Once hunter’s stew it was eaten much more often in Polish homes. Nowadays, we tend to choose more easily digestible dishes every day, and the cabbage and meat delicacy appears only on special occasions. However, if you feel like eating this tasty dish, make it properly and prepare it for your family Old Polish bigos, in which, apart from cabbage and meat, there must be two special additions.
Though cabbage dishes are popular in many countries, including Lithuania, Hungary, Germany and Belarus, bigos is considered a typical Polish dish. Apparently it was eaten as early as the 16th century. Recipes for it appeared in the first preserved Polish cookbook, “Compendium Feculorum” by Stanisław Czerniecki. The initial versions of bigos would certainly appeal to all meat-eaters, because the basis of the recipes at that time was not cabbage, but a large amount of chopped meat. The characteristic sour taste was obtained, among other things, thanks to a special vinegar sauce.
There aren’t bigos without high-quality ingredients. The basics are of course sauerkraut, home-made is best. However, if you do not have your own preserves, pay attention to what you buy in the store so that you do not accidentally come home with chemically pickled cabbage. It is best to go to a local market or grocery store to buy pickles. Good cabbage should have a yellowish color and a characteristic sour smell. Poor quality sauerkraut usually has a white color and a vinegary smell.
Only sauerkraut can be used for bigos. However, if you want a less intense flavor, you can choose a mixture of fresh and sauerkrautthe proportions depend on your preferences. However, it is worth remembering not to cook raw and sauerkraut together.
Bigos is also a must-have cold cuts, smoked bacon, sausages, pieces of meat, e.g. shoulder or neck, also work well herethanks to them the dish is even more filling. It is also great for bigos game.
According to experienced chefs, the best additions that enrich the taste of bigos are dried or smoked plums and wild mushrooms. We also cannot forget about spices for bigos, the base is, of course, black pepper, as well as marjoram, cumin, juniper, bay leaves, allspice and cloves, which emphasize the flavor of meat and cabbage well. Old Polish bigos was also used laurel leaves. A large amount will also enhance the taste of bigos onion and garlic. If the bigos is not sour enough, add some more sauerkraut juice. Some cooks baste bigos cred wine or dark beer, which is intended to further enrich its taste. In the past, the taste of the dish was also emphasized honeyif you also like sweet taste in savory dishes, make sure to add only real, natural honey. It is also important bigos cooking time, it should slowly simmer over low heat, it is recommended to take at least two to three hours.
To prepare this recipe, you will need:
- 1 kg of fresh white cabbage,
- 1 kg of sauerkraut,
- 250 g pork shoulder,
- 250 g pork neck,
- 200 g sausage,
- 80 g of smoked bacon,
- 2 onions,
- 4 cloves of garlic,
- 25 g dried mushrooms,
- 40-50 g of dried, smoked plums,
- 100 ml of dry red wine,
- 5 black peppercorns,
- 5 grains of allspice,
- 3 juniper seeds,
- 3 bay leaves,
- 2-3 cloves,
- 1/2 teaspoon of marjoram,
- 1/2 teaspoon of cumin,
- 1 teaspoon of sweet pepper,
- a pinch of hot pepper,
- salt and pepper to taste,
- lard for frying,
- optional: sauerkraut juice.
Preparation:
- Put the mushrooms in a pot and pour a glass of boiling water over them. Set them aside for half an hour to soften. Then drain the water and cut them into smaller pieces. Save the mushroom water for later.
- Drain the juice from the sauerkraut; if it is very sour, you can rinse it in a strainer. Put it in a pot, pour water so that it covers the cabbage and cook covered until soft for about an hour.
- In the meantime, finely chop the fresh cabbage, put it in a pot, pour water to cover it slightly, add a flat teaspoon of salt and cook until soft for about 30 minutes.
- Drain the cabbages from the water, then place them in a large pot. Add dried plums, mushrooms, mushroom water, as well as peppercorns, juniper, allspice, bay leaves and cloves.
- Fry the meat cut into cubes in a pan in lard until golden, season with salt and add to the cabbage.
- In the same pan, fry the diced bacon, onion and garlic, stirring constantly so that nothing burns. When everything is nicely browned, add it to the pot with the cabbage.
- Then cut the sausage into slices, fry in the same pan, in the meantime add sweet and hot peppers. When the sausage is browned, transfer it to the bigos.
- Pour red wine over everything. Add cumin and marjoram. Mix everything.
- Cook bigos for about two hours, remember to stir it from time to time.
- At the end of cooking, you can season everything with salt and pepper to taste. Optionally, add some cabbage juice.
- Serve the finished dish with fresh bread.
Sources: Terazgotuje.pl, smazymy.com
