How to cook bigus from sauerkraut according to a step-by-step recipe with photos. Bigus with meat is simple, tasty and always satisfying. Classic recipes for bigus with meat from fresh and sauerkraut Bigus from sauerkraut classic recipe

4109

Reading time ≈ 8 minutes

How to please your man when the usual dishes are already boring? Try making sauerkraut bigus according to our recipe with photos! This unusual dish came to us from Poland, and it has been prepared for hundreds of years.

History of the dish

Traditionally, bigus is prepared in the cold season - autumn or winter. It is very nutritious and can delight you on a cold winter evening. In Poland, bigus from sauerkraut has been prepared for several hundred years, but in other countries people are also interested in the recipes for this dish, from one glance, the photo of which makes your mouth water.

We are accustomed to the fact that bigus is a dish of cabbage with meat, prepared in a special way. However, in the old cookbooks of Poland there are even recipes in which meat is not used. For example, in the famous book by Wojciech Velondko “The Perfect Cook”.

Before the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was divided, bigus was made from fish or meat, adding onions, parsley, vinegar or sour fruits to the main ingredient. The famous Polish author Stanislav Czerniecki, in his book of recipes, lists variations of bigus made from hazel grouse, crayfish or carp, and even with bacon. Such original combinations were easy to prepare at that time and most often dishes were made with them.

Juicy bigus made from cabbage, meat, and mushrooms

The bigus, which has survived to this day, was “invented” only in the 18th century and was called the “robber” bigus because it was inexpensive. In its composition, the main role is given to cabbage, and smoked meats and meat only complement its taste. If earlier sourness was created with the help of fruits, then later we had to abandon such an expensive option and limit ourselves to just sauerkraut.

Why is bigus often called “hunting”? Precisely because they took him hunting with them. The pre-prepared dish was convenient to reheat at a rest stop; it helped to quickly and, most importantly, very tasty replenish spent energy. Bigos was heated in a vessel under a lid tightly sealed with dough. The pressure caused the lid to “shoot” and this meant that the dish was warm.

The hunting bigus used sausages and baked meat, which was left over after large receptions. Today, different types of meat are also used in the recipe: baked lamb, beef or pork, poultry or game, and they also make bigus with sausages, sausages, and ham. The greater the variety of meat flavors in bigus, the richer the dish.

Unusual bigus made from fresh cabbage and chicken legs with tomato paste

In the 19th century, this dish was served at the beginning of lunch, before soup, “for the appetite.” Because of the universal love for bigus in Poland, it was often eaten even at breakfast. The original version of bigus is cooked over coals for two to three days, so its taste is incomparable to the modern dish.

Bigus is prepared in various variations, but most often its modern composition contains the following ingredients:

Fresh white cabbage;
Sauerkraut;
Smoked sausages;
Game;
Pork;
Salo.

Also, the following is added to the bigus for taste:

Mushrooms;
Tomatoes;
Prunes;
Red wine;
Spices.

The preparation of bigus is divided into two parts: the cabbage is stewed separately and the meat and spices are fried separately. Then both parts are combined into one dish.

Basic rules for preparing bigus

They try not to eat bigus immediately after cooking, because it becomes truly tasty after a day or two, and sometimes longer. After “resting”, this dish acquires a truly indescribable taste.

Another feature of bigus is that the more often it is heated, the tastier it becomes. Unlike other dishes, it can and should be reheated, frozen and reheated.

Recipes

Now let's move on to cooking. In our version of bigus, both components (meat and cabbage) are cooked together, in one saucepan.

Bigus of meat and cabbage in a saucepan

You can prepare juicy bigus from sauerkraut with sausage according to an old recipe, using the following products as in the photo:

Fresh cabbage;
Sauerkraut;
Carrot;
Pork;
Smoked meats (ham or sausages);
Spices (cumin, ground black pepper, peppercorns, salt);
Tomato paste;
Prunes;
Vegetable oil for frying;
Wine (white or red) or water.

Bigus made from cabbage, meat and smoked sausage

Cut the washed and dried pork into small pieces. Pour vegetable oil into a cast iron or saucepan and fry the pork. When the pieces begin to brown, sprinkle the meat with salt and add grated carrots. After 5 minutes, add chopped sausage or other smoked meats.
We make sure that the frying temperature is not too high and stir the dish periodically so that nothing burns.
After another 3 minutes, add tomato paste to the meat and add wine or water with spices.
Then we put finely shredded fresh cabbage into the cast iron pot with meat, followed by sauerkraut. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the bigus under the lid for about half an hour.
When the bigus is almost ready, add chopped pieces of prunes to it, mix everything and simmer the dish over low heat for about 10 minutes.

The finished bigus is served hot, with a piece of bread and herbs. A hearty dish with pork and smoked meats has an indescribable aroma and tempting sourness. It will be enjoyed both at a regular home dinner and on a holiday table.

Bigus in the oven

Bigus from sauerkraut can be prepared not only with pork, but also with chicken - we offer you another one.

Bigus cooked in the oven on a tray

Place shredded white cabbage in a cast iron pot and, after filling with water, simmer for 10 minutes, then add sauerkraut to it and leave it to simmer over low heat for an hour. Boil the mushrooms separately, fry the sausages with pieces of chicken fillet, add fried onions and tomato paste to them and simmer everything for about five minutes.
Then put all the ingredients in a baking dish, pour in wine, add salt and spices to taste - and put the dish in the oven for one hour.

Bigus with potatoes

There is a variation of bigus made from sauerkraut with the addition of potatoes and even rice - you can find many recipes with photos on the Internet. We will now tell you how to prepare one of them.

Bigus with cabbage and potatoes, decorated with herbs

Fry the meat cut into pieces in a frying pan until golden brown on both sides. Transfer the browned meat to a large saucepan.
In the frying pan where the meat was fried, fry the onions and carrots, then simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes to the frying pan and then to the pan with the meat. Try not to overfill the oil, but leave it in the pan - we will need it later.
Fry the potatoes, cut into large pieces, in a frying pan in the remaining oil, but not until fully cooked. Add tomato paste and simmer for a couple of minutes. Then transfer the potatoes to the meat, stir the contents of the pan, add a little water and put on fire.
Place the shredded cabbage in a saucepan and simmer all together until fully cooked.

As you can see, this recipe does not use sauerkraut, but the taste of the dish is very rich.

Lenten bigus

Bigus from sauerkraut can even be prepared in a slow cooker - there are many recipes with photos that describe the simple process of preparing it. We want to talk about the lean or vegetarian version of bigus.

Lenten bigus

For it you will need:

fresh and pickled cabbage
carrot
mushrooms
prunes
tomato paste
spices
garlic
greenery.

Fry the onion, add grated carrots to it and simmer them together for about 5 minutes. Then add finely chopped mushrooms and leave for another 10 minutes.
Add shredded cabbage (fresh and pickled), pieces of prunes and a little water to the vegetables. Simmer everything until almost done. At the end, add spices, herbs, tomato paste, garlic to the dish and keep it on the fire for about five more minutes.

Bigus is a dish that can be prepared with inspiration, using your imagination. The more different ingredients it contains, the tastier it turns out. There are recipes for bigus with photos, where it is prepared from sauerkraut with rice, with apples, with lard and even with wild garlic. Which dish will become your signature dish is up to you!

Today we will tell you how to make bigus from sauerkraut. This dish can be served on its own for dinner or at any family celebration. It turns out incredibly tasty, healthy and aromatic.

Sauerkraut bigus recipe

Ingredients:

– 600 g;
pork – 200 g;
ham – 150 ml;
semi-sweet red wine – 150 ml;
onion – 1 pc.;
lard – 50 g;
– 2 tbsp. spoons;
flour – 1 tbsp. spoon;
spices.

Preparation

We thoroughly wash the pork, dry it and cut it into small cubes with a knife. Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan and lay out the raw meat. Fry it over high heat for 3 minutes, stirring. Then transfer the pork to a paper towel and leave to cool.

Chop the lard into small pieces and place in a heated frying pan. Fry it over moderate heat for 5 minutes until golden brown, and then put it on a plate.

We process the onion, chop it into quarters and sauté in a frying pan until soft. After this, add tomato paste, heat for about a minute, remove from heat and leave to cool.

Pour vegetable oil into a cauldron, heat it and throw in the sauerkraut. Fry it over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring. Chop the ham into small cubes and add to the cauldron along with the ham, onions, fried lard and pieces of pork. Mix everything thoroughly and cook the dish without a lid over medium heat. After about a few minutes, pour in red wine, add flour, paprika, spices to taste and stir. Cook bigus for 15 minutes over moderate heat. We wash the greens, dry them and chop them with a knife. Sprinkle the finished sauerkraut bigus with fresh herbs, remove the dish from the heat and cover with a lid.

Bigus of sauerkraut with potatoes

Ingredients:

beef pulp – 500 g;
onion – 1 pc.;
fresh white cabbage – 500 g;
sauerkraut – 1 kg;
vegetable oil;
potatoes – 3 pcs.;
spices.

Preparation

It is best, of course, to cook bigus in a cauldron. But if it’s not there, don’t be upset, but take a pan with a thick bottom. Pour a little oil into it, heat it up and fry the meat, chopped into pieces. Meanwhile, we process the onion, chop it and throw it into the meat. Peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes and place them in the cauldron for 10 minutes. Now it’s the turn of sauerkraut. We squeeze it out with our hands, rinse it if necessary and put it in a bigus. Simmer the dish for 20 minutes, stirring. Chop fresh cabbage, add to the pan, add some salt and simmer for 15 minutes under the lid.

Bigus from sauerkraut in a slow cooker

Ingredients:

fresh white cabbage – 0.5 fork;
onion – 1 pc.;
dried wild mushrooms – 100 g;
sauerkraut – 500 g;
smoked sausage – 400 g;
broth - 1 tbsp.;
garlic – 2 cloves;
spices.

Preparation

So, chop the fresh cabbage into large strips and put it in the multicooker container. With sauerkraut Lightly squeeze out the juice with your hands and add to the saucepan. We clean the onion, chop it coarsely and send it there. We process the mushrooms, cut them into pieces and distribute them on top of all the vegetables. Chop the smoked sausage into slices and throw it into the slow cooker. Sprinkle everything with salt to taste, pepper and cumin. Fill everything with broth, add whole peeled garlic cloves and close the device with a lid. Turn on the slow cooking mode for 6 hours. After about an hour, open the pan and mix the contents thoroughly. Once the cabbage turns light brown, the bigus is ready!

Bigus or bigos is one of the traditional vegetable dishes of Polish and Hungarian cuisine, common in the Baltic states and Belarus. It is prepared from simple and affordable products. Recipes with photos will help you learn how to cook bigus from sauerkraut. The bigus recipe can be changed according to your preferences: add sugar, wine or vinegar, oriental spices and herbs.

It is believed that bigus becomes tastier if it is given a day to “ripen” in the refrigerator, and the next day it is reheated and served. In winter and early spring, when we lack vitamins, bigus is very useful, because sauerkraut contains a lot of vitamin C. And the spices that are added to this dish make it not only aromatic, but also warming.

This recipe with photos describes in detail the preparation of bigus from sauerkraut with rice. This option is more satisfying than the traditional one, which is prepared only from pork and vegetables.

Bigus of sauerkraut with rice

Required Products:

500 g beef or pork;
500 g sauerkraut;
200 g long grain rice;
1 onion;
1 carrot;
1 clove of garlic;
salt, bay leaf, other spices to taste;
refined sunflower oil;
1 glass of water.

Step-by-step instruction:

Wash and dry the meat. Cut into bars no larger than 2 cm.
Rinse under running water and squeeze out the sauerkraut.
Peel the vegetables. Cut the carrots into strips and the onion into thin half rings.
Cook the rice until half cooked in salted water. The grains must be whole. Drain into a sieve and rinse with water.
Heat vegetable oil in a cauldron or frying pan with thick walls. Fry the meat pieces until they are browned.
Add carrots, onions, finely chopped garlic. Sauté vegetables with meat until golden brown.
Reduce heat. Add cabbage, rice and seasonings.
Pour in water, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes.
By the end of cooking, the liquid should completely evaporate. Bigus with rice is best served hot.

Tip: To prevent this dish from turning into an unappetizing porridge, do not stir it with a spoon. Take a spatula and turn the bigus over like you would a fried potato.

Bigus in a slow cooker

Traditionally, bigus is cooked in thick-walled roasting pans. A modern multicooker perfectly replaces heavy and inconvenient cast iron cookware. The subtleties of preparing bigus from sauerkraut and fresh cabbage in a slow cooker will be shown in a recipe with detailed photos.

Bigus of sauerkraut with prunes

Required Products:

500 g pork;
300 g fresh cabbage;
500 g sauerkraut;
1 carrot;
1 large onion;
100 g prunes;
2 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
200 ml hot water;
bay leaf, salt, pepper.

Step-by-step instruction:

Cut the meat into cubes, like beef stroganoff.
Peel the vegetables. Cut the carrots into strips and the onions into cubes.
Pour oil into the slow cooker or melt lard. Load in pork, onions and carrots.
Start the roasting program. Cook vegetables with pork for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Mix tomato paste with water and pour over meat.
Chop fresh cabbage and mix it with squeezed sauerkraut.
Load the slow cooker with cabbage and seasonings. Stir.
Rinse the prunes and immerse them in a bigus.
Close the multicooker and run the stewing program for 1 hour.

Thanks to the combination of sauerkraut and fresh cabbage, this version of the dish is less sour than the traditional one. And prunes will give bigus an interesting note. The main thing is not to overdo it with seasonings so that they do not drown out the aroma and taste of the main ingredients.

Tip: It will be more convenient to cut the meat into neat cubes or sticks if you first cut it into plates 1.5 - 2 cm thick. Lightly beat these plates and cut into pieces of the desired size and shape.

Bigus with potatoes

This is a vegetarian version of the Polish dish. The recipe for bigus from sauerkraut with potatoes with photo will be useful for those who are fasting. But lean does not mean bland. Mushrooms, celery and garlic give bigus with potatoes an appetizing aroma and unusual taste.

Bigus of sauerkraut with potatoes and champignons

Required Products:

4-5 potatoes;
400 g sauerkraut;
1 onion;
1 carrot;
300 g fresh champignons;
50 g celery root;
1 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
2 tbsp. l. refined vegetable oil;
200 ml water;
1 clove of garlic;
salt, spices.

Step-by-step instruction:

Peel the celery, carrots and onions. Cut the vegetables into strips.
Pour oil into the frying pan, add vegetables and sauté until the onion turns golden.
Cut the mushrooms into slices and fry with vegetables.
Place the washed and drained cabbage in a frying pan and simmer all together for 10-15 minutes.
Peel the potatoes. Cut into cubes and add to other vegetables.
Add tomato paste and seasonings, stir evenly. Taste before adding salt. It may not be needed.
Pour water and cover the dish with a lid. Simmer until the potatoes are ready. If necessary, add water.
Turn off the heat. Add chopped garlic and cover the bigus with a lid again.

Potatoes make the dish filling, despite the lack of meat. Lenten bigus can be eaten hot, as a main course, or cold, as an appetizer.

Tip: Try replacing fresh champignons with pickled or salted wild mushrooms. This will make the lean bigus more piquant.

Bigus with chicken

Sauerkraut bigus with chicken is another interesting recipe with photos. Chicken fillet cooks faster than beef or pork, so this option is more suitable for those who have little time for culinary delights.

Sauerkraut bigus with chicken

Required Products:

500 g chicken fillet;
400 g sauerkraut;
200 g fresh cabbage;
1 onion;
1 carrot;
200 ml water;
2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
2 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
salt, pepper, bay leaf;
2 cloves of garlic;
fresh greens.

Step-by-step instruction:

Cut the fillet into 2 cm cubes. Fry until golden brown.
Peel the vegetables. Chop the onion, grate the carrots, add to the chicken and cook until the onion is translucent.
Combine water with tomato paste. Pour over chicken and vegetables.
Add fresh and washed sauerkraut.
Add salt and spices. Stir.
Turn off the heat, sprinkle the bigus with herbs and garlic. Cover the dish with a lid and let stand for a few minutes.

Chicken fillet goes well with a combination of fresh and sauerkraut. Bigus is moderately sour, tender and aromatic.

Tip: Chicken breast fillet is too dry and fibrous for this dish. It is better to take the pulp from the thighs or drumsticks. You can cook meat with bones, but eating such a dish will be less convenient than one made from fillet.

Bigus with sausage

The following recipe with photos will help you learn how to cook bigus from sauerkraut with sausage. This is a spicy version of the dish that cooks quickly.

Bigus from sauerkraut with sausage

Required Products:

1 kg of sauerkraut;
400 g smoked sausage;
1 carrot;
2 onions;
2 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil or lard;
100 ml water or dry red wine;
salt, red and black ground pepper, bay leaf.

Step-by-step instruction:

Place the washed and squeezed cabbage into a deep bowl with thick walls. Pour water or wine and add tomato paste.
Simmer until the cabbage becomes soft.
Peel the vegetables. Grate or chop the carrots, cut the onion into cubes.
Fry the vegetables in oil until golden brown.
Add carrots and onions to cabbage.
Chop the smoked sausage into 2 cm cubes and combine with vegetables.
Add seasonings. Add salt if necessary. Simmer for another 15 minutes to infuse the vegetables with the smoked aroma.

This flavorful, warming dish is perfect for the cold season. Compared to other types of bigus, it cooks quickly and can become a lifesaver for a busy housewife. If a dish is being prepared for the whole family, it is better to pour water into it. The red wine option is for adults only.

Bigus of sauerkraut with sausages

Tip: Ideally, bigus is prepared with hunting sausages. But you can take any sausage or other smoked meats. You can even cook this dish with sausages if you fry them until golden brown. Although the taste, of course, will be completely different.

These five recipes with detailed photos allow you to choose the most suitable version of bigus with sauerkraut for your family. This simple and delicious Polish dish can be an excellent alternative to the traditional solyanka.

A long time ago, bigus with meat became a symbol of Polish national cuisine. Everyone cooked and ate it there, everywhere and always. In harsh winters, bigus was fed to soldiers on campaigns, and monks in monasteries also ate it; the dish was traditionally on any table in Poland, be it a luxurious noble castle or a simple peasant hut.

The main ingredients of this dish are meat and sauerkraut. Moreover, almost any meat components can be used for bigus. Avid hunters prepared a sumptuous dish with game (rabbit or duck). In rich and noble houses, selected pork, veal, and domestic chicken were used for cooking. And poor Warsaw students made bigus with store-bought sausages or sausages.

The dish has long gone beyond Polish borders and has taken root remarkably well in Ukrainian, Russian, Lithuanian and Belarusian national cuisines. The classic recipe for bigus consists of three main stages: first, sauerkraut and fresh cabbage are stewed, the meat components are fried separately, then everything is combined and simmered for about an hour until cooked. For even more flavor, add red wine, bay leaves, cumin and black pepper (ground or ground) during cooking.

Instead of meat, you can use potatoes, rice or mushrooms for bigus. Then the dish will turn out to be lean, suitable for vegetarians and people observing church fasts.

In any case, the bigus will turn out nourishing and tasty. Be sure to try making it for your family. This is the option when household members are not divided into two camps; everyone will definitely like bigus. After all, poetry is not dedicated to bad things, but the famous Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz wrote about this dish: “And the bigus is warming up; It’s hard to say in words how delicious it is, how wonderful it smells!”

Ingredients

sauerkraut – 500 g;
fresh cabbage – 500 g;
onions – 300 g;
carrots – 200 g;
lean pork – 500 g;
boiled veal – 200 g;
smoked sausages (sausage or ribs) – 200 g;
vegetable oil – 2-3 tbsp. l.;
tomato paste – 3-4 tbsp. l.;
prunes – 100 g;
garlic – 2-3 cloves;
black pepper, salt, sugar, cumin, coriander - to your taste.

How to cook classic bigus from fresh and sauerkraut

All leftover meat dishes that can often be found in the refrigerator after holidays are suitable for bigus - boiled and smoked meat, sausages, ham.

Immediately take a large dish (with a capacity of at least 3 liters), because it is in it that the entire dish will be prepared.

Peel the onion, wash and chop into small cubes. In a large frying pan with high sides, a cauldron or a deep saucepan with a thick bottom, heat the vegetable oil (lard or bacon), add the onion and fry it until golden brown.

Peel the carrots, rinse and grate on a coarse grater. Add it to the onion and fry everything together until the carrots are soft.

Squeeze the sauerkraut from the brine and add it to the vegetables. Mix all ingredients carefully and leave to simmer over low heat for 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop fresh cabbage thinly and add salt. Press it lightly with your hands so that it becomes softer, releasing the juice. Transfer the cabbage to the pan and continue simmering.

Wash the pork thoroughly, cut into small slices and fry in a separate frying pan until golden brown. After this, transfer the meat pieces into the pan with the vegetables and stir.

Add granulated sugar (about 1 teaspoon), salt and ground black pepper, cumin grains, a little ground coriander and other spices to your taste to the bigus. Pour in tomato paste previously diluted in 50-100 ml of water. Stir and simmer covered over low heat for about 30 minutes.

During this time, prepare all other ingredients. Cut prunes into large pieces, smoked deli meats into rings or cubes; chop the garlic with a knife.

Add everything to the pan. Continue simmering with the lid closed over low heat for another 1 hour.

After an hour, bigus made from sauerkraut and fresh cabbage will look so beautiful and appetizing.

A fragrant, satisfying and very tasty second course is ready. Serve it in portions in a deep plate with hot black or white bread. Bon appetit!

The most favorite food for many is sauerkraut, an excellent snack. It is from sauerkraut that very tasty and easy-to-prepare dishes are obtained. One of them is bigus or bigos, an international dish.

For Ukrainians it is bigus, for Lithuanians and Poles it is bigos, for Belarusians it is bigas, as you can see, it is truly a traditional dish in Slavic and Baltic cuisines. Bigus is prepared, as a rule, from fresh or sauerkraut (sometimes both types are combined), with pork and with various additions - prunes, carrots, onions, dried mushrooms, etc.

To prepare bigus from sauerkraut, take the products according to the list. Vegetables need to be peeled and washed.

In a minimal amount of vegetable oil, fry washed, dried and chopped pork ribs until golden brown.

Add chopped onion to the ribs and fry lightly.

Add grated carrots.

When the carrots become soft, add the cabbage.

Stir and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.

Wash the prunes, remove the seeds, chop, add to the bigus and cook for another 20 minutes. If necessary, add water so that the cabbage does not burn in the pan, this will allow it to simmer faster. You can add bay leaf at this stage for aroma and taste.

Next you need to taste the bigus, I add a little sugar for taste, but decide for yourself whether to add salt. Pepper is a must. Cover the finished bigus with a lid and let it stand for 15 minutes so that all the flavors mix.

Bigus from sauerkraut is ready. Now you can freeze it before serving, or serve it straight away. To be honest, I prefer to serve bigus piping hot; I don’t feel that charm and “subtle” taste after freezing it. But this is a matter of taste, and it's up to you to decide.