Bigos (Polish hunter’s stew) is almost a Polish national dish. This is a typical recipe from Poland. Bigos is a rich flavorful stew with sauerkraut, Polish sausage, beef, pork, red wine, caraway seeds and more. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes.
Preparation Details
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 2 hrs
Total Time: 2 hrs 50 mins
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sauerkraut, rinsed, drained, and chopped
- 9 cups boiling water, divided
- 15 pitted prunes
- 5 whole allspice berries
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cup dried mushrooms
- 8 ounces beef stew meat, cubed
- 8 ounces boneless pork shoulder, cubed
- ½ cup diced bacon strips
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 Polish sausage, sliced
- ¾ cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste (Optional)
Steps
- Place sauerkraut in a large pot; pour in 4 cups boiling water. Add prunes, allspice berries, and bay leaves; simmer until sauerkraut is soft, about 50 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pour about 1 cup boiling water over mushrooms in a bowl; soak to rehydrate, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid; chop mushrooms.
- Meanwhile, bring remaining 4 cups water to a boil in saucepan. Add beef, pork, and bacon; simmer until cooked through, about 20 minutes, then drain.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium to high heat. Add onions and sausage; cook and stir until onions are soft and sausage is browned, about 5 minutes.
- When sauerkraut is soft, add mushrooms, meat mixture, and sausage mixture; stir well. Simmer, uncovered, over low heat, about 20 minutes.
- Pour in red wine; cook until flavors are well blended, about 15 minutes. Season with caraway seeds, marjoram, salt, and black pepper; stir in tomato paste. If stew seems too dry, add some reserved mushroom liquid, and simmer until flavors combined, about 5 minutes.
