Bigos - Hunter's Stew

When I think of bigos I immediately feel like I'm about to open presents. See, for me it's the ultimate Christmas dish and one of the perfect comfort dishes. It is a meal ideal for entertaining guests and a good topic for a conversation about Poland, its culture and history. It is so because it's a dish similar to Russian and German dishes and very often when I introduce someone to it they say "But this is so German!" or something of a similar effect. Yes, I perfectly understand why anyone would think so- bigos is mostly sauerkraut and meat so you can't get any more German than that. However, bigos is the most traditional Polish dish and we also put a version of it into one kind of pierogi.

Why such an immediate association with German cuisine? Like I said- the similar ingredients. It isn't too difficult to figure out- Poland and Germany have been neighbors for more than 1000 years. And that only as political entities. Pre-nation tribes were, I'm pretty sure, if not in direct contact then constrained by similar circumstances: climate, types of wild beasts for hunting, plants to pick. If you live in an area which is covered by the same kind of forest, filled with the same kind of animals and berries and mushrooms, then you don't have much choice in the cooking field. Hence the similarities of cuisines and the thought of Germany while eating the most Polish of dishes.

I'd love to write more about this but really the star here is the food so let's get you started on this pyszny (delicious) bigos.

For a dinner for 4 adults and some leftovers you'll need:

3 German Barrel Sauerkraut jars (this is the best kind I've found while in Oklahoma- not a good source of Northern European foods and traditions, so if you know you have a smashingly good kraut in your area by all means use that instead, you'll need the equivalent of about 6-7 16 oz cans)
1 pound of beef stewing meat
1 pound of pork stewing meat
2 pieces of Polish kielbasa or beef smoked kielbasa (long sausage)
6 pieces bacon
1 big parsnip
1 small onion
1 big carrot
2 prunes
6-7 dry wild mushrooms, preferably porcini
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup beef broth
2 bay leaves
2-3 allspice berries
salt, pepper

Drain the sauerkraut, squeeze the juice out but reserve about 2 cups of it in case bigos turns to be too dry or not sour enough; you can even chop it a bit if you don't like long strands of kraut hanging off your fork.

Brown the beef, remove from frying pan with a slotted spoon (you don't need any extra fat in your final dish) and put it in the biggest pot with the thickest bottom you have. The thick bottom is really important so as not to burn sauerkraut.

Pour in the wine and broth, add mushrooms, spices, prunes and let it simmer along with the browned beef for as long as you're busy with the rest of the meats, at least 20 minutes. It'll turn in the most beautiful broth and the base of your bigos so keep an eye on it, don't let it evaporate, add more beef broth if the beef pieces are sticking out too much and keep the simmer going.

Brown the rest of the meats. Important: this is not the time to be American about your bacon- do not let it get crisp-hard! You only want it to brown a little so that it has some bite to it in the final dish. I'd say 3 minutes per side on medium/low heat.

You can brown the onion, chopped, alongside the kielbasa. That'll give it a nice smoky aroma. Again- remove meats with a slotted spoon to prevent fat from turning your bigos into a fat soup with only a hint of the rest of ingredients.

Peel and chop the parsnip and carrot, it's up to you how big you want the pieces. I'd say 1/4 to 1/2 inch.

Stir the beef in broth and add the rest of ingredients in layers. At this point you want to have your meats mixed in a bowl to make things easier: layer sauerkraut/meats/veggies/ sauerkraut/meats/veggies, and so on until you run out.

Keep the pot covered for the first 45 minutes or so, keep it on a good simmer.
Later you can mix it all every now and then being especially careful that everything gets covered with the base broth. It'll take some muscle to do that but what the heck- you're going to eat at least three bowls of bigos, might as well work out beforehand.

Before serving have a taste- the perfect bigos for me is very smoky, tastes of meat, and sour-salty kraut. Season to taste and add the reserved sauerkraut juice if you think you need it. Sometimes I go hardcore and don't drain the cabbage at all, but that's just me- I like strong tastes.

Bigos is one of those dishes that taste better the longer they cook. It freezes very well, reheats straight in a pan, and is just perfect with a slice of buttered rye bread or a good sourdough.

Oh, and one more thing- for me personally, and for my dad, the perfect bigos has the ratio of half meats to half sauerkraut. If you feel like having a lighter version just cut down the size of meat portions but don't remove the meats completely- they are responsible for giving the cabbage such a wonderful, smoky aroma.

Enjoy! Smacznego! (May it be tasty)

Polka