Bigos

Bigos

Traditional Polish beef Bigos
Origin
Place of origin	Poland
Details
Course	Appetizer, main
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredient(s)	sauerkraut and meat (mainly kielbasa)
Variations	Multiple

Bigos (Polish pronunciation: [ˈbiɡɔs]), known as a Hunter's Stew, is a traditional meat stew typical of Polish, Lithuanian, Belarusians and Ukrainian cuisine, considered to be the Polish and Ukrainian national dish.

There is no single recipe for a savoury stew of cabbage and meat, as recipes vary from region to region and from family to family. Typical ingredients include white cabbage, sauerkraut (kapusta kiszona in Polish), various cuts of meat and sausages, often whole or puréed tomatoes, honey and mushrooms. The meats may include pork (often smoked), ham, bacon, sausage, veal, beef, and, as bigos is considered a real hunters' stew, venison or other game; leftover cuts find their way into the pot as well. It may be seasoned with pepper, caraway, juniper berries, bay leaf, marjoram, pimento, dried or smoked plums and other ingredients.

Bigos is usually eaten with mashed potatoes or rye bread. As with many stews, bigos can be kept in a cool place or refrigerated and then reheated later – it is said that its flavour actually intensifies when reheated. One observed tradition is to keep a pot of bigos going for a week or more, replenishing ingredients as necessary (cf. perpetual stew). This, the seasonal availability of cabbage and its richness in vitamin C made bigos a traditional part of the winter diet in Poland and elsewhere. It is a popular dish in Poland to be served on the Second Day of Christmas.

History

Bigos is said by some to have been introduced to Poland by Jogaila, a Lithuanian Grand Duke who became Polish king Władysław Jagiełło in 1385 and who supposedly served it to his hunting-party guests. Metaphorically, bigos means "confusion", "big mess" or "trouble" in Polish.

Preparation

Bigos and a glass of Tyskie beer at a restaurant in central Kraków.

Recipes for bigos vary widely. According to some, the amount of meat should equal the amount of cabbage. Some prefer to use only fermented cabbage, sauerkraut; others combine cabbage and sauerkraut in equal proportion. The sauerkraut may be washed or unwashed. Most recipes have a few things in common:

• The dish is based on sauerkraut.
• More than one type of meat is used.
• Kielbasa is included among the meat.
• Plenty of peppercorns are used.

The following recipe gives a representative example of bigos. Because preparation varies so widely, many variations have their adherents.

Ingredients

In order of volume: 2 lb sauerkraut, washed and drained; 2 lb white cabbage, shredded; 1 lb sausage, sliced into ½" pieces; ½ lb smoked ham, cubed; ½ lb smoked pork, cubed; ½ lb bacon, chopped; ½ lb beef or venison, cubed; 2 oz dried mushrooms; 4 pitted prunes, chopped; 2 apples, cored and cubed; 1 tomato, cubed; 1 onion, diced; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tsp allspice; 2 bay leaves;: 1 tbsp peppercorns.

Directions

Prepare the ingredients as listed above. Simmer the cabbage until soft (1/2 to 1 hour), then drain. Meanwhile, cook the bacon and set aside, preserving the fat. In the bacon fat sauté the onions and garlic, and brown the remaining meat except the sausage. Combine all ingredients in a pot and cook: in a slow cooker, set on "low" for 5–10 hours; on the stove, cook briefly on medium and then simmer 2–3 hours.

Refrigerate any leftovers and reheat for serving. The flavor improves each time, peaking around the third day. Many like to freeze it solid before thawing, heating and eating. Traditionally, it was left out in the freezing cold to store.

Bigos in literature

The great Polish epic poem Pan Tadeusz written by poet, writer and philosopher Adam Mickiewicz, features a poetic description of bigos eaten by members of the aristocratic szlachta returning from hunting:

In the pots warmed the bigos; mere words cannot tell Of its wondrous taste, colour and marvellous smell. One can hear the words buzz, and the rhymes ebb and flow, But its content no city digestion can know. To appreciate the Lithuanian folksong and folk food, You need health, live on land, and be back from the wood. Without these, still a dish of no mediocre worth Is bigos, made from legumes, best grown in the earth; Pickled cabbage comes foremost, and properly chopped, Which itself, is the saying, will in ones mouth hop; In the boiler enclosed, with its moist bosom shields Choicest morsels of meat raised on greenest of fields; Then it simmers, till fire has extracted each drop Of live juice, and the liquid boils over the top, And the heady aroma wafts gently afar. — Adam Mickiewicz, Pan Tadeusz, Book 4: Diplomacy and Hunt Translated by Marcel Weyland

W kociołkach bigos grzano; w słowach wydać trudno Bigosu smak przedziwny, kolor i woń cudną; Słów tylko brzęk usłyszy i rymów porządek, Ale treści ich miejski nie pojmie żołądek. Aby cenić litewskie pieśni i potrawy, Trzeba mieć zdrowie, na wsi żyć, wracać z obławy. Przecież i bez tych przypraw potrawą nie lada Jest bigos, bo się z jarzyn dobrych sztucznie składa. Bierze się doń siekana, kwaszona kapusta, Która, wedle przysłowia, sama idzie w usta; Zamknięta w kotle, łonem wilgotnym okrywa Wyszukanego cząstki najlepsze mięsiwa; I praży się, aż ogień wszystkie z niej wyciśnie Soki żywne, aż z brzegów naczynia war pryśnie I powietrze dokoła zionie aromatem. — Adam Mickiewicz, Pan Tadeusz, Księga czwarta: Dyplomatyka i łowy

Notes and references

Media related to Bigos at Wikimedia Commons

• Alina Żerańska, The Art of Polish Cooking, Doubleday, Garden City, New York, 1968.
• Pan Tadeusz, Księga czwarta: Dyplomatyka i łowy from the complete text of Pan Tadeusz in the Polish language