Authentic Polish Bigos (Hunter's Stew)

 

Okay, so my friend from Poland, Gosia, wins this round! Not that this was a competition, but consider this a "Bigos Throw down." Bobby Flay would be proud of us. ;.)

I told you when I posted my Bigos recipe last week that I would post hers as soon as she sent me the photos.

In case you missed it: http://welcometojustforcooking.blogspot.com/2012/09/bigos-hunters-stew-lightened-up.html

With permission, here is Gosia's authentic Bigos. All I can say is... "wow!" I know you will enjoy her recipe. 

I think her pictures are great, too.  I hope Gosia will contribute more guest posts.

Gosia's Tip: "The secret of Bigos is that it gets better as it's reheated. The more it is heated the better it gets. Serve with good bread."

Ingredients:
1 lb. smoked pork
1 lb. spareribs
1 lb. pork loin or pork ribs
2 cups water, divided
2 bay leaves
Two or three whole Allspice
Pepper, to taste
4 lbs. sauerkraut
1 cup Polish red wine
4 lbs. cabbage, finely chopped
Salt, to taste,
1/4 lb. bacon
1/2 cup onions, chopped
16 ounces fresh chopped wild mushrooms
1 ounce dried mushrooms, rehydrate overnight in red wine or water
1 lb. smoked kielbasa
2 cups dried plums
Two tablespoons tomato paste

Directions:

Brown pork and spareribs in a large heavy pot. 

Add smoked pork with one (1) cup of water, the bay leaves, allspice and pepper.

Simmer for one hour.

Add sauerkraut and one cup of wine.  Chop the cabbage finely and add to sauerkraut.

Add lots of salt and pepper, cover and simmer for one hour.  Remove lid and keep the pot on a very low simmer.

In a side pan, fry bacon until crisp.  Crumble into the pot with the sour kraut and cabbage.

Cut kielbasa into slices.  Add to the pot along with the dried plums.  Stir in tomato paste.

Bring to boil and reduce to simmer about 30 minutes.  Serve hot.

Gosia's family dog, Drago, loves this recipe, too!

Thank you, my friend, for sharing your recipe with me and my readers.  I wish I could be with you tonight in your lovely home, sharing a dish of this and a glass of Polish beer or sweet wine.

Note:  As stated, all photos and the recipe were used with permission.

Bigos (Hunter's Stew) - Lightened-Up

My friend from Poland, Gosia, gave me her recipe for Polish Bigos, or Hunter's Stew.  She promised to make it very soon and send me pictures.  In return, I told her I would make my version -- changing her recipe up a bit to go along with my "JFC" lightened-up guidelines.  I cannot wait to see Gosia's version.  I promise I will post Gosia's recipe as the "Authentic Polish Bigos."

This makes enough food for a crowd.  All you need is a loaf of crusty bread, a little butter for the bread, and spicy mustard.

And as Gosia will tell you, Bigos is even better the next day.  You will definitely love the leftovers!

Oh, and I made this in the slow cooker!

Ingredients:

1 cup porcini mushrooms (dried/reconstituted)*
1 1/4 lb. boneless country pork ribs
1 1/2 lb. beef back ribs, bone in
Fine sea salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
2 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, divided
3 tbs. olive oil, divided
1 Pumpkin Ale (12 oz) or 12 ounces cold water with 1 tsp. pumpkin pie seasoning
1 lb. sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
1/2 medium head cabbage, chopped
1 cup apple juice
1 tbs. horseradish mustard
2 dried bay leaves
14 oz. turkey kielbasa, cut into bite sized rounds
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, no salt added, do NOT drain
1 medium onion, sliced
Fresh thyme (optional)
1 tbs. butter
2 slices bacon,  cut into 1/2 inch pieces


Directions:

*The day before you plan to make the bigos, add the dried porcini mushrooms to a bowl.  Cover with water.  I like to add a little sea salt and garlic powder to the water but that is entirely optional.  Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours (at least).

When you are ready to make the bigos:

Preheat your slow cooker to high.   Season the pork and beef ribs with salt, pepper and 1/2 of the garlic powder. 

Bring two tablespoons of the olive oil to a smoking point in a skillet.  Add the pork ribs first and then the beef ribs, in batches, browning on all sides. 

Add browned ribs to warm slow cooker.  Add the pumpkin ale or water with seasoning.  Cover and cook on high for one hour.

Mix the kraut and cabbage together.  Mix the apple juice and mustard together.  Pour the apple juice and mustard over the kraut and cabbage and combine.  Pour this over the meat in the slow cooker.  Add the remaining garlic powder and lots of salt and pepper (to taste).  Add the bay leaves.  Cover and continue to cook for 90 minutes on high.

 

Reduce slow cooker heat to low.  Add the kielbasa and the canned tomatoes and juice.  Cover and cook for about four hours.  Turn slow cooker to warm.  In a medium skillet, add the remaining olive oil, the onion and the mushrooms (drained).  Add the butter and the thyme.  Cook for about five minutes. 

Add the sliced bacon with the onions and mushrooms.  Continue to cook for about five more minutes until the bacon is crisped.  

Add the onions, mushrooms and bacon to the bigos. 

Enjoy... and I know you will.

Adult beverage suggestion: I call this drink Apple Rum:   2 shots of white over ice, topped with apple juice.  Also great with a seaonal Oktoberfest or Pumpkin beer.  That and the bigos will get you toasty warm on a cold, rainy fall day!

If you like this recipe, you will enjoy the recipe I posted the other night:  http://welcometojustforcooking.blogspot.com/2012/09/roasted-pork-with-mushroom-sauce-kraut.html

Happy Autumn, everyone!

Roasted Pork with Mushroom Sauce, Kraut and Cabbage

My friend, Gosia, from Poland asked me the other day why I don't post more Polish food on this blog.  After all, I am of Eastern European culture.

I love Polish food!  Growing up near Pittsburgh, PA, I learned that Polish food is the ultimate comfort food.  In fact, I recently read where the people of Pittsburgh eat 11 times more pierogies over people in other US cities. 

http://pittsburgh.about.com/od/recipes/r/pierogies.htm

The trick for me is not in the making of the Polish food; it is preparing it to be healthy enough so that it doesn't pack on a lot of extra pounds.

With her permission, I am actually going to be posting one of Gosia's Polish Hunter Stew recipes very soon.  I will try to make her dish this weekend. Since I am part Polish, part Slovak and part Ukrainian, I added an Eastern European label on to the right so that you can see the collection of these recipes as I occasionally post them. 

This dish that I am posting tonight I made the other day.   It kind of reminds me of a cross between a Polish and a Hungarian meal.  It's slow cooker-easy, so I know you will love it on a busy day.  I like this dish because it's economical, too!

Slow cooker recipes don't really lend themselves to a pictorial as you throw everything in the pot together.  I think the final result tells you what you're in for here! 

Start with partially frozen chops to keep the meat juicy.  And, yes, this dish is even better the next day as all the flavors marry overnight.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 pounds boneless pork sirloin chops (partially frozen)
1/2 tbs. grill seasoning for chicken (I used Weber Canadian)
1 tsp. ground sage
2 tsp. onion powder, divided
1 can (10.5 ounce) low sodium, fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 bay leaf
1 pound sauerkraut (drained but not rinsed)
2 cups chopped green cabbage
1 tsp. caraway seeds (optional)
2 tsp. Hungarian Paprika, divided
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
2 or three drops of gravy enhancer (optional)

Directions:

Place partially frozen pork chops in slow cooker.  Sprinkle with the grill seasoning, ground sage and onion powder.  Add the mushroom soup and the bay leaf (dried is fine).  Cook over low heat for about four hours.

Add the sauerkraut and chopped cabbage on top of the pork along with the caraway seeds.  Top with the rest of the onion powder and half of the paprika.  Continue to cook for two more hours. 

Add the chopped mushrooms.  Continue to cook for one more hour. 

Transfer pork and vegetables from the slow cooker to a serving bowl and keep warm.  Remove bay leaf.  Add the sour cream and the gravy enhancer to the pan juices.  Turn slow cooker on high and cover until the mixture bubbles and warms through.  Pour the gravy over the pork and the vegetables and toss.  Top with remaining paprika. 

I like to serve this with whole grain pierogies with onions. Yum!

Note:  Fresh chopped sage for garnish is optional.

Look for more fall, Eastern European and Oktoberfest recipes coming soon!