Traditional Polish Bigos

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 600 g pork and beef, marbled or lean
• 100 g smoked bacon
• 300 g sausages, coarse, smoked
• 500 g sauerkraut
• 500 g white cabbage
• 2 onions
• 1 apple
• 100 g prunes, soft
• 1 tbsp, heaped plum jam
• 1 tbsp, heaped tomato paste
• 100 ml red wine, semi-dry, mild
• 300 ml meat broth
• 4 tbsp lard
• 1 tbsp, heaped marjoram
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 allspice berries
• 4 juniper berries
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• possibly sauerkraut juice
• 1 handful of wild mushrooms, dried

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 15 hours

old recipe, as it is made in most Polish households

Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl or cup, add a little boiling water, and set aside. If you don’t have any mushrooms of your own and can’t find dried wild mushrooms in the store, it’s best to use brown button mushrooms. Cut them into thin slices, fry them in a little oil, and set aside. Cut the meat and sausages into bite-sized pieces and the bacon into smaller cubes. Heat some of the fat in a large casserole dish and brown the meat, sausages, and bacon until well browned. Add the sauerkraut (do not squeeze it out), fry for a while while stirring, and deglaze with half of the stock. Add the white cabbage, bay leaves, allspice, juniper berries, caraway seeds, and pepper, stir, and continue to simmer, covered. Peel and core the apple, and coarsely grate the apple. Remove the mushrooms from the water and set the water aside. Chop the mushrooms slightly smaller if necessary, and quarter the prunes lengthwise. Add the apple, mushrooms, and plums along with the mushroom liquid to the cabbage in the casserole dish. Mix everything well and continue to simmer, covered. In the meantime, heat the remaining fat, fry the onion and marjoram in it for about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, fry briefly, and deglaze with the red wine. Pour the contents of the pan into the casserole dish with the cabbage and stir well. Stir in the plum jam. Depending on the type of sauerkraut you use, the bigos will be more or less sour. The many ingredients naturally minimize the acidity of the sauerkraut, which is entirely intentional. If the bigos still doesn’t taste sour enough for you, you can either change the amount of sauerkraut/white cabbage beforehand and use more sauerkraut, or taste the juice during braising and add store-bought sauerkraut juice instead of broth. This way, you can enhance the typical flavor of the sauerkraut and increase the lactic acid to your liking. From now on, braise, covered, for about two hours. Check frequently to see how much liquid is collecting at the bottom and deglaze with leftover broth or sauerkraut juice if necessary. Add more broth/juice if necessary. Stir frequently. By the end, the liquid should be almost completely evaporated. The bigos should have a darker, reddish-brown color and a strong, sweet and sour taste. It’s done when the pieces of meat—especially the beef—are completely cooked and falling apart. Cook longer if necessary. Mine sometimes simmers for 4-5 hours. Tip: It’s almost a must to let the bigos cool completely at least once before searing it again, because it only tastes best when you repeat this process.