because it would then be less than “maachal ben Drusoi”. the meat needs to be one third to obne half cooked. Not paskening, but check with your LOR

    #995092
    Nechomah
    Participant

    YY – The reason the barley was cooked but not the beans was because you need to cook a stove top cholent BEFORE Shabbos comes in and then put it on the blech to sort of finish it off and keep it warm. I put up my cholent about 1 1/2 – 2 hours before I light candles and let it come to a good boil and make sure that it’s not burning. Usually I turn down the heat a little, but it’s on a big flame, so it’s still pretty hot. I leave it this way until it’s time to put on the blech. We have one small flame on our stove, so we put the food to be kept hottest on that spot on the blech. We put it on the highest and then the soup goes over that. Once the soup is served, we move the cholent over on top to stay in that spot the rest of the night until it is served (but if I smell that it is burning I will move it over to a less hot spot on the blech to make sure I still have something to serve the next day). Water contents mentioned above are probably accurate. I rarely check my water level but my pot starts out filled to the brim and boils out during the initial cooking process, so I’m not always sure what is left in the pot when the blech goes on. I’m not usually the one putting the blech on so I don’t know how heavy it feels at that point. It does take a little playing around with the heat level, but I’m pretty happy with what I said above. I do have one son who likes his cholent less well done than this, so that the soupy part is only light brown and the potatoes stay white, but I feel like all of the flavors are absorbed more when I do it my way. It turns out a beautiful dark brown and the potatoes melt in the mouth. Ummmm….

    Hope your cholent turned out terrific this week.

    #995093
    uneeq
    Participant

    TORAHPSYCH: Aderaba. If it’s completely uncooked than it’s completely fine. Also known as “Kidra Chayta” as mentioned in S”A.

    #995094
    pokin
    Participant

    We ALWAYS make cholent on the stove top. We first fry some onion and garlic, then put the meat in and let it cook for a few minutes until it browns. Then add the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beans (and barly if you like. ) We like canned beans in tomato sauce, but when we use raw beans, we soak them over night, and sometimes even cook them first too, but they should at least be soaked overnight. We then add some salt, paprika, and garlic powder, add water so it’s just covered, and cook for about an hour or so. I don’t like it cooked too much before we put it up on the blech, but cooked enough so there’s no halachic problem. Yummy!

    #995095
    mobico
    Participant

    We’ve spent years doing both. My wife has two recommendations. One is to brown the onions and meat first – yummy! The other is to first bring to a boil, and then leave on a very very low simmer.

    #995096
    yaakov doe
    Participant

    No reason not to put all ingredients in pot early in the morning and replenish water as needed until Shabbos.

    #995097
    2scents
    Participant

    OK, so how was it?

    #995098
    2scents
    Participant

    TORAHPSYCH,

    Your right, everyone should ask theor LOC, however according to what I remember, putting raw meat right before shabbos is more accetable.

    #995099
    yentingyenta
    Participant

    so it turned out OK. the bottom was a little burned but the rest of it was very good. we left the flame on a drop too high overnight so we moved it off a bit in the morning so the cholent tasted normal.

    I’m going to try it again next week b/c it liked this cholent more than the crock pot even if its more work

    #995101
    Baloochi
    Participant

    My advise, avoid the the beans at all costs – they speak for themselves.

    A little less water, and a little more spices then you would put in your crock pot.

    My Recipe.

    Brown the onions well in plenty oil, add meat and a little salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, mix and brown the meat.

    Fill a Jug with required amount of water add a little more salt, garlic and onion powder, And a load more paprika and a dash of white pepper.

    Pour into pot and add potatoes and mix it all up.

    Once boiling use a spoon to move all the contents around the edges of the pot place barley in the middle and turn down the flame.

    Do not mix after adding barley and nothing will stick to the pot.

    Should it need more ingredients just shake it over the top.

    Keep the lid on.

    Enjoy.

    #995102
    uneeq
    Participant

    MODS???

    Spammer passed right by your eyes.

    Sorry, we’ve been getting a lot spam recently, which is part of the reasons we’ve been posting so slow. We’re working on a solution.

    #995103
    MurphysLaw
    Member

    @ baloochi.

    A bean free cholent! -sounds great!

    Will try it this week. good to hear someone out there that dislikes beans as-well.

    Its a well known fact that they do all sorts…

    But who threw the punch?

    #995104
    Health
    Participant

    Yenta -“so it turned out OK.”

    So where’s my portion?

    #995105
    yentingyenta
    Participant

    this weeks left overs werent so great. maybe next week

    #995107
    Emmaskitchen
    Member

    And one more?

    The back of the SUV for Bloomberg.

    No zaltz, no schmaltz, no beans? no red meat, no kisha, no barley, no water.

    1 med carrot

    2 lg onions

    6 cloves garlic

    In the back of a SUV,… no heat.

    No salad dressing.

    #995108
    popa_bar_abba
    Participant

    Beans porridge hot,

    beans porridge cold,

    beans porridge in the pot 9 days old.

    Some like it hot,

    some like it cold,

    some like it in the pot 9 days old.

    -Little House on the Prairie (best book series ever)

    #995109
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    TORAHPSYCH: Aderaba. If it’s completely uncooked than it’s completely fine. Also known as “Kidra Chayta” as mentioned in S”A.

    2scents: Your right, everyone should ask theor LOC, however according to what I remember, putting raw meat right before shabbos is more accetable.

    Actually, it depends on what you call “right before Shabbos”. If it’s put in right before candle lighting time, it still has enough time to become a little cooked before shkiyah, which is a problem.

    The heter of kidra chaysa might not be so applicable nowadays.

    #995110
    funnybone
    Participant

    My favorite cholent is yaptzuk. Lots of different versions of how to make it, I like potato kugel recipe with meat in the middle. You can search for recipes online.

    #995111
    yentingyenta
    Participant

    this week I soaked the beans over night and boiled beans, barley and potatoes a few hours before adding the meat

    hopefully it will work out better than last week

    a gut shabbos

    #995112
    MurphysLaw
    Member

    Thanks @ Baloochi,

    Best cholent I’ve had in a long time.

    #995116
    Torah613Torah
    Participant

    My barley porridge is cooking.

    #995117
    popa_bar_abba
    Participant

    Beans porridge hot,

    beans porridge cold,

    beans porridge in the pot 9 days old.

    Some like it hot,

    some like it cold,

    some like it in the pot 9 days old.

    -Little House on the Prairie (best book series ever)

    I was about to post this, but noticed I did so a year ago.

    #995118
    oomis
    Participant

    Beans porridge hot

    I think the correct line is “Pease porridge hot…” etc. I have no idea what pease porridge is.

    #995119
    popa_bar_abba
    Participant

    In Little House on the Prairie, Laura and Mary sing “beans porridge”

    #995120
    miritchka
    Member

    Interesting that this should come up now. This past Friday as i was putting up my cholent in my crock pot, i noticed that the water was leaking onto my counter. Apparently i had a crack in the ceramic portion. I didnt have a chance to buy a new crock pot so i took the whole bag of cholent (we use a bag in the crock pot) and poured it into a pot to cook on the stove. I had it on high for about 4 hours before i realized that the beans/barley were sticking to the bottom of the pot. Beans were soaked overnight. What can i do to prevent this?

    By the way, i think stovetop cholent is much better, but the cleaning is way harder…!

    #995121
    golfer
    Participant

    Miritchka, you answered your own question-

    Leaving pot of cholent on stovetop on high for 4 hours-

    Bad idea!

    On stovetop, do not leave on high. Bring ingredients to a slow simmer on a medium flame, then leave on very low flame- just high enough to keep cholent barely at a simmer. It also helps to use the blech from the start, instead of just switching the pot onto a blech before Shabbos.

    I understand in your particular situation you had to pour the whole mixture into an empty pot, but if you decide to make stovetop in future-

    Start by heating 2-3 tablespoons (canola) oil in pot. Saute chopped onion and fresh garlic in oil (sprinkle with bit of salt and paprika) on slow flame for a while. Then add other ingredients. (A nice “well- marbled” piece of flanken or other meat will keep the cholent from sticking to the pot, but may cause the concoction to stick to the arteries, so I hesitate to recommend.)

    Stovetop cholent does have a tendency to stick, but if you follow these directions, it shouldn’t be too much of a mess. And, comments are welcome, but most people do agree the stovetop is better. You just don’t get that real depth of cholent flavor out of a crockpot!

    #995122
    golfer
    Participant

    Popa, that’s pease porridge, like oomis told you.

    Pease porridge is a goyish substitute for cholent. A poor substitute, I might add. Made with split peas cooked to a slow simmered mush, or some such.

    #995123
    oomis
    Participant

    n Little House on the Prairie, Laura and Mary sing “beans porridge”

    Then they got it wrong. It’s a nursery rhyme originally from England, I think, where they used to make pease porridge.

    #995124
    golfer
    Participant

    Hi Miritchka!

    You are not being ignored.

    I gave you a detailed answer to your question.

    Now I’m wondering how cholent instructions could have offended a Mod.

    The ways of the mods are mysterious.

    And sorry, miritch, but I’m just too lazy to post all over again.

    You think maybe the mods like “chulnt” not “cholent”?

    If the mods do not have enough time to read the longer posts we will sometimes mod around them -29

    #995125
    miritchka
    Member

    Golfer: lol! I just signed on and read your original and follow up post. Thanks! I really appreciate it! I’ll try to remember to let you know how it goes!!

    #995126
    Torah613Torah
    Participant

    Suppose the cholent did stick. How do you clean the pot?

    #995127
    mewho
    Participant

    i make it in the oven in a large deep disposable pan. less to clean up! tastes yummy

    #995128
    oomis
    Participant

    Stovetop cholent does have a tendency to stick”

    Mine does not. I have a simmer ring (perforated metal disc heat diffuser) on top of my burners and under the blech, so the cholent pot is, in effect, in a double burner, as far as the heat is concerned. Nothing ever burns, especially if the burner is on low to begin with. I always put the cholent up to be nearly cooked by Shabbos. Then it goes on the blech as I described. You can also try spraying th bottom of the pot with PAM before putting the ingredients in. Maybe that will help. And yes, there is no comparison between stove top and crockpot cholent. I don’t know why.

    #995129
    popa_bar_abba
    Participant

    Cool, let’s buy a simmer ring. Should be pretty easy to buy.

    #995130
    golfer
    Participant

    Torah6, just in case you don’t get out in the snow to buy your simmer ring before next Shabbos, the trick to getting the pot clean is not to be in a hurry. I’m not talking about the slovenly homemakers who leave the cholent pot putrefying until Tuesday; just have a little patience. Scrape out as much as you can. Cover bottom of pot with your favorite cleanser. Add boiling water. Ignore overnight. Most, if not all, the goonk will lift right out. A few good strong scrubs with a nice piece of steel wool and some more of your cleanser and your pot is as good as new.

    Now if those seminaries popping up like mushrooms after a summer rain would just teach all you young ladies a thing or two, there would be no need for cholent instruction on the CR.

    And the good members of the CR could find more time to discuss…

    Hmmm…

    What exactly were the burning issues here before I got my head stuck in the cholent pot?

    #995131
    Torah613Torah
    Participant

    Thanks golfer. What cleaners do you recommend?

    #995132
    miritchka
    Member

    Torah613Torah: As mentioned by golfer, soaking with a cleaner – any cleaner, or could even be soap – overnight, should do the trick. Then scrub with steel wool. I hate cleaning pots and if i could avoid cleaning a cholent pot, i will. That’s why i used an oven bag in my crock pot. My husband likes it better without the bag and i told him that if i made it without the bag, then it would be really nice if he could scrub the pot. He actually scrubs most of the pots soaking in my sink without me even asking…he does do a better job than me.

    Mewho: That is so interesting! Can you tell me how you do that? Do you keep a pan of water in teh oven too? Do you cook it uncovered? How much water do you put in? Does it get dry/lumpier than cooking on the stovetop or crockpot? Do you leave it in the oven a whole shabbos, or transfer it?

    oomis: where can i get a simmer ring? I put up my cholent on Friday morning so it is completely cooked by 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Would that affect the texture/taste the way you make it?

    golfer: it would be great if all seminaries had a real home economics class – like teaching the girls to sew buttons, a hem, how to cuff pants correctly, etc.. how to cook/bake or tips on cooking/baking, tips on house cleaning, tips on child rearing… I always wondered why so many seminaries put the emphasis on learning and delving into sefarim when there should be an equal emphasis (if not stronger emphasis) on being a wife and mother. (I guess this is the reason popa_bar_abba had issues with “veibishe toirah”!!)

    #995133
    Torah613Torah
    Participant

    Miritchka, where do you get an oven bag?

    #995134
    miritchka
    Member

    Try the paper goods aisle. It might be called crock pot bags too. When you use them, make sure to always have enough water around the bag – so the only thing actually warming in your crock pot is the water. Otherwise the bag will melt to the crock pot.

    #995135
    Torah613Torah
    Participant

    Thanks!

    #995136
    rebdoniel
    Member

    I make a cholent like this:

    Sweet potatoes, white potatoes, onions, carrots, celeriac, chopped garlic, whole garlic cloves, water, barley, beans, paprika, mushrooms, onion powder, garlic powder, ketchup, bbq sauce, soy sauce, onion soup mix, parve beef soup mix, prunes, and coca cola, and I top it with parve kishka, potato kugel, and whole eggs.

    #995137
    🐵 ⌨ Gamanit
    Participant

    Prunes and coca cola? Everything else in there besides for these two I’ve heard before…

    #995138
    rebdoniel
    Member

    prunes add a meatiness and sweetness.

    coke adds a unique flavor, and a tad of crispness

    #995139
    oomis
    Participant

    oomis: where can i get a simmer ring? I put up my cholent on Friday morning so it is completely cooked by 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Would that affect the texture/taste the way you make it?”

    You should be able to get them (I always put one over each burner before laying the blech down, so the blech is raised uniformly above the stovetop), at any variety store. This is a commonly-used item. it makes a double boiler out of any pot. I believe it is called “heat diffuser,” and it looks like a half inch thick 8″ round metal shmurah matzah with a long wooden handle. I would imagine that most people who use this, buy it in order to have the double-boiler effect, and not because they have a blech. It is a secularly-made item.

    The thickness of the disc raises it above the heat sufficiently to mimic the amount of heat a pot would get when immersed in a double boiler (gentle heat, in other words), so things tend NOT to scorch or overheat, when the disc is over a low flame. Add a blech on top and you have a kli sheini or shlishi (never sure which), and the pot goes over THAT. I bet they even sell it in the housewares department of most major stores. If you visit the Five Towns, there is a store called The Variety Connection on Central Avenue, that definitely has it.

    I cannot from personal experience, speak to the issue of how putting a fully cooked pot of cholent would be affected, but I imagine it would be exactly the same, as long as there is enough water in the pot before Shabbos, so it doesn’t cook out too much.

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