Bigos

About This Recipe

Bigos (hunter's stew) is Poland's national dish and one of the great slow-cooked stews of world cuisine — sauerkraut and fresh cabbage cooked with a medley of meats (traditionally whatever the hunter brought home: venison, wild boar, smoked sausage, pork), dried mushrooms, bay leaves, allspice and red wine. The defining characteristic of bigos is that it improves over days of cooking and reheating — most Polish families make a large pot on Friday and eat it through the week, reheating and improving it each day. Truly exceptional bigos requires at least 3 days.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 600 gsauerkraut(rinsed and roughly chopped)
• 400 gfresh white cabbage(shredded)
• 400 gpork shoulder(cut into 3cm chunks)
• 300 gPolish kielbasa sausage(or smoked sausage, sliced)
• 200 gsmoked bacon lardons
• 30 gdried porcini mushrooms(soaked in 300ml hot water — reserve soaking water)
• 2 largeonions(sliced)
• 200 mlred wine
• 2 tbsptomato purée
• 3bay leaves
• 5allspice berries
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspsugar

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown meats

   In a large heavy pot, fry bacon until crispy. Add pork chunks and brown on all sides. Remove. Fry sausage slices briefly.

2. 2

   Cook onions and mushrooms

   In the same pot, cook sliced onions until soft. Add soaked mushrooms (roughly chopped). Add the reserved mushroom soaking water (pour carefully — leave grit behind at the bottom).

3. 3

   Add cabbage

   Add fresh shredded cabbage to the pot. Cook stirring for 5 minutes until slightly wilted.

4. 4

   Combine everything

   Return all browned meats to the pot. Add sauerkraut, red wine, tomato purée, bay leaves, allspice, pepper, sugar and salt. Stir to combine.

5. 5

   Slow cook — and repeat

   Bring to a boil, then reduce to very low heat. Simmer covered for 2–3 hours, stirring occasionally. Cool. Refrigerate overnight. Reheat the next day and simmer 1 more hour. The second day is better. The third day is extraordinary.

Variations

• •

  Wild boar or venison is traditional in the hunter's original — substitute with rabbit or game birds.

• •

  Add a handful of prunes in the last hour for a sweet-sour note common in the eastern Polish version.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Improves over 3–5 days in the fridge. Freezes excellently for 3 months — freeze in day 2 or 3 state.

Frequently Asked Questions