This recipe for cholent used to be top secret. My husband made it for Shabbat every week and he never divulged the details, even to me! Then one Friday he wasn’t feeling well and rather than give up his weekly cholent, he let me take over. I was so nervous.
It wasn’t a success the first time, but I’ve practiced and now we’re neck and neck. It was his father’s recipe, passed on to his older brother, then passed on to him. It was supposed to go straight to our son but I got it first! I guess you could say I am now an honorary member of the men’s club.
Note: You can substitute the 3 tablespoons chicken consommé mix + 3 cups water with 3 cups chicken broth.
Family Heirloom Cholent
This cholent recipe used to be my hubby’s secret, but I finally got it out of him and now you too can make the best cholent ever.
Servings
8 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
- 2 medium onions peeled, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 1 2-pound piece of flanken, cut into 4 to 6 pieces
- ½ tablespoon coarse black pepper
- ¾ cup barley
- 1 cup dried light red kidney beans
- 3 tablespoons chicken consommé mix
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 1-pound kishka loaf
- 3 cups water
Instructions
- Line bottom of slow cooker with potatoes and onions.
- Rinse flanken and pat dry. Place pieces around sides of crock pot, with bones on the outside.
- Generously pepper meat.
- Add barley and beans. Shake the pot a bit so some of the barley and beans fall into the spaces between the potatoes and onions.
- Season with consommé mix, paprika, and honey.
- Place kishka on top.
- Pour in water, adding more if necessary, to completely cover all ingredients.
- Cook on low heat overnight, at least 8 hours.
Just for your information, when a product says “No Added MSG” it means that there is MSG in it FOR SURE. The Osem Consomme you use in the video has yeast extract in the ingredients. Yeast extract is a form of free glutamate which the FDA considers “natural” and there fore does not need to be explicitly listed as MSG. However, since yeast extract IS actually a source of free glutamate, they cannot write “No MSG” and therefore writ the misleading phrase “No Added MSG”. (Free glutamate, MSG, masquerades as many things such as hydrolyzed vegetable or yeast protein, yeast extract, etc.)
I would like to cook Jaime Geller’s Family Heirloom Chulent in the oven, using a cast iron pot. What Farenheit temperature should I use (oven setting)? I look forward to trying this recipe.
hi Mir! Mazel Tov – so exciting! Just double the recipe and it should be perfect. Please let us know how it turned out.
I am making sheva brachot in two weeks and wanted to make your chulent. I have a very large size crock pot that could probably feed about 30 people. How do I adjust your receipe to fit this size?
YAY!!!! I am so happy you love it as much as we do!!!!
It’s my favorite!
This is the perfect recipe! We don’t love beans so we just added more barley to make up for it and it was absolutely DELICIOUS!
Thanks for the recipe
Hubby swears by it!
awesome! we feel the same way :-)!
we use the chicken – enjoy!
My store sells chicken consommé, beef consommé and onion consommé? Which one is best for the family heirloom cholent?
Thx
Great recipe, Thank you. Made for Shabbos and turned out wonderful. I loved how the Kishka melted through out the cooking process. Smelled incredible…
you should prob cook on auto (all crock pots are diff but that’s my best guess), as for when to start it etc… there are many different opinions on that so please ask your LOR (local orthodox Rabbi 🙂
this is totally my go-to chulent recipe soooo good and easy and the layering really does make a difference.
Ok, here is a question. My husband bought me a crockpot. 3 settings low,med, and auto. How do I cook the chulent. In other words , how long does it need to cook before Shabbos so it is 2/3 part cooked and on what temp? Then I put in on low before shabbos?
Thanks!
wow — thank you so much for taking the time to write/post a comment. I really appreciate it. Wishing you lots of love and success in your journey!
we love this chulent. it comes out great every week.
I just want to thank you for your explainations and recipes. I always grew up hearing about my mother’s grandmother making all these foods and I never had someone to teach me these wonderful recipes until now. You explain everything and you are a regular person, doing things all us moms do. You are helping to put the pieces of my Jewish heritage together. You inspire me on my own journey.
GittelW!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!! I so appreciate it and love you back!
oh my goodness this looks heavenly!!! I totally agree the kishka makes it or brakes it, I am always sad when people don’t make cholent with kishka. I love you Jamie Geller! Love your energy!
Oh no!!! I’m making the chulent again this weekend and I don’t have any kishka in the house. Shame on me!
hi Sam – great Qs – as for meat raw room temperature or directly from the fridge or freezer (completely frozen) — it doesn’t matter — after cooking on low for 8 hours it will be cooked through. This dish can also handle cooking around 18 to 20 hours as well so no worries there (but again at around 8 hours the meat will indeed be cooked through). For store bought kishke put it in “raw” frm the fridge or frozen (however you bought it) no need to bake — it will cook with the chulent. If using a kishke recipe online again just form into loaves no need to pre bake and let it cook together with the chulent. Hope this helps, let me know if you have anymore Qs, so sorry it took me so long to respond.
nice tip thanks so much! we have been using the meat surrounding the marrow bone – we get this cut special out our Butcher (BEST MARKET takeout counter in RBS). We have tried a few diff cuts and this is our favorite.
Now that you are living in Israel, Jamie (hope things are going well) I was wondering what meat you are using for your chulent? I have been using number two meat. Since the meat here is tougher I found that adding whole garlic gloves to the chulent really soften it up.
Chulent in Ashkenaz culture is essentially a European beef stew including beans, barley, potatoes, and onions seasoned with S + P. other spices and ingredients are determined by your place or origin or preferences of the cook. Sephardic chulent, called Hamin/Chamin is known for its spiciness and distinctive flavor profile – including garlic, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, and ginger – often includes a combo of rice, wheat berries, and chickpeas in place of beans and barley, chicken instead of meat, and the addition of whole raw eggs (in the shell!). I have an awesome recipe for Hamin in my upcoming Joy of Kosher Cookbook but you’ll have to wait until the fall for that 🙂 in the meantime try this one from our community http://www.joyofkosher.com/recipe/tangy-sweet-veal-chamin-cholent/
A followup: if we’re following your recipe for kishka elsewhere on this site, would we bake it first before adding it to the cholent pot or just form it into loaves and let it cook with the cholent?
A potentially dumb question but I haven’t cooked meat in many years – what’s the temperature of the uncooked meat when you put it in with everything else in the crockpot? My favorite part about this recipe is that it doesn’t require finicking around elsewhere in the kitchen to pre-cook the meat, etc. but I still don’t want to end up serving raw meat. I assume it should be full defrosted first? Also, if I use store-bought kishke, should I follow any baking instructions, allow it to thaw etc. before putting it on top of everything else in the crockpot? Thanks so much for your patience and assistance!
What’s the difference betwen cholent or hamim ? did you have a recipe of hamim ?
YAY Esther!!! thank for letting us know and thanks for the kishke tip! I will look out for it.
hi Sam in the middle of no where Oregon! So yes plenty other cuts of less expensive more readily available meat can be used — chuck and even stew beef will work well. Depends on your kishke recipe if it will stay together but personally I like the kishke all broken down and mixed in. It’s my Hubby who prefers I remove half after cooking and serve it sliced on the side. SO it really depends on your preference. You know… there are also people who put half an already cooked potato kugel on top… that’s really good too!
I can’t find real kishke near me and I don’t love the pareve kind. Is there another meat you recommend substituting for the kishke?
Hey Lauren – you can do so many things (that’s what’s GREAT about chulent!) You can just leave it out – OR – you can double the amount of flanken – OR – you can use chicken bottoms (legs and thighs) – OR – you can use corned beef or pastrami – YUM! Please come back and let us know what you ended up doing and how it all came out.
I live in the middle of no where Oregon- no flanken, no kishka. If I make my own kishka will it hold together if I put it on top of the cholent? Have you used other cuts of meat? maybe chuck?
Just wanted to let you know that I tried this chulent recipe this past shabbat and it was amazing. My husband said to me “wow the chulent tastes great this week what did you differently?”!! PS I always use chafetz chaim kishke and we love it.
you don’t want to mix the chulent… why do you feel like you want to :-)?
Hi i was wondering can i mix the chulent would it ruin it or its ok to mix the chulent??
I would love to join your site. thank you.
Thanks for the tip and for reporting back – now we all know!
Oh I am so psyched!!! thanks SO much fo taking the time to comment!
I registered for this site just to tell you how good this recipe is! I made this for dinner for a group of jews and non-jews. We were having a mid- Hanukkah dinner to teach them a bit more about Jewish culture. No one left any food over and everyone was raving about how amazing Jewish food was 🙂
For people thinking about making this it was so easy to make and and tasted so good. I borrowed a slow cooker to make this meal and I am thinking about buying one just so I can make this again!
Came out great. I used, here in Israel number 2 meat (called tzlaot), I think I could cook it a bit less time on Friday though.
hey there – so like this: saute the onions in olive oil in a 6qt stock pot, pepper the meat and add to pot to sear. Then add in everything else… your potatoes, beans, barley, seasonings, kishka etc… and enough water to cover, bring to a boil and then allow it to simmer, covered, most of Friday. (check on it periodically and add water if necessary. You have to b more vigilant bc a stainless steel pot will burn it faster than a ceramic slow cooker) Either place on an electric hotplate or over a small burner on the lowest heat covered by a blech a little before shabbos.
Hi Jamie,
So I plan to make this on the stove for the very first time. I’ve never made cholent on the stove but would like to try it. Is there anything I need to know about leaving it on the hotplate overnight? My hotplate is quite hot. I usually place an upside down muffin tin on the hotplate as a buffer. I’m concerned – I don’t want to wake up to burnt cholent but also am nervous to wake up to cholent that isn’t cooked through. Do you cover the pot with anything extra other than lid? should I add extra water before shabbat or it should look the way it will when eaten?? Help! Thanks 😉
Hey Jessica – so this is really tricky!!! and could take you a few times to get it right. If your hot plate is really hot it’s possible that it will burn BUT if you put it on an upside down muffin tin it’s more possible that it won’t be warm enough. What you are doing with the recipe above it basically cooking it almost entirely before shabbos – if it’s on a low flame most of Friday it should be pretty much cooked through – the hot plate is basically just keeping it warm (and yes it cooks it a bit and certainly concentrates the flavors but it’s not like you are starting with raw ingredients/chulent). So if I can recommend a diff buffer in place of the muffin tin, something that conducts heat better – like an upside down metal broiler pan or 9 x 13 tin or something of that nature – I think that would be better. Whatever you use make sure to put it on the hot plate and let it get hot first before putting your hot cholent from the stovetop on top. In addition to the lid you can cover with a kitchen towel or hot plate warmer but be super careful with towels/fabric on the hot plate. In terms of adding water you can add a little (hot water) for good measure and so it doesn’t dry/burn out but it should look pretty close the consistency you want. One more idea is to do it like the caterers do – their chulent is cooked before shabbos and a little on the looser side in terms of consistency (meaning not dry at all!) and then put in tins. Then put the tin on the “broiler pan” or upside down tin or whatever you are using on the hot plate over Shabbos. So again there is no direct heat but rather you are keeping cooked chulent warm. OY, ok, let us know how it goes. (Or you can always just use a slow cooker and call it a day 🙂
I was wondering if you can tell me how to cook the cholent recipe on the stove top instead of a crock pot?
hi there you can be a pre-made kishka loaf in the fridge or freezer section of your supermarket, like this one— it’s our favorite! http://abeles-heymann.com/index.php?view=detail&id=37
For a homemade kishka recipe check this out: http://www.joyofkosher.com/recipe/kishka/
This sounds wonderful, however no instructions on the kishka…a loaf, sorry I don’t understand.
it is amazing! and yes it does have a bit of a kick — comes from the pepper too the paprika gives off some heat and is also there for flavor and color – so if you want less spicy you can cut both pepper and paprika in half
Looks amazing! Does the paprika in this recipe make the cholent spicy? Just want to make sure before serving it to a crowd!
YAY!!! so glad you agree, here is that video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae2-lQVFsGw
I don’t soak the beans, you could use canned but they may result in a mushier bean
It came out perfectly. I happen to dislike all cholents and actually only had a tsp. of it but my family loved it as did my guests. It was the best cholent I’ve ever made.
Thank you,
Wendy
The best cholent recipe everrr…and no u dont need to soak the beans(ck itbout on youtube there is a vidw
Do you soke the dried beans first? Can you used canned, drained kidney beans?
This cholent is really amazing I tasted it when Jamie and hubby made it for our video, but it actually is a good guide for any cholent. I try different things every time and I never use flanken, so a few weeks a go I figured I would use these spices and no ketchup the way I usually do and everyone loved it. So even if you don’t follow it exactly it is a good guide for flavorings.