Bigos: Polish Hunters Stew
Bigos is one of the best hearty soups I’ve ever had. Pork, porcini, smoked meats, red wine, and sauerkraut come together in a hearty, luxurious soup. Prepare yourself with some crusty baguette or bold sourdough on the side.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups pork butt, cut into 1” pieces (about 1 pound after trimming)
- ½ cup thick cut bacon, cut into ½” pieces
- 1 cup polska kielbasa, cut into ½” half circles
- 2 cups onion, diced ¼”
- 2 cup red wine
- 1 smoked pork chop (kasseler) or smoked ham cut into 1” pieces
-
1 Tbsp B Marion blend
-
2 Tbsp dried garlic slices
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cup sauerkraut, rinsed and roughly chopped
- 3 qts beef stock
- .5oz package dried porcini, soaked in 1 cup of water overnight
- 3 Tbsp corn starch
-
Fine sea salt and Pierre Poivre to taste
- Roughly chopped parsley to garnish
Directions
- In a heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil until just starting to smoked and add the pork but to sear to golden brown.
- Add the bacon, kielbasa, and onion and continue cooking for 5 -10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The bacon and sausage should render while cooking to a golden brown and the onions should become tender.
- When ready, add the ready wine and continue cooking to reduce by half, scraping any browned bits from the pot.
- Then add the smoked pork, B Marion, Garlic slices, and tomato paste and stir well to coat.
- Add the sauerkraut, stock, dried porcini, and soaking liquid and bring the pot to boil, skimming as needed.
- Reduce the heat to simmer for 1 ½ hours or until the pork butt pieces are completely tender.
- Dissolve the corn starch in 3 Tbsp of water to make a slurry and drizzle it into the pot, stirring, to thicken to a shiny stew.
- Season with salt and Pierre Poivre to taste and garnish each bowl with roughly chopped parsley.
- Enjoy!
