Bigos Polish Hunter Stew

Ingredients:

 
1 medium cabbage (thinly sliced)
2 cups sauerkraut
1 lb pork shoulder (cubed)
1 lb beef shoulder (cubed)
1 lb sausages (sliced. I like using Harvest double smoked)
8 slices of thick bacon cut up in 1" pieces
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp dry thyme
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1/4 tsp all spice
1 onion (diced)
2 cups of dried mushrooms (porcini)
1 cup dried prunes
3 cloves of garlic (diced)
1 can tomato paste.
lard
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

 
Rinse the dried mushrooms in cold water first. Then soak in a bowl of hot water until soft enough to chop. Don't toss out the water! While mushrooms are softening add lard, garlic, sauerkraut and cabbage to a big Dutch pot and fry at medium heat. In another pan, fry up bacon. Fry until crispy and add to cabbage, but not the bacon fat. We're going to use the bacon fat to brown the other meats. Next, fry the pork, beef and sausages in that order at medium to high heat until all sides are browned. Sprinkle some kosher salt on the meat while frying. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan as we want to brown the meat, not steam it in its own juices. Once the meat is browned, transfer it to the cabbage. After you've chopped the mushrooms and prunes and onion, throw them into pan with the spices and fry in the remaining bacon fat until the onion has softened. Add tomato paste and the water used to soak the dried mushrooms to the frying pan. Cook for a few more minutes and transfer to the cabbage. Set heat to low-medium heat and cook for 1-2 hours. The duration depends on how large your meat was cut up. Remember to stir occasionally. Once all the meat is cooked and tender, turn off the heat and let the stew cool overnight. This stew is best served the following day to let the flavours infuse into the meats. Add a bit of water and reheat. Serve with freshly baked bread and butter. Salt and pepper to taste.
 
Alternatively you can use red wine instead of tomato paste. I guess the acidity of the wine helps to make the meat tender. However, tomato paste is also acidic. I suppose you could also use apple or cranberry juice. The other thing I observed when making this recipe was the prunes. The recipe called for 3 dried prunes, but 1 cup is way more than that. However, you won't notice the prunes at all. At least you don't know you're eating prunes as they basically melt in the cooking process. You could substitute honey for the prunes, but I imagine dried apricots or figs would also be good. This stew does require a sweetness to complement the gaminess of the meat.