(no subject)

[desh]

I made cholent!

For those of you who don't know, cholent is a thick beef slow-cooked stew. It is traditionally made by observant Jews on Friday late afternoon, and left to finish cooking until Saturday afternoon, when it is eaten for lunch, since cooking on Shabbat is verboten. Most people I know nowadays make it in a crock pot.

For those of you who don't know, I don't cook. Or didn't.

It was hard to find a good recipe, since most people I know who make good cholent also tend to be bad at describing how they do it. ("Oh, my trick is to use more barbecue sauce than most." "Use one can of potatoes, and 3/4 cup of beans...and then the meat.") So I finally pieced one together with my mom, and then made it all by myself! Beef, potatoes, white beans, baked beans, barley, garlic, onions, carrots, honey, barbecue sauce, onion soup mix, salt, water. Cooked for just about 22 hours.

It wasn't as thick as I like it (though I've seen worse--this could at least mostly be eaten with fork instead of spoon), it had too many beans, not enough honey and BBQ sauce flavor (and more salt and some chili powder and pepper wouldn't hurt), needed salt, I've heard that adding beer and/or Coke helps, and I shouldn't have used carrots. But you know what? It was pretty damn good. Especially for a first time.

And if anyone asks, I'll say that my trick is to add more barley than most do.

And I have leftovers, if anyone wants.

Comments

[ladypeaches.livejournal.com]

Dude this is how you learn to cook....

make a note of what you did and then a note of what you didn't like and try again. eventually you will get to a point where you made your own recipe.

[desh]

If I get to that point, then dammit, I'm going to write down the recipe so specifically that someone who can't even make pop tarts without a instructions can do this.

[ruthonfire.livejournal.com]

this is, indeed, how you learn to cook. recipes are meant to start you off, though, and then you run with it. don't you have a good jewish cookbook in your house? not that it's necessary these days.

Jewish-Food.org's Cholent Index

[desh]

No good Jewish cookbook, though I plan to get one around when I move, whenever that is.

Already found that link. There's "something wrong" with a lot of them, in the sense that I knew what I was looking for, and a lot of them weren't it. I wanted a recipe designed for a crock pot. I wanted a recipe where the meat was beef, not hot dogs or pastrami or chicken or *gasp* vegetarian, and I didn't feel confident enough to just change that part on my own. And the recipes that called for putting bones in with everything else just weirded me out.

[ruthonfire.livejournal.com]

If you're gonna eat meat, what's the difference?

I also highly recommend the strategy of asking my mom, the world expert on everything.

What's the diff?

[bumonyou.livejournal.com]

Dude. You are, like, SUCH a vegetarian. Beef cholent is the best. Maybe its good with horse or sheep or some other red meat, but I wouldnt know. Anyway, baked beans? BBQ sauce? Very untraditional Josh, but it sounds delicious! And your beer idea sounds first rate as well, I might add. Oh, and I tend to use more funky beats than most when creating my special sauce.

Re: What's the diff?

[desh]

Funky beats? Like, of the block-rockin' variety?

I don't know from traditional; I just know what I've had.

Re: What's the diff?

[bumonyou.livejournal.com]

And you know, relatively speaking, if one type is the only kind youve ever had, then thats your tradition. or something. And they certainly rock the block.

[bloomable.livejournal.com]

you're supposed to cook a poptart?
-m'eera

[desh]

As long as you don't burn it...