Bigos - Traditional Hunters' Stew

This marvelous is one of the oldest found in Polish cuisine.  In earlier times a week was spent in the preparation of this dish, but our adaptation in very good indeed, and unless you want to have the hunters hunting you, you had best produce this in just a few hours.
    Cut into a very large dice 4 to 6 pounds of cooked meats, using and or all of the following:
 

4 to 6 pounds roast beef or pot roast, roast
lamb, roast pork, venison or rabbit,
chicken or duck, ham, Polish
sausage, or roast veal*

2 yellow onions, pealed and chopped

1/4 pound salt pork, diced and browned

2 tablespoons flour

3 quarts sauerkraut

1 1/2 ounces cooked dried mushrooms, ¥
with water, or 2 cups fresh mushrooms, sauteed

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 cup dry red wine

Cut the meat into very large dice.
    Cook the onions in the fat from the salt pork until limp.  Add
the flour, and blend well.  Stir the sauerkraut and mushrooms,
along with the juice from the dried mushrooms.  Add all the dices
meats, including the salt pork, and the salt, pepper, and sugar.
 

    * If you just do not have all these meats sitting around already cooked, simmer
each individually in a covered casserole along with a bit of onion, carrots, celery, and a
few peppercorns.  Add just a tiny bit of water or broth to the pot so that the meat does
not stick during cooking.  Simmer until not quite tender.

    ¥ Cook the mushrooms in a bit of water until soft enough to cut into thin strips. Save the water.

  Back