Polish bigos stew with sauerkraut and smoked meat: even better the next day

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Soak the mushrooms

   30 min

   Pour 300 ml of hot water over the dried mushrooms and let soak for 30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and finely chop them. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, leaving any grit at the bottom.

2. Simmer the sauerkraut

   30 min

   Taste the sauerkraut; if it is very sour, rinse it. Coarsely chop it and place it in a large pot with the mushrooms, mushroom soaking liquid, bay leaves, allspice, and juniper berries. Add 200 ml of water, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Brown the meat

   20 min

   Meanwhile, cut the pork shoulder into 2 cm cubes, dice the bacon into smaller pieces, slice the sausage into rounds, and finely chop the onions. Brown the pork on all sides in the oil in a skillet, then transfer it to the pot with the sauerkraut. In the same skillet, fry the bacon with the onions, then add the sausage and briefly brown it.

4. Add the fresh cabbage

   1 hr

   Thinly shred the fresh cabbage and stir it into the pot along with the bacon, onions, and sausage. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding a little water as needed.

5. Season the stew

   40 min

   Add the chopped prunes, tomato paste, wine, and marjoram. Season with pepper and simmer for another 30–40 minutes, until the pork is tender and the bigos is thick. Add salt only at the end, since both the sausage and bacon are salty. Serve with bread.

Tip: Reheat the bigos over low heat with a tablespoon of water to keep it from sticking. It keeps in the refrigerator for 4–5 days and can also be frozen in individual portions.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Voňavý poľský bigos s kyslou kapustou a údeným mäsom: na druhý deň chutí ešte lepšie