Bigos - Polish Hunters Stew
This is one of my favourite Polish dishes that my boyfriend makes. I love how meaty it is and the umami that comes from the smoked items and the mushrooms. I also love that you can make additions depending what you have in your fridge and pantry! This is supposed to be a drier stew, so don’t worry if all the ingredients are not fully submerged in the braising liquid. They will release some liquid as they cook and all the flavours will marry!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb Johnston's Pork Butt cubed
- 1 ½ lb Smoked Pork Hock
- 1 ½ lb Farmer Sausage or other smoked sausage cut in half lengthwise and then into ½” pieces
- 1 L Pork Broth
- 1 oz 28gr Dried Mushrooms (Morrels) soak in water for approx. 30 minutes, cut into ½’s or ¼’s depending on the size and reserve the soaking liquid
- 1 lb Fresh Mushrooms - any mushrooms you can find or prefer will work! Clean and cut into ½’s or ¼’s depending on the size
- 1 Small Head Green Cabbage – cut into ¼ ‘s remove core and thin slice
- 1 Large Yellow Onion finely diced
- 1 Jar Sauerkraut
- 3 tbsp Bacon Fat Pork Lard or Cooking Oil
- 2 tbsp Marjoram
- 1 tbsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Caraway Seeds
- 1-2 tbsp Salt depending on the salt content of your smoked meat items
- 2 tbsp Mustard
Optional Ingredients:
- 1 Bottle 12oz Lager or Pilsner Beer if using add less Pork Broth
- 1 Jar 15oz Tomato Sauce and 2 tbsp Tomato Paste if using add less Pork Broth
- 2 tbsp Horseradish
- 1 tbsp Juniper Berries – crushed
Instructions
- Prep all ingredients as per above instructions.
- In a large lidded pot, heat 1 tbsp fat or oil over med/high heat. Season the Pork Butt with Salt, add to the pot and brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Turn heat down to medium and add 1 tbsp fat or oil to the pan. Let it heat and then add the cabbage and onions. Sweat these down for approximately 7-8 minutes, season with salt and scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pot while mixing. Remove and set aside.
- Add remaining fat or oil to pot, let heat and then add fresh mushrooms and sauté until browned and soft approximately 7-8 minutes. Season with salt and scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pot while mixing. If adding tomato, this is where you would add the tomato paste and continue to cook for another 2 mins stirring constantly to cook the paste.
- Add back to the pot the browned Pork, cooked cabbage and onions and add all remaining ingredients except the mustard (and horseradish). Turn heat down to med/low, stir well to combine and cover with lid. Let the stew simmer for approximately 2 hours or until the meat on the smoked hock is falling off the bone.
- Remove the Smoked Hock from the pot, pull the meat from the bones and shred or chop it. Add it back to the pot along with the Mustard ( and horseradish), stir to combine and serve!