Polish Hunter’s Choucroute (Bigos) Recipe (2024)

Part 1 - no vodka, no beef stock, no wine, no apples, no apricot or prune butter, no potatoes and definitively no frankfurters or German sausage. Bigos needs game meat (wild boar, deer, pheasant, etc.) and if you don’t have it use tougher cuts of beef that can take extended cooking. Use fresh (non-pasteurized) sauerkraut and mix 50/50 with freshly shredded cabbage if it’s too sour. You need dried prunes and tons of dried boletus mushrooms…few bay leaves too.

Part 2 - Most important aspect that is not mentioned is that bigos needs to be cooked over 3-4 days. Slow cooked for 2-3 hrs per day and then let it rest in cold place overnight…then repeat this step next few days. That’s when the flavor develops. Bigos is never served with mustard. Author has probably never eaten proper bigos and definitively never cooked one. This recipe is right up there with fake news.

Please add a handful of dried porcini mushrooms, substitute an apple with prune butter, add a bay leaf, and skip the vodka. Then you'll have something closer to the original recipe.

My husband, a world traveler and an amazing cook, made this for me in 18 years ago on a chilly night. This dish is probably the only one when I break my 'mostly vegetarian' rule. There is a fantastic polish bakery in Boston that has 20 different kinds of sausages (made there) and fresh sauerkraut. Not tried with Vodka and probably won't but wine is a must!

The key to this recipe is to soak the sauerkraut in water, then press out the liquid via a colander or sieve. This then added to a mixture of wilted onion, shredded carrot, and smoky bacon pieces. Rehydrate with stock made from game bones or beef stock. Add wine and all of the game pieces desirable, including hunters sausage. Forget the vodka; add a garnet bouquet pouch of parsley stems, juniper berries, and peppercorns. Boiled potatoes mashed with milk, butter, white pepper, horseradish.

Quick question - what exactly is meant by fresh sauerkraut? I make sauerkraut but my latest batch is from several months ago and has been sitting quite happily in the fridge since then (I eat it from time to time). Is it just unpasteurized sauerkraut?

Very good! For two people:- halved ingredients; still made plenty. But used 14 oz. kielbasa.- subbed pancetta for bacon, used ham hocks. Added some leftover restaurant shortribs on day 2.- drained the sauerkraut but did not press it out- no frankfurters or vodka- added bay leaf, 1/3 c. prunes, and a handful of dried mushrooms (more would be fine)- refrigerated overnightNext time:- cut potatoes into smaller chunks. They didn't cook through!- 2 apples (i.e. don't halve this ingredient)

I would like to know what about using a good real European beer.What about dried prunes and apples?How about pierogies that are made with sauerkraut and cheese or just made with farmers cheese and potatoes?I agree mushrooms are necessary. I am just asking because my best friend is Polish. Her paternal grandmother made this just a little diffently than her maternal grandmother who came from Kraków

Love this recipe and have made it many times (coming from an Eastern European heritage where pork and sauerkraut are often enjoyed). I have tried this with and without vodka. The vodka does not scream of vodka, but isn't that what a balanced recipe needs - not one thing overpowering? Perhaps it's sentimental - a good thing!Sausages and hot dogs, and red wine are perfect.

I was so glad to see this recipe! I made it years ago when it was first published in NYT (2008), but I did not keep the recipe and could never find it later. It was absolutely delicious! Thank you for providing the link to this recipe.

I learned about bigos from a Polish fellow fanfic writer in an online Harry Potter group. He described it as basically greens and sausage and whatever other meat was available, plus other stuff to taste, like apples and onions. I used mixed dark greens and hot chorizo with other kinds of sausage. My friend said that was a totally valid bigos. Not so much a recipe, he said, as an idea for a meal.I call my version "Collards Polonaise".

The key to this recipe is to soak the sauerkraut in water, then press out the liquid via a colander or sieve. This then added to a mixture of wilted onion, shredded carrot, and smoky bacon pieces. Rehydrate with stock made from game bones or beef stock. Add wine and all of the game pieces desirable, including hunters sausage. Forget the vodka; add a garnet bouquet pouch of parsley stems, juniper berries, and peppercorns. Boiled potatoes mashed with milk, butter, white pepper, horseradish.

This recipe is a total nonsense, please follow the advise by Krystyna and Rafal and save the vodka for martini.

Must use dried mushrooms in this. Please use cabanosy and a bit of tomato paste before adding the wine. Vodka? Serve that on the side in iced shot glasses. Sto lat!

I would park the vodka. As for the muscular red, Cahors certainly qualifies, and so does a Sicilian Nero D´Avola, but Rioja doesn´t. If you want Spanish, Jumilla does much better in the muscle department, and so does Toro, both readily available in the U.S.

Part 1 - no vodka, no beef stock, no wine, no apples, no apricot or prune butter, no potatoes and definitively no frankfurters or German sausage. Bigos needs game meat (wild boar, deer, pheasant, etc.) and if you don’t have it use tougher cuts of beef that can take extended cooking. Use fresh (non-pasteurized) sauerkraut and mix 50/50 with freshly shredded cabbage if it’s too sour. You need dried prunes and tons of dried boletus mushrooms…few bay leaves too.

Part 2 - Most important aspect that is not mentioned is that bigos needs to be cooked over 3-4 days. Slow cooked for 2-3 hrs per day and then let it rest in cold place overnight…then repeat this step next few days. That’s when the flavor develops. Bigos is never served with mustard. Author has probably never eaten proper bigos and definitively never cooked one. This recipe is right up there with fake news.

Quick question - what exactly is meant by fresh sauerkraut? I make sauerkraut but my latest batch is from several months ago and has been sitting quite happily in the fridge since then (I eat it from time to time). Is it just unpasteurized sauerkraut?

Please add a handful of dried porcini mushrooms, substitute an apple with prune butter, add a bay leaf, and skip the vodka. Then you'll have something closer to the original recipe.

My husband, a world traveler and an amazing cook, made this for me in 18 years ago on a chilly night. This dish is probably the only one when I break my 'mostly vegetarian' rule. There is a fantastic polish bakery in Boston that has 20 different kinds of sausages (made there) and fresh sauerkraut. Not tried with Vodka and probably won't but wine is a must!