Polish Hunter's Stew (Bigos Staropolski)

A Polish household favourite, this cauldron of comfort combines intricate layers of warm spice, sauerkraut and any assortment of meat you can find.

Bigos is guaranteed to swell excitement in any Polish person’s heart. It’s also guaranteed to cause some hot debate, as every Polish family has their own style of making this hearty, complex stew. Bigos is traditionally a hunter’s stew, made with whatever meats could be hunted and gathered. Traditionally, bigos was often made with game meats, however the modern Polish palate favours pork deli meats, of which Poland has unspeakable amounts. Many Polish deli counters will sell a ‘bigosowe’, which is a selection of off-cuts and scraps from their other deli items which are jumbled together to sell for bigos. Besides a specific choice of meats, Polish people also like to debate other controversial add-ins for bigos: red wine? tomato paste? apples? prunes? Some things are agreed: lots of meat, lots of cabbage and a woodland bouquet of dried mushrooms, juniper berries and caraway seeds. This is a recipe I made for my beloved friend Mrs Morawiec and her family while I was house-sitting for them last year. The bigos sat and matured in the pot for three days - which is very traditional - just in time for them returning home from their trip to Poland. Mrs Morawiec first introduced me to a lot of Polish cookery and they adored this pot. Luckily for both of us, I wrote the exact recipe down and I can now share it with you too. Let’s go!