Polish Bigos
Source of Recipe
Internet and old friend
Recipe Introduction
Bigos
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Traditional Polish beef Bigos
Bigos (Polish pronunciation: [ˈbiɡɔs]), known as a Hunter's Stew, is a traditional meat stew typical of Polish, Lithuanian, and Belarusian cuisines, considered to be the Polish national dish.[1][2]
There is no single recipe for a savoury stew of cabbage and meat, as recipes vary considerably 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, beef, veal, sausage, 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 rye bread and potatoes. As with many stews, bigos can be kept in a cool place or refrigerated then reheated later—its taste actually intensifies when reheated. A common practice 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. In Poland, it is a traditional dish to be served on the Second Day of Christmas.
Homemade Bigos
Contents
[hide]
* 1 History
* 2 Preparation
o 2.1 Ingredients
o 2.2 Directions
* 3 Bigos in literature
* 4 Notes and references
[edit] 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. However, Polish linguists trace the word bigos to a German rather than Lithuanian origin, even though no word with which it can be identified is extant in modern German. The PWN Dictionary of Foreign Words speculates that it derives from the past participle begossen of a German verb meaning "to douse", as bigos was doused with wine in earlier periods.[3]
Metaphorically, bigos means "confusion","big mess" or "trouble" in Polish. For unknown reasons, bigos means "infantryman" in Czech military slang. A similar dish served in the Alsace region of France is choucroute garnie. Polish cooks sometimes refer to choucroute as "bigos alzacki",[4] and Alsatian cooks sometimes refer to bigos as "choucroute à la polonaise".[5]
List of Ingredients
3 oz dried mushrooms
1/4 pound salt pork or bacon, diced
2 large onions, sliced
3 pounds mixed, roasted or boiled meats, cubed.
(fowl, game, pork or veal ie....)
1/2 pound polish sausage, sliced
2 pounds sauerkraut or cabbage
2 apples
tomatoes
1/2 C madeira wine
sugar to taste (optional)
1 bay leaf
2 T mustard
salt
pepper
broth or water
Recipe
All the above ingredients are suggestions, mix and match as desired.
Rinse sauerkraut and squeeze dry. Soak the mushrooms to reconstitute. Bring broth to a boil and simmer all for an hour or two.
Serve in bread bowls with steamed potatoes on the side.
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