I Don't Smoke Pot, I cook with One

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I view myself as a modern woman who has great respect and appreciation for tradition. Every week, I never miss it, I make a traditional Jewish stew called "Cholent". I serve this on the Sabbath. I make it the old-school way in an oven instead of a crock pot. That's the secret, the oven. In Poland, where my grandparents are from, in the little shtetl villages, each family would assemble their chulent and bring it to the local kosher bakery to cook it in the large, communal oven, since they did not have the luxury of their own ovens. Sabbath morning after synagogue they'd go pick up their pots and bring them home for lunch.

In Orthodox Judaism we don't cook on the Sabbath, so this 24 hour masterpiece is assembled prior. My family eats it on Friday night, so I make it Thursday evening, about 22 hours before Sabbath begins. I'm proud of my version, and I often hear it's the best anyone ever had. Different cultures have their take on it, which makes the world go round.

I'd love to share my JESScipe with you, but heads up I don't have measurements. This one is all feeling and heart. It's almost impossible to mess it up. I think chulent is like pizza, even when it's bad it's good. Give it a shot, the reward is waking up the next morning to the most unbelievable smell in your home while it slowly comes together.

JESScipe - Cholent

   INGREDIENTS

  • You'll need a large pot (your biggest)
  • Two large strips of flanken meat on the bone
  • A hunk of kolichel meat
  •  A bag of barley
  • A bag of dried mixed beans (red, white, kidney, lima).
  • A large onion
  • Two large dried bay leaves
  • Fine salt and fine ground pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Paprika
  • Dried thyme
  • Zhatar/hyssop.
  • Six large baking potatoes.
  • One packet dried onion soup mix. 

 

 

Directions

Ready? Peel and halve potatoes, place in pot. Put in the meat. Then, pour in alternatively the barley and beans. In goes the onion. Fill the pot with water as much as you can, more than covering the contents. I take my salt and open the spout three quarters of the way open and swirl it around the circumference of the water six times. I count it out loud or I mess up😝.

Then I sprinkle on the pepper, maybe two teaspoons. I very generously then sprinkle on the garlic powder and paprika. The paprika gives it a wonderful, rich color that is key. Sprinkle the dried onion soup mix, two teaspoons each of dried thyme and zhatar if using. I also love to add a little cumin sometimes. Stick in bay leaves. I put bay leaves in almost everything, they're magic.

Cover the pot very tightly with two layers of strong tin foil. Place the pot in a large foil pan to catch any drippings, disaster otherwise. Each oven is different. With my current one, I set it to 265 degrees, but this one isn't so strong. In the past I've done 230 degrees, so that might take figuring out until you find the right temp. You must set the oven to Sabbath mode so it doesn't shut off after a few hours, as ovens will do automatically. Let slowly blend together for at least 22 hours before eating. It looks so cute served in mini crocks, the kind used to serve onion soup. Enjoy! Traditions just taste and feel so good.