Bigus is a traditional dish of Polish and Belarusian cuisine. It is prepared from simple and affordable ingredients, and the resulting dish is amazingly delicious.
The tongue pleases everyone: fermented acidity and the sweetness of fresh cabbage, the juiciness of meat and the brackishness of ham, the aroma of smoked meats and the spice of prunes.
However, classic bigus recipes allow the use of additional ingredients, different types of meat and meat products in any combination. In general, on the basis of a basic recipe, each housewife has her own way to feed her family an incomparable cabbage dish.
Bigus classic - general principles of cooking
In a traditional Polish dish, you need be sure to mix sauerkraut and fresh cabbage. It turns out a harmonious combination in which there is no harsh acid and excessive sweetness. Sour cabbage needs to be washed, and freshly just chop finely.
A mandatory component of the bigus classic is pork fat with layers of meat - underbelly, as well as smoked meats, most often sausages. You can lay meat in any order. For example, first fry the meat, and then add cabbage and other ingredients to it. And you can first put out the cabbage, and then add meat products to it. It all depends on their type.
The main cooking method is long extinguishing even languishing cabbage on the stove or in the oven. The latter option is preferable, since the temperature will be higher, the cabbage will stew faster and will be softer. Ovens are different, the extinguishing temperature is 250 ° С. Classic bigus must be extinguished in thick-bottomed and thick-walled dishes, for example, a cauldron. A tasty bigus will turn out in a large clay pot.
The consistency of the finished dish should be thick enough, without liquid, but the bigus should neither overdry nor overcook.
Classic bigus with pork and smoked meats
Smoked meats give the bigus a special taste. You can strengthen it with dry white wine. If you do not want to use alcohol, replace its volume with plain water. Tasty, satisfying and very simple. Give it a try!
Ingredients:
• six hundred grams of fresh cabbage;
• four hundred grams of sauerkraut;
• medium carrots;
• large onion;
• four hundred grams of pork pulp;
• two hundred grams of any smoked meat;
• a tablespoon of tomato paste;
• black pepper peas (3-4 peas);
• a little caraway seeds (half a teaspoon);
• seventy grams of prunes;
• oil for the pan;
• half a glass of white wine (preferably dry);
• salt.
Cooking method:
Pork chopped not very large.
Grate carrot
Dice the onion into large cubes.
Slice the smoked meats.
Chop fresh cabbage.
Heat the butter in a high skillet or cauldron and roll the meat cubes.
Fry until liquid evaporates.
To salt.
Lay carrots, smoked meats, mix and fry for five minutes.
Combine the tomato paste with wine or water, mix, put caraway seeds, crushed pepper in the dressing and pour everything into the roast.
Spread fresh cabbage first, then washed and squeezed pickled cabbage.
Simmer on low heat for half an hour.
Prune cut into small pieces.
When the cabbage is almost ready, put the prunes in a pan, mix.
Strain for another ten minutes and serve.
Classic Belarusian bigus with Antonovka and tomatoes
In this version of bigus there is no sour cabbage. Antonovka - sweet and sour apples. Instead of pork, you can take beef.
Ingredients:
• six hundred grams of pork pulp;
• eight hundred grams of cabbage;
• two hundred grams of ham;
• three tablespoons of interior bacon;
• two tomatoes;
• four medium onions;
• four Antonov apples;
• head of garlic;
• three bay leaves;
• 10 pieces of black peppercorns;
• salt.
Cooking method:
Cut the pork into six pieces.
Coarsely chop the onion.
Thinly cut the cabbage into strips.
Chop the garlic with a knife.
Cut ham into small cubes.
Cut the tomatoes into slices.
Peel the apples from the core and also cut into cubes.
In a pan with a thick bottom, warm the lard and toss the meat.
Fry meat from all sides.
Now lay out the ingredients of the bigus in layers: first put a third of the total volume of bay leaves, pepper, onion cubes, cabbage straws, then tomatoes, apples, chopped ham and onions, then again cabbage and the rest of spices.
Salt to taste.
Extinguish everything over low heat: an hour and a half on the stove or an hour in the oven at 250 degrees.
Watch for juiciness: if there is little liquid left, and the quenching has not yet ended, add a little boiling water.
Classic bigus with veal and apples
Instead of prunes, classic sweet and sour apple varieties are good, for example, aromatic Antonovka. Be sure to cook the dish according to this recipe. And veal can be replaced with beef.
Ingredients:
• eight hundred grams of veal;
• three hundred grams of cooked or smoked sausage;
• eight hundred grams of fresh cabbage;
• three hundred grams of sauerkraut;
• Big apple;
• two medium onions;
• a tablespoon of sugar;
• a teaspoon of salt (vary the amount to your taste);
• ground black pepper to taste;
• vegetable oil;
• two tablespoons of tomato sauce.
Cooking method:
Rinse sauerkraut and simmer in a skillet with a small amount of water.
Finely chop fresh cabbage.
Finely chop the onion.
Release the apple from the skin, cut into cubes.
Cut the sausage into neat small cubes of the same size.
Cut the meat medium-sized.
Fry the veal in well-heated oil.
Put warmed sauerkraut on top of the meat, then onion, fresh cabbage, an apple.
Stew the ingredients an hour.
Stir, lay sausage, apples, season with bigus pepper, salt, sugar, mix again.
Stir under the lid for ten minutes and serve.
Classic bigus with sausage
The budget version of the dish can be prepared without any meat at all. With sausage, the bigus classic also turns out to be very tasty, has a characteristic aroma and cooks faster. By the way, someone just such a sausage, bigus is especially like. It is usually recommended to mix smoked and boiled sausage (or ham). But you can use some kind of sausage.
Ingredients:
• kilogram of sauerkraut (you can replace part of the volume with fresh cabbage);
• two hundred grams of cooked sausage or ham;
• two hundred grams of smoked sausage;
• two onions;
• two medium carrots;
• a tablespoon of thick tomato paste;
• cooking oil;
• a teaspoon of sugar;
• salt to your taste;
• six prunes;
• spices to taste (mixture of pepper, lavrushka).
Cooking method:
Rinse sauerkraut, put in a saucepan or cauldron.
Pour a glass of water or ready-made meat broth into cabbage and simmer for one hour.
Chop onion and carrot into thin strips. You can just grate it coarsely.
Cut the sausage into cubes or cubes.
Soak dry prunes, cut into soft immediately.
Fry the onions and carrots in a hot skillet until soft.
Add the sausage, mix and fry it for about five minutes.
Put tomato paste, mix, warm for a minute.
Put the frying in soft cabbage, season with sugar and pepper, add salt to taste (not necessary), put slices of prunes.
Simmer all together for another fifteen minutes and serve.
Classic bigus with chicken
Very tasty classic bigus chicken fillet. Tender meat goes well with cabbage. Only fresh cabbage is indicated in the recipe. If desired, you can combine it with sauerkraut.
Ingredients:
• a pound of chicken;
• a kilogram of fresh cabbage;
• large carrot;
• two onions of medium size;
• a teaspoon of salt;
• half a teaspoon of ground pepper;
• cooking oil;
• Bay leaf.
Cooking method:
Boil one and a half liters of water with salt.
Finely chop the cabbage and toss it in boiling water. Immediately turn off and warm for five minutes.
Drain the cabbage into a colander.
Cut the carrots into strips, chop the onion into cubes.
Cut the chicken into small cubes.
Pour oil into a deep pan, immediately put cabbage and carrots, add salt, toss the bay leaf and simmer under the lid.
In a second pan, quickly fry the meat in a very hot oil together.
When the meat turns white and a golden crust appears, toss the onion, fry for another three minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Put the meat in cabbage, sprinkle with sugar, mix, you can still salt to taste and close the lid and simmer for ten minutes.
Classic bigus with potatoes and bell pepper
If you add potatoes to the classic bigus, you get a more satisfying dish. The taste will change a little, especially if you add spicy bell pepper to the ingredients.
Ingredients:
• six hundred grams of pork;
• four hundred grams of fresh cabbage;
• two hundred grams of sour cabbage;
• four potatoes;
• large tomato;
• large onion;
• two small carrots;
• medium bell pepper;
• oil for the pan;
• salt and pepper.
Cooking method:
Cut a piece of pork into medium-sized cubes.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan, toss the meat.
Fry the pork until a light crust appears, then salt, season with pepper and simmer under the lid over low heat.
While stewing meat, chop fresh cabbage, and rinse the sour.
Chop the onion.
Chop the carrots into small strips.
Put onions and carrots in a pan with meat, simmer over low heat.
Chopped peeled potatoes at random and send to bigus.
After five minutes, put both types of cabbage in a frying pan, continue stewing.
Pepper free from seeds, cut into strips and put to cabbage.
Peel the tomato, chop it and put it in the pan.
Stew classic bigus with potatoes for another ten minutes.
Salt, pepper, mix, let stand for five minutes and serve.
Bigus Classic - Tips and Tricks
- To quickly cook a bigus, do not throw away the leftover cuttings and the remains of sausages, ham and other smoked meats. From can be folded into a plastic bag and stored in the refrigerator. You can add to any of the bigus recipes along with meat or instead of it.
- Bigus becomes tastier when it stands 3-4 days in the cold. It is no coincidence that in Poland this dish is prepared for the future and even frozen. From such an additional processing, the cabbage is only gaining an additional taste.
- It’s convenient to cook a bigus classic in a slow cooker using a stewing program. The cabbage turns out soft, keeps juiciness.
