Bigos, Slow-Braised Sauerkraut with Pork and Kielbasa

What you need

• 15 g (1/2 oz) dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 kg (2 1/4 lb) sauerkraut
• 500 g (1 lb) white cabbage, finely shredded
• 500 g (1 lb) pork shoulder, cut into 2 cm (3/4 in) cubes
• 100 g (3 1/2 oz) smoked bacon, diced
• 400 g (14 oz) kielbasa, sliced into half-moons
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 10 pitted prunes, halved
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 juniper berries, lightly crushed
• 4 allspice berries, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• black pepper, to taste
• salt, to taste, only if needed

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Cover the porcini with 250 ml (1 cup) of boiling water and leave them to soften for 30 min.

2. 2

   Taste the sauerkraut. If it is very sour, rinse it briefly in a colander and squeeze it out. Chop it roughly.

3. 3

   Put the sauerkraut in a large heavy pot with 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) of water, bring to a boil and leave it on a low simmer.

4. 4

   Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown the pork on all sides in batches, 6-8 min, and add it to the pot.

5. 5

   In the same pan, cook the bacon until the fat runs and it starts to crisp, 4-5 min. Add the onion and cook until soft and lightly golden, 6-8 min.

6. 6

   Stir the fresh cabbage into the pan and cook until it wilts, about 5 min, then tip everything into the pot.

7. 7

   Lift the porcini out of their soaking liquid, chop them and add them to the pot. Pour in the liquid too, leaving the sandy dregs behind in the bowl.

8. 8

   Add the bay leaves, juniper, allspice, caraway and marjoram. Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour, stirring now and then.

9. 9

   Fry the kielbasa in the frying pan until the edges brown, 4-5 min, and stir it into the pot along with the prunes.

10. 10

    Simmer, partly covered, until the pork is very tender and the cabbage is soft and brown, 1-1 1/2 hours. Add a splash of water if the bottom starts to catch.

11. 11

    Stir in the tomato paste for the last 15 min of cooking.

12. 12

    Season with black pepper. Taste before adding salt, since the sauerkraut and kielbasa are already salty.

13. 13

    Let the bigos rest off the heat for at least 30 min before serving. It tastes even better reheated the next day.

Imported from deliciousmagazine.co.uk. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.