
Bigos

Instructions
Bigos
Bigos is sometimes referred to in English as hunter’s stew, though the Polish name is also commonly used.
Once cool, bigos can be kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Alternatively, it can also be frozen to preserve for longer.
Bigos is not to be confused with kapusta, which is a Polish version of sauerkraut often mixed with meat and onions. In fact, kapusta can even be found as an ingredient in some bigos recipes.
Ingredients
Bigos
White cabbages
|
200 g |
---|---|
Water
|
600 ml |
Dried mushrooms (for example chanterelle or porcini)
|
30 g |
Pork schnitzels
|
300 g |
Smoked pork belly
|
250 g |
Yellow onions
|
2 |
Butter
|
25 g |
Sauerkraut
|
200 g |
Red wine
|
200 ml |
Tomato purée
|
100 ml |
Meat stock
|
2 dice |
Bay leaves
|
2 |
Juniper berries
|
1 tsp |
Whole clove
|
3 |
Bratwursts (ideally Thuringian)
|
250 g |
Serve with
Potatoes
|
900 g |
---|---|
Sour cream
|
200 ml |
Fresh parsley
|
Like a Polish hug in a bowl
Bigos is one of the oldest documented Polish dishes, with recipes in cookbooks from as far back as 1682. Often eaten around holiday periods, it is particularly popular in the winter months and can be adapted with any kind of meat you wish to use, so feel free to swap ingredients in and out according to taste.
Traditional accompaniments
Keep your meal authentically Polish by serving it with a homemade loaf of freshly baked bread. A sourdough rye bread (Chleb Zytni Na Zakwasies) is the most traditional but a simple white loaf (Chleb Pszenny) or Poland’s take on flatbread (Podplomyki) are equally delicious alternatives. Boiled potatoes or root vegetables also work well.
Suggestions for the best drinks to pair with bigos
It’s common to drink chilled vodka with bigos, either the standard or flavoured kind. If you fancy something slightly softer, a fruity wine or light beer are also great pairings to this rich stew.
How to make your bigos taste even better the next day
Regardless of the combination of ingredients you opt for, most people agree that bigos’ rich and earthy flavours only improve over time. As with all stews (and soups for that matter), this is mainly because the ingredients are able to marry and blend better, intensifying and unifying the dish even more. Some even claim that reheating at least three times is the secret to the best bigos you have ever tasted.