Christmas in Poland – Bigos

  Christmas in Poland is full of tradition – and food!! The celebration starts on Christmas eve and continues for three days.

Christmas in Poland

Christmas Eve -Wigilia – kicks off the holiday! It is the most important day of the three day celebrations and is always spent with family and friends.

Traditionally, the meal, called Kolacja wigilijna, was meatless except for fish. There are twelve dishes, one for each of the twelve apostles. An extra chair is always at the table, symbolizing there is room for all. The people of Poland believe that no one should be left alone on Christmas and there is always a place at their table.

While the meal is cooking, the children watch the sky.  When the first star is seen, the meal begins! Everyone has to have a little bit of every dish to ensure good fortune in the year to come. And those dishes always included barszcz (a beetroot soup), carp, herring, pierogi, sauerkraut and poppy seed cake.

Bigos is a popular dish on Christmas, but for those sticking to the meatless tradition,here is another version. The Christmas Eve version is made with wild mushrooms and cabbage.

Christmas day and the day after offers even more feasting.

Where did Bigos come from?

Some say a woman in the countryside created it to use leftovers from the Christmas feasts. Now it’s popular to take the ingredients on hunting trips (why it’s called Hunter’s Stew) to add the game meat and cook up by the campfire. Today it’s one of the most popular dishes in Poland. And it’s on most tables at Christmas.

Bigos is made of a variety of meats and sausage and various vegetables and can be eaten hot or cold, delicious any time of year!

How to Make Bigos (Hunter’s Stew)

This dish takes a while, but the longer it cooks, the more the flavors are enhanced.

First, soak the porcinis in 1/2 cup of hot water for 1 to 2 hours to rehydrate them. Chop them coarsely. Save the liquid!

Place the juniper, cumin, peppercorns and caraway in a pestle and crush the seeds with the mortar.

In a heavy kettle, heat the bacon fat on medium-high. Add the spices and saute until they are fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Cut the pork into chunks – add it and the chicken thighs to the kettle to brown them.

Add the onion, cabbage, mushrooms, prunes  and tomato paste. Gently cook for about 5 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup of water, the mushroom water, paprika and dried marjoram. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Next, put the kielbasa, ham hock and pilsner in the pot. Bring it to a boil, then cover and cook on low for about an hour.

Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. When it’s cool enough to handle, strip the meat from the bones and add it back to the pot.

Next, stir in the sauerkraut and simmer for another 1 to 2 hours.

Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with mashed potatoes.

You can have this stew any time of year – hot or cold!

Copyright 2023 Lazy Gastronome

5 from 7 votes

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Polish Bigos (Hunter's Stew)

A hearty bowl of cabbage, mixed meats, mushrooms and sauerkraut. Traditional at Christmas, this stew can be eaten hot or cold.

Course: Breakfast, dinner, Main Course, main dish, supper

Cuisine: Christmas, Christmas Eve, polish

Keyword: cabbage, chicken, juniper, mushrooms, pork, sauerkraut, sausage

Servings: 4 servings

Author: HelenFern

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken thighs
• 1/2 pound pork, cut into pieces
• 1 large ham hock
• 8 oz kielbasa or other Polish sausage
• 1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 2 teaspoons dried juniper berries, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds crushed
• 2 teaspoons black peppercorns, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 Tablespoons bacon fat
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 2 cups green cabbage, chopped
• 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, crumbled
• 8 prunes, cut in half
• 1-1/2 cup pilsner (a light, not sweet or bitter beer)
• 1-1/2 cup jarred or homemade sauerkraut
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. First, soak the porcinis in 1/2 cup of hot water for 1 to 2 hours to rehydrate them. Save the liquid!

2. Place the juniper, cumin, peppercorns and caraway in a pestle and crush the seeds with the mortar.

3. In a heavy kettle, heat the bacon fat on medium-high. Add the spices and saute until they are fragrant, about 3 minutes.

4. Cut the pork into chunks - add it and the chicken thighs to the kettle to brown them.

5. Add the onion, cabbage, mushrooms, prunes  and tomato paste. Gently cook for about 5 minutes.

6. Stir in 1 cup of water, the mushroom water, paprika and dried marjoram. Add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Next, put the kielbasa, ham hock and pilsner in the pot. Bring it to a boil, then cover and cook on low for about an hour.

8. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. When it's cool enough to handle, strip the meat from the bones and add it back to the pot. 

9. Stir in the sauerkraut and simmer for another 1 to 2 hours.

10. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with mashed potatoes.

Recipe Notes

 

Copyright 2023 Lazy Gastronome

Wesołych Świąt  – Merry Christmas

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