Familiarity with the national cuisines of Poland and the Baltic countries carries many culinary discoveries. One of them is Bigus from fresh cabbage. This dish is so tasty, satisfying and multifaceted that its recipes are popular all over the world, including among our compatriots. Originally Bigus was a hunting dish. They cooked it from cabbage and game or other meat produced during the hunt, often with the addition of all kinds of smoked meat. Today Bigus do with any meat, as well as sausages, sausage. The main thing is to comply with the recipe and technology, then the bigus will turn out to be nourishing, fragrant, with a rich taste, having a slight sourness.
Cooking Features
Braised cabbage with meat is present in the cuisines of different nations, but the bigus from fresh cabbage has a unique taste, different from dishes with similar composition. It's all about some of the cooking intricacies that make bigus a unique dish.
- The taste of any dish depends on the quality of the products used in its preparation. The main ingredients of bigus are meat and fresh cabbage. Cabbage can be taken as white, and red - the result will not change much. The main thing - to remove the upper leaves, which are almost always sluggish. Of course, the heading should not be spoiled by rot, rodents. By the choice of meat should be approached carefully, taking into account the fact that the meat of a young animal is cooked faster and turns out more tender and soft. It is better to give preference to the cooled product, since after defrosting the meat loses its juiciness. In order to minimize the negative impact of freezing followed by thawing on the structure of the meat, it should be thawed in the refrigerator.
- Additional ingredients add specific sourness and unique aroma to fresh cabbage to a bigus. Most often it is tomato paste or fresh tomatoes, from spices - cloves, bay leaf, black and sweet peas. Lingonberries or other sour berries are often added. In this case, you should know the measure so that the dish does not turn out too sour.
- According to the classical technology, meat and cabbage are first prepared separately: the meat is fried until golden brown appears, the cabbage is fried or stewed until half cooked. After that, the components are combined and stewed together for quite a long time. Bigus is considered ready when the meat becomes very soft. It is best to extinguish a bigus in a frying pan or saucepan with thick walls and a bottom, a cauldron may be an alternative.
- To prevent the bigus from burning, water is added to it, but it should be used in the minimum amount, since the dish should not be liquid.
Usually, bigus is served hot, but it is tasty and remains chilled. It is allowed to serve as a cold snack to strong alcoholic beverages.
Bigus with chicken from fresh cabbage
Composition:
- chicken - 1, 5 kg;
- fresh cabbage (white cabbage) - 1 kg;
- sauerkraut - 0, 25 kg;
- onions - 100 g;
- vegetable oil - 60 ml;
- bay leaf - 2 pcs .;
- black pepper peas - 5 pcs .;
- fresh greens - 100 g;
- chili sauce - 10 ml;
- water - 0, 25 l;
- salt, pepper - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- The chicken carcass, already gutted and plucked, rinse well and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Using special scissors, cut it into portions. Rub the pieces with salt and pepper.
- Wash the sauerkraut and squeeze.
- Remove the top leaves from the cabbage. Finely chop the cabbage.
- Clean onions from the husk, cut into thin half rings.
- Chop fresh greens with a knife.
- Dip the chili sauce in a glass of boiled water.
- Heat the oil in a pan and brown the chicken pieces in it. It should be cooked on medium heat, without a lid.
- Remove the chicken from the pan, put fresh cabbage in its place. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Add sauerkraut and onions, fry for another 10 minutes.
- Fold fresh sauerkraut and pieces of chicken into a thick-walled pot or cauldron. Place bay leaves, peppercorns on top. Fill all with water and sauce. Salt to taste.
- Cover the pot with a lid and set on low heat. Stew for half an hour until the chicken is ready.
Bigus made from fresh cabbage and chicken is a complete dish that does not require a side dish. Before serving, you only need to generously sprinkle with fresh herbs. The sour cabbage, which is a part of it, gives the necessary acidity to the dish.
Bigus with sausage from fresh cabbage
Composition:
- white cabbage (fresh) - 1, 5 kg;
- smoked sausage - 0, 25 kg;
- boiled sausage - 0, 25 kg;
- oregano, marjoram - 5 g;
- fresh dill - 50 g;
- fresh parsley - 50 g; m
- onions - 0, 2 kg;
- tomato paste - 50 ml;
- water - 0, 2 l;
- vegetable oil - how much will leave;
- bay leaf - 1 pc .;
- salt, pepper - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Peel the loose leaves of the head of cabbage. Wash, dry and chop into thin strips. Put in a bowl and remember hands, to cabbage gave juice.
- Cut the boiled and smoked sausage into pieces of approximately the same size. Stir together.
- Free the onion from the husk, cut it into small pieces.
- Heat the oil in a pan and put the onion in it. Fry it until golden brown. Add tomato paste, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Finely chop the dill and parsley.
- In a clean skillet with a little oil, fry the sausage. Fry until it is browned.
- Fold fresh cabbage into a cauldron, add a glass of water, salt, pepper. Stew the cabbage for 20 minutes. If she is young, time can be reduced by 5-7 minutes.
- Put in a cauldron with tomato sauerkraut and fried sausage. At the same time, you should add spices and spices, fresh herbs. Continue to simmer the cabbage and sausage for another 10 minutes.
Fresh cabbage Bigus with sausage is cooked easily and quickly. Such a dish can be made for dinner to save time.
Bigus from fresh cabbage with beef and potatoes
Composition:
- beef (pulp) - 0, 6 kg;
- pork lard - 0, 2 kg;
- potatoes - 1 kg;
- onions - 150 g;
- carrots - 150 g;
- fresh cabbage - 0, 5 kg;
- garlic - 2 cloves;
- salt, pepper - to taste;
- sugar - 5 g;
- allspice - 5 pcs .;
- bay leaf - 2 pcs .;
- apple cider vinegar (6%) - 5 ml;
- water - 0, 2 liters.
Method of preparation:
- Wash beef and lard well. Fat cut into small pieces, beef - larger cubes (approximately 1, 5 cm).
- Put the fat on the pan, put it on the fire. When fat begins to melt from the fat, put beef in the pan. Fry until brown crust over medium heat.
- Peel a large onion, cut into small pieces and add to the pan with the meat. Roast with him for 5 minutes.
- Cabbage, having washed and having cleared of sluggish leaves, chop small straws.
- Grate peeled carrots on a coarse grater.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes of approximately the same size as the meat.
- Mix vinegar with sugar and salt. Dilute with water.
- Crush the garlic and add to the water with vinegar, mix.
- Fold the cabbage into a cauldron or thick-walled pot by mixing it with carrots, pour in half a glass of water and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add potatoes and meat to cabbage. Stir. Add the remaining water seasoning. Salt lightly if necessary. Stir and continue cooking over low heat with the lid on for 30 minutes.
Bigus prepared according to this recipe is very satisfying. It will be even tastier if, after cooking, give it some time to insist.
Bigus with minced meat and rice
Composition:
- white cabbage (fresh) - 1 kg;
- ground beef - 0, 4-0, 5 kg;
- rice - 0, 4 kg;
- onions - 0, 2 kg;
- carrots - 0, 2 kg;
- salt, pepper - to taste;
- vegetable oil - how much will leave;
- water - 0, 2 liters.
Method of preparation:
- Rinse and boil the rice until half cooked in salted water.
- Peel the vegetables. Onions cut into thin quarters of rings, chop carrots on a coarse grater.
- Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the onions and carrots in it.
- When the vegetables have a golden hue, add minced meat to them, pepper and salt it. Stir for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Chop cabbage, cover with water and stew until half cooked.
- Mix all the ingredients by placing them in a cauldron. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.
Bigus with minced meat and rice has a unique taste, somewhat different from the traditional. If you want to make the dish slightly sour, you can add fresh tomatoes to the recipe. They should be peeled and diced. Add tomatoes to cabbage at the first stage of cooking.
Fresh cabbage Bigus is one of the most inexpensive at the cost, but at the same time tasty and hearty dishes. The technology of its preparation is extremely simple, and if you know some of the moments, even an inexperienced hostess can cope with the task perfectly well. Another advantage of the dish is that it does not require a side dish. Additionally, it should be noted that the bigus can be eaten cold, and it will still be tasty. This is another argument in favor of this dish.
