Funky Cholent

Cholent is a Saturday lunch standard in many Jewish homes. Every family has their signature cholent. This recipe took me twelve years to perfect, and includes secrets I learned from ten different families. Cholent is meant to be experimented with. Some interesting additions you may want to try are soy sauce, honey, Mrs. Dash®, paprika, or left-over beef gravy.

Step: 1

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat; cook and stir the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the beef stew meat, and quickly brown the pieces on all sides. Stir in the potatoes, sweet potato, baked beans, ketchup, barbecue sauce, mustard, onion soup mix, seasoned salt, and steak seasoning, and pour in enough water to cover. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook on low heat until the beef is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Step: 2

Stir in the pearl barley, and transfer the stew to a slow cooker set on Low until the barley is tender, about 12 hours.

Per Serving: 464 calories; protein 24.2g; carbohydrates 64.6g; fat 13.1g; cholesterol 49.3mg; sodium 680.5mg.