Bigos

Bigos is a traditional Polish dish, cooked in particular for Christmas (to be eaten on the First and Second Christmas Day, as Christmas Eve fare is meatless). It's a fantastic dish especially during the colder time of the year or, you know, during the summer in Seattle. The whole point of making bigos is to make a lot of it and have leftovers for a few days, especially as bigos tends to get better with time. Whenever you're ready to eat it, heat up the entire pot. It will let the flavors blend further. The first part of making bigos is entirely the same as for the vegan bigos, recipe for which you can find here.

440 kcal per serving

Cooking time: XXX minutes

Instructions

1. Make vegan bigos (recipe here).
2. Meanwhile, cut the meats into bite size pieces. Heat up 2 tbsp of avocado oil in a stainless steel pan, and fry the meats on medium heat for 20-40 minutes, until somewhat brown. You want the meat to be fairly cooked through, as it is considerably more difficult to cook the meat once you add it to the vegan bigos (due to its acidity). On the other hand, don't overdo it: you definitely don't want the meat to be charred!
3. Once the vegan bigos has been cooking for about an hour, add the meat, stir, and continue cooking at a low heat for at least 2 hours, but even up to 4-5 hours (you can also put the entire thing into a slow cooker!).
4. When you're ready to eat, taste the bigos. If it's not sour enough, add more sauerkraut juice (which you would have kept aside if you followed the steps for the vegan bigos). If it's too sour, considering adding some honey. Salt to taste. Eat on its own or with a piece of good bread, if your diet allows it.