Bigos - Polish Hunter's Stew

Download

Country of origin: Poland

Main Course dish.

Hearty game stew in a rich sauce, quantities are for 8 or more.

Nearest related recipe seems to be Italian Bollito Misto

This recipe is packed full of flavour and not really for the faint hearted chef or diner. If you have an energetic lifestyle then this is for you.

This recipe contains the following types of ingredient: meat and poultry; plants and fungi.

Ingredients

4 rashers
fatty bacon
500 gm
pork meat
1 kg
venison pieces
4
cloves garlic
4
medium onions
30 ml
paprika
250 gm
field mushrooms
500 ml
beef stock
30 gm
FAIRTRADE chutney
2 large

(284 ml)
cans of chopped tomatoes
4
FAIRTRADE bay leaves
400 ml
sauerkraut
4
FAIRTRADE apples
200 gm
cooked ham
6
Polish sausages (Kielbasa)

Method

Preparation

Chop the bacon into bite sized pieces.

Cube the pork meat.

Skin and crush the garlic.

Top, tail, skin and chop the onions.

Trim and chop large the mushrooms.

Peel and core the apples and chop into chunks.

Cooking

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3 (165 °C; 325 °F).

Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven or le Creuset pan, to render the fat, then add the pieces of pork and venison, garlic, onions, paprika, and mushrooms. Stir fry until the meat is browned--about 5 minutes.

Add the stock, the chutney, tomatoes, bay leaves, sauerkraut, and apples, and bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat and check saesoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Put the pot into the oven and bake for 2 and 1/2 hours.

Add the ham and sausages and bake for a further 30 minutes.

To serve

When ready to serve, remove bay leaves and again check the taste for seasoning. Ladle into bowls and serve with boiled potatoes, a bowl of sour cream, and thick, crusty bread.

Variation

Use high flavour (Chorizo or Toulouse) sausages from the Farmer's Market.

Half a head of cabbage added in the last 15 minutes adds some "greens".

Other game is also OK, rabbit, hare, pheasant.