The results are in! This may have been the best overall cookoff yet – every Cholent came out fantastic, but we do have some winners based on student voting (everyone at Shabbos Lunch got 2 tickets to put into the Cholents of their choice)…
FIRST PLACE: “Gilder’s Special” by Dan G.
Texture and flavor may have been the top items for this Cholent. It had both meat and hotdogs, barley and beans, no Kishke. It all came together wonderfully in a simply pleasant flavorful way.
SECOND PLACE: “Spicy Lamb Cholent” by Justin R.
Lamb was a big hit, and this Cholent also had some kick, with two types of hot peppers. Secret ingredient was the turkey-bacon, sauteed as a seasoning sauce with onions and the peppers. This one came in a very close second place, and was behind by just one ticket.
THIRD PLACE: “Cauliflower Cauldron” by Rachel L.
This vegan entry did well! It had great flavor, a little spice, nice coloring, and certainly stood out from the rest of the pack.
“Meat the Experience” by Grant H.
The meat in this Cholent was really fantastic. Grant braised the meat first with onions and wine and cooked the whole thing in a broth instead of water. The sausage also came out luscious. It differed than the rest mostly in texture, as it was made without barley, beans or kishe to soak up the broth. It had a kick to it.
“Grandma’s Classic Cholent” by Ryan F. and Elliott W.
As it name implies, this one was a classic Cholent indeed! Not too spicy yet richly flavorful, good consistency and texture, and less thick than some of the others.
“Arianna’s Guinness Cholent” by Aliza B.
Some of the Cholent aficionados really liked this one for its hearty dark flavor and the thickness of the Cholent texture. The distinctive taste of the Guinness beer came through all those 24 hours of cooking!
Thanks all for the competing and giving everyone a delicious Shabbos meal with so many rich Cholents to taste!
Before the Cholents were served we had a group discussion comparing Cholents to raising Children, see that discussion here.