Polish recipe
How to make Bigos (hunter's stew)
bigos
All of Poland, and the lands of the old Commonwealth
A rich stew of sauerkraut and fresh white cabbage slowly cooked with several kinds of meat and sausage, dried mushrooms, prunes and spices. It is served hot with rye bread or potatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 kg sauerkraut, drained, and 500 g fresh white cabbage, shredded
- 500 g pork shoulder, cut in bite-sized pieces
- 300 g smoked kiełbasa, sliced, and 150 g smoked bacon, diced
- 20 g dried mushrooms, soaked in 250 ml hot water
- 1 onion, chopped, and 8 prunes, halved
- 2 bay leaves, 5 allspice berries and 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 2 tablespoons tomato purée and 150 ml dry red wine (optional)
- Salt, pepper and a little oil or lard
Method
- Put the sauerkraut and fresh cabbage in a large pot with 500 ml water, the bay leaves, allspice and caraway, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile brown the pork in a little fat in a frying pan, then add the bacon, onion and kiełbasa and fry for 5 more minutes.
- Add the meat to the cabbage with the chopped mushrooms and their soaking water, the prunes, tomato purée and wine.
- Simmer gently with the lid on for about 2 hours, stirring from time to time and adding a little water if it gets dry. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve hot with rye bread. Bigos keeps well in the fridge for several days and tastes even better reheated.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
A good bigos uses many different meats, so making it is a traditional way to use up leftovers. It is often said to taste best when reheated over several days.
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