We're cooking bigos for the next few days

Pour in the water from the mushrooms left to soak overnight to the cabbage

Ready for oven

In they go

Two big onions

Chop chop

>>21453140
well, you lost me with that

In go mushrooms onion and sour cabbage

Seasoning: juniper berries
cloves
caraway seeds
nigella seeds
and allspice

Two kiełbasa one expensive one cheap

Two jars previous bigos

1 apple

Plums

>>21453180
Is blackseed even worth using? Whenever I tried it, it had this odd chemical flavor.

Looks good so far
>>21453224
I add it to many things goes well with mushrooms

Meat out of the oven, the sauce dumped into bigos, now chop chop

>>21453139 (OP)
>Bigos
Had to check what it was.

Bong here, just found out we call it Hunters Stew, keep going OP, I've never made it before.

Now that all ingredients are in, the only thing left is to cook it for probably 20 hours or so

>>21453251
>probably 20 hours or so
Really, that long?

>>21453262
It is slow cooked under cover. It is edible when all the water not bound to the ingredients is evaporated, which will take a long time because this is about 5kg of bigos
Peak flavor will take more

>>21453262
not op but I usually cook mine uncovered for the entire first day and add water as it evaporates to keep the ingredients submerged. cook water off on day 2 after refrigerating, then eat.

What the fuck is Bigos

>>21453290
polish stew that's basically "shit we found in the woods" + cabbage & sauerkraut

>>21453275
>>21453285
I didn't realise it would take that long but I have never made it before or even looked for a recipe, so I live and learn.

>>21453290
similar to migos

>>21453285
Why don't you cover it up so you don't have to add water, retard?

>>21453295
You don't strictly have to do it for that long, but you really should.

>>21453220
>Plums
Good man.

I remember an anon tried to make Bigos recently but did it "his own way" and everyone told him he fucked it up but he refused to listen to reason from anyone. It is good to see a real Bigos man make the Bigos now.

>>21453172
This looks like the type of absolute garbage an Australian or Britbong would eat. Disgusting.

>>21453290
It's poverty stew for thirdies who can't afford real ingredients

>>21453629
No it isn't. It's a traditional Polish hunter's stew. All Europeans have hunter's stews which are a mish mash of hunted and foraged ingredients which supplements the food they already have.

>>21453573
then it gets too hot and the bottom scorches. also my stove doesn't go low enough to simmmer something with the lid on. it needs the lid off to release the excess heat.

>>21453251
Only 10 more hours until it’s ready, I’m excited to see the finished result OP

>>21453251
it looks fucked
why does it look like that i remember it being practically orange

>>21453624
>>21453629
Americans can't understand that not all food comes from a packet or a delivery driver.

>>21454153
Correct, food also comes in a paper bag at the drive through

>>21453191
which is the expensive?

>>21453275
Looks and sounds good. I had bigos (and other Polish food) once at a Polish restaurant, it was all really good. I need to try to make this, gołąbki too.

Here it is after 10 hours of cooking. The color changed significantly to more brown, it has gotten a lot thicker but still a lot of water left (not as much as it looks; once I stir it all the water falls down).
>>21454132
I had to turn it off while I sleep as you need to stir it every 30 minutes or so, so +6 hours
>>21454147
Some people add tomato concentrate, I don't.
>>21454294
The smaller one obviously

bigos if true

>>21454560
ha!

>>21453290
Bigos Dickos

>>21454556
>Some people add tomato concentrate, I don't.
i'm used to this and it looking like picture related

> walk in to restaurant
> order bigos
> wait 10 hours
> fall asleep
> wake up 8 hours later
> food still not ready

My local Polish store has canned bigos, should I try it or is it gonna be slop?

>>21454793
But, that didn't happen anon?

>>21454793
you can eat bigos after cooking it, but OP is right, it tastes best after some rest and reheating cycles.
you don't order bigos in a restaurant. you just ask your mother, your grand mother or your aunt if you can come over. at least one of them got some bigos ready. even if not, you're being pampered like a prince. polish food might be grim at some point but your hosts make up for it with their hospitality. i miss my grandparents and the rest of the family

>>21454815
this one? their canned food is decent for what it is. give it a try. the worst thing that can happen is you don't like it. the best thing that can happen is you like it and want morel. if you like sauerkraut, you will like bigos.

>>21454815
this is literally a 0 effort dish

>>21453294
>>21453629
>>21453624
Ah yes because :
>Pork shoulder
>Kiełbasa
>sauerkraut
>Mushrooms
Made into a stew. Is totally third world food. I fucking hate new worlders. You got raised on mixed goyslop trash shaped into dinosaur nuggets and you have the audacity to criticise actual cuisines.

Meat stews are popular in all of Europe. Especially in Germany, where majority of your ancestors came from you dumb amerimutts.

>>21454556
Is this the finished state of bigos?

>>21454556
>Some people add tomato concentrate, I don't.
not here
you sure this "kraut" is "sauered"? it looks like fresh cabbage

>>21454991
don't be angry. they lost connection of being hunter/gatherer and doing the best with what you have. polish food is peasant food, but that's nothing to be ashamed of. you get everything your body needs and it gives you strength. best thing you can get after something exhausting is polish food. as i said it's grim but you really appreciate it after hard work. your body craves for it.
in my teenage years i've been hiking some mountains in poland. despite i didn't liked it at our farm, i was craving for zurek (pic related) at the top (and beer o.c.). it gave us strength for the descent. the taste was also incredibly good.

>>21455011
yeah, he didn't do that. my mother taught me it's ½ fresh cabbage and ½ sauerkraut (for the kraut part)

>>21455011
It's summer so I added 1 head of young cabbage (~2kg) and 0.5kg of sour cabbage.
>>21455044
I would do half half if it was later in the year

It's pretty good

>>21455213
enjoy OP

>>21453139 (OP)
Bigos enough for you

>>21455315
>9000

>>21454815
If it's the same brand as the one at my Polish store, it's 10/10 and I'm pissed they ran out of stock

>>21455200
yeah so that's "bigos"

>>21455456
Bigos can be made with fresh cabbage, part fresh part sour or all sour. Usually you would vary it according to what you have, more sour in the winter because fermenting cabbage is a method of preservation.

>>21455563
id have to ask my mother

>>21454619
Me on the right when the bigos is almost ready and someone offers me a bowl of “wahman”

>>21453145
>>21453235
>>21453251
>Mediocre sear
>Cooked through in oven
>Chop
>Cooked again into stew
Why not
>Chop
>Sear
>Into stew
?
The meat will have exponentially more flavor and won't be as overcooked if you change the order up and skip the oven. It takes a little more attention to brown a bunch of small chunks in batches but it's well worth it

>>21455919
It would take a lot more time and effort and you can't even really chop up raw meat this finely without freezing it
I bake it under cover and pour in the juice into the bigos so it's all in there
>overcooked
It's cooking for 20+ hours it will be the sane at the end anyways

Final form
I need to transfer it to a different pot because there is a layer of burnt bigos at the bottom which I must not disturb.

You are meant to stir it constantly to prevent burning but I fell asleep for 2 hours or so when it was on and a layer formed. When it is formed it is best to not disturb it and instead move bigos to a different pot. Burnt bigos is quite solid so it doesn't integrate into the rest even if you stir it above the layer.

Rest of bigos safely transferred to another pot. Now it goes in the fridge and is taken out for dinner to reheat for the next couple days

>>21456719
I'm the Brit who commented a few days ago.

This all looks quite interesting, Thanks for the tip on transferring pots if you burn it, sounds really stupid but I would have made the mistake of trying to mix it in.

This looks like a really good candidate for freezing too. I do batch cook quite a lot and use those plastic containers that Chinese take-aways use.

I have to say though, the final result looks a little more fine than I expected, I guess the meat won't hold it's shape after such a long cooking time.

>>21456740
I actually used quite tough cuts of pork and beef so they somewhat keep shape (albeit they are very soft). But kiełbasa kinda dissolves since it's made out of minced meat. You might get a bit different result if you use a more fatty cut or if you cut the meat more finely.

I don't recommend freezing it - instead just put it in a jar and pasteurize it by having the bigos hot and heating up a jar by pouring boiling water over it, putting the bigos in, then putting it upside down to cool down. That way you can keep it at room temp for a long time without it spoiling.

Good luck if you try to make it! Remember to use real forest dried mushrooms (bolets or else), farmed mushrooms cannot replace them.

hey wait a minute, this is almost a sauce genovese!

Thanks op
I fell in love with bigos at Woodstock Poland 2015 and could never replicate it right. Best festival food ever. I guess what I was missing were smoke from those sausages of yours, plum jam (tried paprika with no luck for lack of better knowledge) and the right spice mix. By the way, could you elaborate on the spice mix? Don't you add garlic with the onions? Also, given the sourness of enough sour cabbage, it might keep a long time provided it's kept off from any air, even without further pasteurization (if pH<4.5). Just saying.
Djenki

>>21456973
I don't add garlic. It's not typically added.
A lot of people cut up dried plums which are easy to get, I just add the "jam" (it's "powidła" ie no sugar added) instead since I have it. It is hard to get quality powidła commercially, I get mine from my mom.
The must have spices are a few allspice (4-8), bay leaves (2-4), couple cloves (1-3), a few juniper berries (3-5), caraway seeds (not too much; beware since they have a strong taste) and ofc salt and pepper. I add nigella seeds since I like it. Allspice bay leaves and cloves go in whole the rest I grind up in a mortar.

>>21457657
Thanks again, will make some tomorrow :P

Could you post a general recipe, just the ingredients? I made bigos in the past without having enough detail and no polish relatives. It tasted good but was wrong.
What types of dried mushrooms? I've got things like dried woodear/ chinese black mushrooms, dried shiitake, some dried morels, but could probably find other types. Is that plum jam? how much of that goes in?
is the water just enough to soak the mushrooms, or is there some broth?

>>21456740
>This looks like a really good candidate for freezing too.
Unlike my esteemed colleague, I can't be arsed to jar things. It freezes quite nicely.
>>21460331
>What types of dried mushrooms?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_edulis or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imleria_badia (borowiki, podgrzybki)
Shitakes or morels would probably work, but it'd be different.
>Is that plum jam? how much of that goes in?
For the scale OP's using, probably like 2-3 tbsp of powidla or a handful of prunes. Some people use smoked prunes which I've found semi-hard to find and also are kind of overpowering.

>>21460331
For 1kg meat (which should be probably 0.2kg kiełbasa then a mix of pork and beef, I go mostly pork usually):
>1.5-2kg cabbage, part of it sour
>50-70g dried bolets >>21460384
>2 big onions
>20 dried plums or 2-3 tablespoons of the plum powidła
>1-2 green apples
>seasonings >>21457657
The recipe: evening before, rinse the dried mushrooms, then put them in a bowl with cold water (enough to cover them although they will float on the surface) and put it in the fridge to soak.
Next day cut up the fresh cabbage, drop it in the pot and pour in the water from the mushrooms and let it cook under cover for an hour or so on low-medium heat. (I also add some stock usually but you can skip this).
While its cooking prepare the meat and onions. Raw meat you cook whatever way you want and onions you just need to fry on some lard till theyre somewhat gold. You want everything diced up.
Chop up the apples and mushrooms too then drop it all in there along with the dried plums or plum powidła. Cook on low heat for a long time until its thick and the waters evaporated, stir often enough so it doesn't burn too much at the bottom.
At first it will be very wet but after a while it will thicken up, when you can't see any liquid it's basically ready.
Eat for a couple days, when youre reheating it and its dry pour in some water.

>>21453244
>we call it ****** Stew
Weird. I'm not seeing what you posted.

>>21456697
you sure you didnt shit in that pot by accident?
>>21456962
we call it łazanki, not sure if it's ours
it's not exactly the same you'd make łazanki with fresh cabbage