Polish Hunter’s Choucroute (Bigos)
- Total Time
- 4 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2large sweet onions, chopped
- ½teaspoon salt
- 8ounces thick-cut smoked bacon, cut into ½-inch squares
- 3pounds sauerkraut, preferably fresh
- 2potatoes, peeled and cut into eighths
- 4cloves garlic, peeled
- 15black peppercorns
- 2pounds any combination of smoked ham, smoked pigs’ knuckles, ham hocks, smoked goose or smoked duck
- 2apples
- 1 or 2cans beef consommé
- 1½cups (about ½ bottle) sturdy red wine (Cahors, Rioja or Sicilian), or as needed
- Whole small or large frankfurters or other German-style sausages, as many as you like
- 8ounces kielbasa cut in ½-inch chunks
- ½cup to 1 cup vodka
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
753 calories; 30 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 59 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams dietary fiber; 19 grams sugars; 45 grams protein; 3768 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Place onions in a bowl and mix with salt; set aside. Place a large skillet over medium heat; sauté bacon until brown and crisp. Remove from pan and set aside. Add onions to pan; sauté over medium heat until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat; set aside.
- Step 2
Place sauerkraut in a heavy casserole without rinsing it unless you find the taste too strong. If you do, rinse in cold water and press water out in a colander. Add to sauerkraut the onions, potatoes, garlic, peppercorns and all meats except frankfurters, sausages and kielbasa. Peel and core apples, cut into quarters, and add to casserole. Mix well. Add enough consommé and wine to barely reach surface of sauerkraut. Cover and cook over low heat for 2½ hours, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of casserole.
- Step 3
Allow casserole to cool. Throw out bones and outer skin of knuckles. If not serving dish the same day, cover and refrigerate. If serving the same day, add sausages and kielbasa, and cook over low heat for 1 hour before serving.
- Step 4
Fifteen minutes before serving, pour vodka over mixture. Place on a platter with raised edges (to prevent liquid from spilling), arranging sausages on top. If desired, serve with coarse grain mustard and lightly buttered boiled potatoes sprinkled with chopped dill.
Private Notes
Comments
Part 1 - no vodka, no beef stock, no wine, no apples, no apricot or prune butter, no potatoes and definitively no frankfurters or German sausage. Bigos needs game meat (wild boar, deer, pheasant, etc.) and if you don’t have it use tougher cuts of beef that can take extended cooking. Use fresh (non-pasteurized) sauerkraut and mix 50/50 with freshly shredded cabbage if it’s too sour. You need dried prunes and tons of dried boletus mushrooms…few bay leaves too.
Part 2 - Most important aspect that is not mentioned is that bigos needs to be cooked over 3-4 days. Slow cooked for 2-3 hrs per day and then let it rest in cold place overnight…then repeat this step next few days. That’s when the flavor develops. Bigos is never served with mustard. Author has probably never eaten proper bigos and definitively never cooked one. This recipe is right up there with fake news.
Please add a handful of dried porcini mushrooms, substitute an apple with prune butter, add a bay leaf, and skip the vodka. Then you'll have something closer to the original recipe.
Very good! For two people: - halved ingredients; still made plenty. But used 14 oz. kielbasa. - subbed pancetta for bacon, used ham hocks. Added some leftover restaurant shortribs on day 2. - drained the sauerkraut but did not press it out - no frankfurters or vodka - added bay leaf, 1/3 c. prunes, and a handful of dried mushrooms (more would be fine) - refrigerated overnight Next time: - cut potatoes into smaller chunks. They didn't cook through! - 2 apples (i.e. don't halve this ingredient)
I would like to know what about using a good real European beer. What about dried prunes and apples? How about pierogies that are made with sauerkraut and cheese or just made with farmers cheese and potatoes? I agree mushrooms are necessary. I am just asking because my best friend is Polish. Her paternal grandmother made this just a little diffently than her maternal grandmother who came from Kraków
Love this recipe and have made it many times (coming from an Eastern European heritage where pork and sauerkraut are often enjoyed). I have tried this with and without vodka. The vodka does not scream of vodka, but isn't that what a balanced recipe needs - not one thing overpowering? Perhaps it's sentimental - a good thing! Sausages and hot dogs, and red wine are perfect.