This is a treasured family recipe shared by our church Pastor, Fr. Sylvester. He grew up in Poland and he submitted this recipe in loving memory of his brother, Stanistaw Stas. It was included in the 160th anniversary recipe book, “Made with Loving Hands” compiled by the Grace Quilters Ministry at St. John’s parish church.
I’ve tried several recipes in the cookbook, all with excellent results. I picked up a beautiful head of cabbage the other day and decided it was time to finally make this traditional Polish stew. Being Hungarian, I have an affinity for Eastern European food. Anything with sauerkraut, cabbage or sausage gets my mouth watering. I grew up on these foods, so for me they are the ultimate comfort food.
Most Hungarian dishes get this beautiful color with the addition of Paprika. This dish is Polish, so there is no Paprika in it, although I did consider adding it, maybe next time. Polish Bigos gets its beautiful, lovely red color from tomato paste instead of Paprika.
There are as many variations of this stew as there are Polish families. Everyone makes if a little differently but from the research I did, most traditional recipes for Bigos contain cabbage, sour kraut and smoked sausage. Some recipes call for chicken or beef when making Bigos but traditionally it is usually prepared with pork in addition to smoked sausage.
Bigos is a hunters stew. In ancient times, hunters would prepare this stew each evening with the meat they had from the day’s hunt. The Bigos would be reheated each day and more meat added. The flavor developed each day, the continued cooking deepened, concentrated and intensified the flavors of the stew so by the end of the hunt they had a flavorful, magnificent meal to feast upon.
TIP: Use a pork shoulder or pork butt for this recipe and not pork tenderloin. Tenderloin is too lean and will not provide much flavor to this stew. Pork shoulder or pork butt are fattier cuts and impart much more flavor.
Bigos just begs to be served with a freshly baked loaf of bread to soak up all the delicious sauce that this stew makes. I served this stew with a soft loaf of French bread, slathered with butter. Sooooo yummy!!!
Give this soft loaf of French bread a try. You can easily make it and get it in the oven while the Bigos is simmering away on the stove.
Oh my goodness…my kitchen smells amazing with the Bigos simmering away on the stovetop and a loaf of bread baking in my oven! I wish the internet had smell-o-vision!
Let’s get going with the recipe so your kitchen can smell as good as mind does right now!!!
Add about ½ inch water to a large dutch oven pan. Bring water to a boil.
Add sliced cabbage to the water. Cover and cook over medium heat until cabbage is soft. About 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Place sauerkraut and 2 cups water in another saucepan and bring to a boil.
Season cubed pork shoulder with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Fry seasoned pork shoulder until browned.
Add fried pork shoulder to the cooked cabbage in the dutch oven.
In the same skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon until it renders it’s fat.
Add sliced Kielbasa, diced onions and minced garlic to the skillet.
Cook until onions are soft, scraping up browned bits in the pan.
Add sauerkraut with liquid, cooked bacon, Kielbasa, onion and garlic to the cabbage in the dutch oven.
Add Bay leaves and stir in tomato paste.
Simmer over very low heat for 1-2 hours until pork is cooked through, soft, and liquid in the pot cooks down.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
The longer you allow this to simmer, the better the flavor. Remember the medieval hunters? The longer this stew cooks, the more the flavors concentrate and intensify. So let it go low and slow for a couple of hours on the stove.
Ladle stew into large bowls and serve with a loaf of freshly baked bread.
Although not in the recipe submitted by Fr. Sylvester, I think this stew would be wonderful served over chunks of boiled potatoes. What can I say, I’m a carb loving girl!
A huge thank you to Fr. Sylvester for sharing this delicious recipe in loving memory of his brother! This one is a must try!
BIGOS (Polish Stew)
Equipment
- Dutch oven
Ingredients
- ½ head green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
- 4 cups sauerkraut
- 2 cups water
- 1 lb. pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ lb. bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 lb. smoked Kielbasa sausage, sliced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 2 Bay leaves
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Sour cream, optional
- Parsley, optional
Instructions
- Add about ½ inch water to a large dutch oven pan. Bring water to a boil.
- Add sliced cabbage to the water. Cover and cook over medium heat until cabbage is soft. About 15-20 minutes.
- Place sauerkraut and 2 cups water in another saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Season cubed pork shoulder with salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Fry seasoned pork shoulder until browned.
- Add fried pork shoulder to the cabbage in the dutch oven.
- In the same skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon until it renders it's fat.
- Add sliced Kielbasa, diced onions and minced garlic to the skillet. Cook until onions are soft.
- Add sauerkraut with liquid, cooked bacon, Kielbasa, onion and garlic to the cabbage in the dutch oven.
- Stir in tomato paste and add bay leaves.
- Simmer for 1-2 hours until pork is cooked through and liquid in the pot cooks down.
- Ladle stew into large bowls and serve with a loaf of freshly baked bread.
Did You Make This?
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Going to def make this. Thank u for sharing
My thought is pairing with rye bread instead of French bread.