Bigos Hearty Beef and Vegetable Stew
2 hours 30 min serves 8-10
Bigos Hearty Beef and Vegetable Stew
What is Bigos? Is it a stew? Is it a soup? It’s both! It is a classic Polish “Hunter’s Stew” and we have all the star ingredients in it, including our very own chuck roast. It is a bit prep intensive, so it's good practice if you’re honing your knife skills. This recipe makes 12 generous servings so it's great for feeding a crowd or for freezing. Like most soups and stews, bigos is just as good, if not better, when it sits overnight. If you do make it ahead, the bigos can be stored in the refrigerator in the Dutch oven. Let the pot cool, then cover and put in fridge. You can also skim any excess fat from he dish after it chills overnight.
Ingredients:
- 1 Pre Chuck Roast, blotted dry and cut in to 1” pieces
- 1 t cooking oil
- 1 pound slab bacon, preferably no sugar added, cut in to 1/2 pieces
- 1 pound Kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut in to 1/4” dice
- 12 garlic cloves, crushed, divided
- 3 T double concentrate tomato paste or 1/3 C canned
- 1 T paprika
- 1 t ground coriander
- 1 t ground cumin
- 1 to 1 1/2 t cayenne pepper
- 2 medium yellow onions, peeled, quartered and sliced
- 1 C dry white wine
- 2 T kosher salt
- 1 small head green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 C peeled and chopped carrots, 1/4” dice
- 1/2 C pitted prunes, chopped 1/4” dice
- 1 red or pink apple, grated
- 1 pound unpeeled Yukon Gold potatoes, about 3 medium, washed and cut in to 1/4” dice
- 1 pound sauerkraut with juice
- 6 C low sodium chicken stock
- 1 28 OZ can diced tomatoes with juice
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- Fresh dill, rye or pumpernickle bread and butter for serving
- Toss cut chuck roast with 1 T salt, 4 cloves garlic and 1 T oil, set aside while you cook the bacon and Kielbasa.
- Heat 1 t oil in a large Dutch oven over medium low heat and cook bacon until crisp, stirring occasionally, until crisp. About 12 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate with a slotted spoon.
- Increase heat to medium high and add the Kielbasa. Cook, stirring, until Kielbasa begins to crisp and turn brown, without burning, about 10 minutes.
- Remove Kielbasa with a slotted spoon and transfer to the the plate with the bacon. Add chuck roast pieces to the pan and sear, about 7 to 9 minutes. If you begin to accumulate fond on the bottom of the pan, add a splash of wine or stock (about 2 T) and whisk until released.
- Add the remaining garlic and tomato paste, stirring to coat the chuck roast, about 2 minutes. Add the paprika, cumin, coriander and cayenne, cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onions, stirring to coat, then the wine, and bring to a low boil for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add cabbage, in batches if necessary until it cooks down, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add carrots, prunes, apple, potatoes, sauerkraut, chicken stock, tomatoes and 1/2 T salt. Stir to combine then add the bacon and kielbasa back to the pan. Add thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Cover and reduce heat to low so bigos is at a low simmer. Lift the lid occasionally to stir and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. At this point as long it bigos is it is simmering and not boiling, you can’t really overcook it.
- When ready to serve gently warm on stovetop, serve topped with fresh dill, dark bread, and room temperature butter.
- Leftover bigos will store in the refrigerator for 1 week and in the freezer for 2 months. We freeze in 2 serving portions so there’s always a quick hot bowl of delicious ready in minutes.
Made with Pre©
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*vs. USDA Data for Choice Chuck Roast
Amount per 727
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505kcal
Calories
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31.95g
Protein
-
21.95g
Fat
-
34.9g
Carbohydrates