Bigos: Traditional Polish Hunter's Stew

Ingredients

• 9 cups boiling water, divided
• 3 pounds sauerkraut - rinsed, drained and chopped
• 15 pitted prunes
• 5 whole allspice berries
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 cup dried mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 onion, chopped
• 1 Polish sausage, sliced
• ½ pound beef stew meat, cubed
• ½ pound boneless pork shoulder, cubed
• ½ cup bacon strips, diced
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¾ cup red wine
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste (Optional)

Step 1

Put the sauerkraut in a large pot or casserole dish and pour in about 4 cups of boiling water. Toss in the prunes, allspice, and bay leaves, then let everything simmer gently for around 50 minutes until the sauerkraut is nice and soft. While that’s cooking, pour about a cup of boiling water over the dried mushrooms to rehydrate them. Let them soak for about half an hour, then drain and chop them up, but don’t throw away the soaking liquid—you’ll use some of it later.

Step 2

Heat a bit of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and sausage, and cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft and the sausage is browned, which should take about five minutes. In another pot, bring about 4 cups of water to a boil, then add the beef, pork, and bacon. Let it simmer for 20 minutes until the meat is cooked through, then drain off the water.

Step 3

Once the sauerkraut is tender, add the cooked meats, the sausage and onion mixture, and the chopped mushrooms into the pot. Give it all a good stir and let it simmer uncovered on low heat for about 20 minutes. Pour in the red wine and let it cook for another 15 minutes so the flavors meld together nicely. Finally, season the stew with caraway seeds, marjoram, salt, and pepper, then stir in the tomato puree. If it feels a little dry, add some of the reserved mushroom soaking liquid and let it simmer a bit more to bring everything together.