Bigos

Storing and Planning Ahead

Refrigerate up to 6 days, improving daily, and freeze 3 months.

Bigos: The Method

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1. Soak the porcini in the hot water for 30 minutes. Lift them out, chop, and strain the liquid through muslin.

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2. Render the bacon in the lard in a very large pot for 6 minutes, then brown the pork shoulder in batches and set everything aside.

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3. Cook the onions in the fat for 10 minutes until soft and golden.

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4. Stir in the tomato purée and cook 2 minutes, then pour in the wine and let it reduce by half.

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5. Add both cabbages, the mushrooms and their strained liquid, the stock, prunes, bay, juniper, allspice, caraway, salt and pepper.

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6. Return the pork, bacon, kielbasa and ribs. Stir well — the pot will be very full and will settle as it cooks.

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7. Cover and cook at 150°C / 300°F fan for 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 45 minutes.

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8. Uncover and cook 30 minutes more so the liquid reduces to a thick, glossy coating rather than a broth.

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9. Divide between shallow containers so it cools quickly, and refrigerate within 2 hours. Reheat and eat the next day, and preferably the day after that.

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10. Serve very hot with rye bread (optional) and a shot of cold vodka.

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Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Ingredient substitutions.

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Worth Knowing

• Make it three days before you want to eat it. This is not an exaggeration.
• Both cabbages. Sauerkraut alone is too sour, fresh alone is too flat.
• Reduce it at the end. Bigos should coat, not slosh.

Some Background

Bigos is a dish that is genuinely better on the third day, because the sauerkraut needs that long to stop tasting sour and start tasting savoury. Using both sauerkraut and fresh cabbage is not padding: the fresh cabbage sweetens as it breaks down and balances the pickle.

Serving Ideas

Rye bread · Ice cold vodka · Boiled potatoes

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Polish Cucumber Salad, Kluski Slaskie, Kopytka.

Bigos FAQ

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: weights that include bone are counted as if all of it were eaten, so the figures run high; where a line offers a choice of foods, only one of them is counted; garnishes, greasing and other items with no amount are not counted; optional ingredients are counted. The calories include 3 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.

Gluten-free when served without the rye bread.

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