Bigos | hunter’s stew, is a classic of Polish cuisine – rich, hearty, and full of flavour. In this post, I’m sharing my tried-and-tested recipe for this warming dish, perfect for colder days.
Bigos | Hunter’s Stew | Jägereintopf | Estofado de cazador | Stufato del cacciatore | 猎人炖菜（波兰酸菜炖肉）| 狩人のシチュー（ビゴス）| 사냥꾼의 스튜 (비고스)
Bigos is one of the signature dishes of Polish cuisine — a hearty, slow-cooked cabbage stew. While there are countless regional and family variations, the core ingredients remain the same: sauerkraut, fresh cabbage, a mix of meats, and mushrooms (traditionally dried boletes).
Bigos roots are stretching back to the 17th century. Once a luxurious, meat-laden dish favoured by the nobility and served at lavish feasts and hunts, it gradually evolved into a more accessible stew with the addition of sauerkraut. It became one of the earliest examples of food “to go” in Polish history — ideal for journeys and reheating, and famously said to taste even better after a few days. It has regional variations. The Lithuanian version is more refined, often with juniper and venison; the Silesian one is simpler, sometimes including potatoes; the hunter’s version from Masuria features game and forest mushrooms. In parts of Poland, a meatless version with mushrooms and dried fruit is a served at Christmas Eve.
This time, I decided to take on the challenge of making Bigos myself — opting for the richer, darker variation made with prunes. It was no small task. Preparing it took me nearly five hours of continuous work in the kitchen. It’s a long, layered process: each ingredient needs careful preparation and timing, and everything must be stirred and watched closely throughout.
The photo below shows the stew just after it was finished. But bigos is a dish that truly shines after a few days of rest and repeated reheating. This particular prune-based version darkens beautifully over time — both in colour and in depth of flavour.
Bigos | Hunter’s Stew | Jägereintopf | Estofado de cazador | Stufato del cacciatore | 猎人炖菜（波兰酸菜炖肉）| 狩人のシチュー（ビゴス）| 사냥꾼의 스튜 (비고스)
How to make it
Below, you’ll find the entire cooking process of prune-based bigos, captured step by step in photos. I made a few creative adjustments to the traditional recipe — most notably, I added whisky and soy sauce, which are certainly not typical Polish ingredients.
Alongside the core components of sauerkraut and fresh cabbage, I used beef, smoked sausage, bacon, dried boletes, and prunes. To build deeper flavour, I also added onion, tomato purée, apple, preserved plums, red wine, butter, salt, bay leaf, and allspice.
Meat & Fat: 250–300 g stewing beef or pork (e.g. shoulder or chuck), 100 g smoked sausage (chorizo, juniper, or country-style), 2 tbsp vegetable oil (for browning the meat), 2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil (final addition), 1 tbsp butter. Cabbage: 500 g sauerkraut, 400 g white cabbage (approx. 1/3 of a small head). Mushrooms & Fruit: 30 g dried porcini mushrooms, (optional) 150 g frozen wild mushrooms, 150 g dried prunes, 1 tbsp plum preserve, 1 small apple, grated. Vegetables & Sauces: 2 medium onions, 1 tbsp tomato purée, 2 tbsp soy sauce. Liquids: 200 ml dry red wine (or beef stock), 40–50 ml whisky. Spices: 1 bay leaf, 2 allspice berries, 3 juniper berries, ½ tsp whole caraway seeds, ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
Begin by rinsing the dried porcini mushrooms under cold water, then covering them with cold water and leaving them to soak. Meanwhile, halve the dried prunes and soak them in red wine. These ingredients will slowly infuse the dish with earthy and sweet notes.
Dice the stewing meat into small cubes, season lightly with salt, and brown it in a hot pan with oil until well-coloured on all sides. Once browned, pour in the whisky, allow it to boil briefly so the alcohol evaporates, and scrape up any caramelised bits from the pan for extra flavour.
In a large cooking pot, bring water and soy sauce to a simmer, then add the seared meat and cover the pot. Let it cook gently for around 45 minutes so the flavours start to build.
While the meat is simmering, finely dice the onions, shred the sauerkraut (rinsing and squeezing it first if overly sour), and finely chop the white cabbage after removing its core and outer leaves.
In the same pan used for the meat, melt butter with olive oil and sauté the onions with bay leaf, allspice, juniper and caraway seeds until soft and lightly golden. Add the sauerkraut, cook it with the onion mixture briefly, then pour in a little water and bring it to a gentle boil.
Return to the pot and add the shredded white cabbage, cooking it with the meat for a few minutes before stirring in the sautéed onion and sauerkraut mixture, the soaked mushrooms along with their liquid, and the wine-soaked prunes.
To deepen the base, add tomato purée, plum preserve and a grated or finely diced apple. Mix everything well, cover, and simmer the bigos slowly for 1½ to 2 hours, stirring now and then to prevent it from catching on the bottom.
Halfway through, slice the sausage and fry it until golden, then add it to the stew along with the rendered fat. If you’re using frozen wild mushrooms, add them now as well.
Towards the end, season the bigos with freshly ground black pepper, taste and adjust with a little salt if needed. Finally, stir in some olive oil or neutral oil to finish the dish with a glossy, smooth richness.
Bigos is always best after resting. Cool it completely and store it in the fridge. Reheat it over the next few days and you’ll notice the flavours deepen beautifully. This prune version becomes darker, richer and more intense with every reheating — just as it should.
