Bigos

I made bigos for my friend who lived in Eastern Europe for a long time. Her joy was unprecedented on a birthday.

 Here's the recipe which I'm glad to say is from my student in my politics of food class. To the Radich family: thank you.

Vegetarian version for MCT: click here.

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I chose to do the food challenge where my mom recalled a food my great-grandmother used to make. My mom was born and raised in Poland, and moved to America when she was 14. Food is a big part of Polish culture. Most dishes are made from scratch and take some time to prepare. The dish we chose to make is called bigos, also known as hunter’s stew. This dish takes at least two days to prepare. It is most popular at the start of hunting season in the fall and into the winter. It is a hearty dish that is made with any or all types of game the hunter brings home. There is no one way to make this dish, but it is very common in all of Poland. Bigos is a dish that is found at any holiday celebrations and is made year round to use up left over meats. In Poland, my mom and uncle Kris lived with their parents, their cousins and their parents, and their grandparents. They had a huge house that my great-grandfather built on 10+ acres. My great-grandmother used to make bigos for the whole family all the time. Then when my grandma moved to America, followed by my mom a year later and uncle 5 years after her, she would make bigos for them. My mom called my uncle Kris to make sure she remembered how to make bigos.

Our recipe called for: 1 Full rack of pork ribs (~2lbs)

(Used a grass fed beef chuck roast and after three hours of sauteing, it was still unchewable. Did this cow run track? Then at the 6 hour mark, it was falling apart-CK).

1 ft long thick kielbasi link

 Water

 Salt

 Peppercorns

 Red pepper flakes (didn't put this in)

 Garlic powder (didn't put this in)

 3 bay leaves

 1.5 lbs sauerkraut (Good kraut is VERY important) (drained and soaked in water to lessen the vinegar taste)

1 small head of cabbage Handful of dried Polish mushrooms (Prawdziwki) (one portabella chopped worked)

 2 pieces of bacon (I admit, it was more like half a pound of bacon, and I sauteed the onion and apple in it).

1 small onion

2 beef cubes (didn't put this in)

3 prunes (yes, put this in). I also put in two peeled and diced apples and a cup of Malbec from the Mendoza region of Argentina. Not too tannin-y.

Place pork ribs in a large pot and fill with water until pork is submerged. Season water with salt, peppercorns, one bay leaf, and red pepper flakes.

Bring to a boil, then let simmer on low heat for ~3 hours until pork is well-cooked. (I boiled it for 75 minutes, dumped half the broth and half the chuck into a Crockpot with everything else and then cooked it on high for two hours, low for four hours-CK).

Once cooked, remove the pork from the broth (turn of burner) and remove all bones and excess fat.

Place meat in a bowl and set aside. Take the sauerkraut and rinse thoroughly to reduce sourness; then, cut cabbage head into shreds. In separate pot saute bacon and diced onions. Add the kraut and shredded cabbage to the bacon and onions pot; then, pour the broth into this pot. Cook on med-high until boiling then turn to low. Add a handful of dried Polish mushrooms and two bay leaves. Cook on low heat for one hour. Add garlic powder and 2 beef cubes. Continue to cook on low for 1.5 hours. Add cooked pork and cut up kielbasi to the stew along with 3-4 more peppercorns and 3 crushed prunes. Cook on low for 2 hours. Allow to cool (overnight) then cook on low hear for 2 hours the next day. Stew will taste better and better with multiple slow cook sessions. Typically eaten on day 3. This was a long process, but it is convenient because you can walk away from it and do other things. My dad was hungry and impatient for dinner when I caught him eating the broth. He did not understand why I told him he couldn’t eat it. It was not even ready! My mom is very controlling in the kitchen, and would start doing things without telling me she was adding something or moving to the next step. She hovered over my shoulder every time I cut the cabbage or onions. She always wants her food to taste perfect so everything has to be done how she wants it; it is entertaining. Overall, it was a good time; I always enjoy cooking with my mom, no matter how particular she gets. This time though, I could tell she was getting nostalgic as she talked about Poland and her family.