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Crock Pot Brisket Chamin

A weekend favorite in Israel is cholent (pronounced chool'nt), which is kind of like a slow cooked chili with beans and eggs.  A chamin (pronounced hameen) on the other hand, is slow cooked large pieces of meat and other ingredients.  On a holiday weekend, it's nice to pull out the stops and make something truly special.
 
For this recipe, you'll need a large crock pot.  Even better, there are some that seem to be made for this purpose and are black, with the approximate size and shape of a large roasting pan.  A black pot retains and spreads the heat more evenly, which is why they are made this way and so widely marketed in Israel.

Ingredients

  • about 1.5 kg. brisket (beef chest)  If you really don't like brisket you can use another part with a long grain
  • 1/2 kg. beef sausages with a good skin
  • 1/2 kg. medium white beans
  • 6 regular sized potatoes (peeled or unpeeled and cut into halves) or 12 small potatoes
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into large chunks
  • 6 small to medium eggs in the shell, cleaned well with vinegar and water
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • a good pinch of cracked, black pepper
  • 1 teaspoons gray salt
  • 1/8 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 clove of garlic or a teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder, or 1 teaspoon finely chopped or crushed ginger
  • 1 teaspoon dry parsley or 1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • a very scant pinch of ground cloves
  • 3 well mashed, chopped prunes

 

Instructions

  1. Plan to start your chamin cooking in the late afternoon, and to eat it the next day starting around lunch time.  It's a Shabbat thing, so it's supposed to be started Friday evening before sundown so that no fires need to be lit on purpose until the next evening after sundown.
  2. So when you go to bed Thursday night, start the beans to soaking and take your brisket out to thaw.
  3. Then on Friday afternoon, start assembling the chamin.  Take out your brisket, rinse it and score it, and put it in the bottom of the pot with the fatty side down.
  4. Arrange the sausages on top of the brisket.
  5. Drain and rinse your beans, and spread them on top of the brisket.
  6. Stand the eggs around the edges of the pot, using the beans to prop them up.  You can use more than 6 eggs if they will fit in your pot.
  7. Then put in the potatoes and carrots.
  8. Chop the onion and bell pepper, and put them in.  Then add the spices, prunes, salt, vinegar, and well, everything.
  9. Pour in enough water to cover everything.
  10. Put the cover on the crock pot and turn it up to high.
  11. When it is beginning to boil a bit, turn the heat down to low.
  12. Let this cook for about 18 hours.

Serving Tips

Each person should get a little bit of everything, plus an egg.
 
Here are some recommendations from Amazon.com for oval slow cookers.  Remember that to make a perfect chamin, a black one is preferred.
 

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