Stovetop cholent

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.

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. 🙂

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

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.

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!

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

TORAHPSYCH,

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

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.

@ 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?

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)

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.

Thanks @ Baloochi,

Best cholent I’ve had in a long time.

Beans porridge hot,

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.

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

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!

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.

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!!

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

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

Thanks golfer. What cleaners do you recommend?

Miritchka, where do you get an oven bag?

Thanks!

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

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.