Of the Polish and Baltic dishes, one of the most popular among our compatriots is the bigus. It is made from fresh and sauerkraut with meat, sausages, mushrooms, sausages and other ingredients. A characteristic feature of the dish is a slightly sour taste and rich aroma created by the harmonious combination of meat products, stewed cabbage, spices and spices. The only drawback of this dish can be considered not too fast cooking. After all, the cabbage with meat must be stewed until they are soft. This problem does not bother those who make bigus in a slow cooker. While the smart unit is extinguishing the dish, the hostess can do any other chores or just relax without worrying that the bigus will burn.
Cooking Features
Bigus in the slow cooker can be prepared from any ingredients traditionally used for this dish. However, regardless of the recipe you choose, it does not hurt to follow the recommendations of experienced chefs.
- You should not choose the meat of an old animal for bigus. It takes a long time to prepare it. And when it finally becomes quite soft, the cabbage will turn into a shapeless mass. In addition, the meat of a young animal is always more tender and pleasant to the taste.
- Frozen meat is also not the best choice for bigus. It can be dry and tasteless when cooked. This happens because of a violation of the structure of the product when it is improperly defrosted. If you are ready to be patient and wait until the meat is thawed on the top shelf of the refrigerator, you can also choose frozen food. Otherwise, it should be abandoned in favor of fresh or chilled meat.
- According to traditional technology, meat must be fried before it is mixed with cabbage. To do this, in the multicooker one should choose the program “Frying” or “Baking”. Next bigus is prepared in the program “Quenching”. However, when cooking in a slow cooker, the stage of roasting meat is sometimes missed. In this case, the unit is immediately started in fire mode, but the timer is set for a longer time.
- In order for the bigus not to burn, add wine, tomato juice or just water to the slow cooker.
- Pleasant sourness to bigus is given by sauerkraut, which is most often included in the recipe. In addition to it, lemon juice, wine, tomatoes, or tomato paste diluted with water can add sourness to the bigus. Overdoing with these ingredients is not worth it, because if you make the dish very sour, you will not want to eat it.
Bigus can be served not only hot, but also cold. It will be even tastier if infused within a few hours after preparation. Therefore, this dish is often eaten the next day.
Bigus with beef in a multicooker
Composition:
- fresh cabbage - 0, 6 kg;
- beef - 0, 4 kg;
- onions - 100 g;
- carrots - 150 g;
- sweet pepper - 0, 2 kg;
- tomato paste - 30 ml;
- water - 100 ml;
- salt, spices - to taste;
- vegetable oil - 60 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Wash beef, dry with paper napkins. Cut it into thin long pieces, as for beef stroganoff.
- Wash the cabbage, remove the top leaves, which are most often sluggish. Cabbage cut into squares with a length of the edge of about 1, 5-2 cm.
- Wash the pepper. Cut off the stem from it, cut it lengthwise into 4 parts, simultaneously removing the seeds. Cut into strips.
- Peel and wash carrots. Grind with a grater. It is better to use the side on which the holes are large.
- Remove the husks from the bulb. Cut the onion into small pieces.
- Dissolve tomato paste with water.
- Pour oil into the multicooker bowl. Put the meat in it. Turn on the mode “Frying”, and in his absence - “Baking”. If the model of multicooker allows, you need to fry the meat with the lid open, stirring occasionally. Otherwise, to stir the meat, the work of the multicooker will have to be suspended a couple of times. The total time of roasting meat, regardless of the selected program, is 10 minutes.
- Add onions and carrots to meat. Without changing the regime, fry them with meat for 5 minutes.
- Add pepper, continue cooking for another 5 minutes in the same mode.
- Put the cabbage into the slow cooker, add some salt. Add spices. Pour in water with tomato paste diluted in it.
- Lower the lid and activate the Quenching program for 60 minutes.
- Leave the dish in heating mode for another half an hour.
Serve Bigus with beef taken without garnish. However, if you serve it with mashed potatoes, guests and households will also be happy.
Bigus with pork
Composition:
- pork - 0, 4 kg;
- fresh cabbage - 0, 5 kg;
- sauerkraut - 0.5 kg;
- water - 0, 25 l;
- vegetable oil - 40 ml;
- onions - 0, 2 kg;
- carrots - 150 g;
- tomato paste - 20 ml;
- salt, spices - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Wash a piece of pork, pat dry with kitchen napkins.
- Cut the pork into small cubes, about 1.5 cm in size.
- Rinse sauerkraut, allow to drain and squeeze by hand.
- Finely chop fresh cabbage.
- Mix fresh cabbage with sauerkraut.
- On a fine grater, chop the peeled carrots.
- Peel the onion peeled into small-sized cubes.
- Pour oil into the multicooker container. Put pork, onions and carrots in it. Fry them for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The program “Frying” is optimal for frying the ingredients, but not all devices have it. If there is no such program, the Baking program will successfully replace it.
- Add cabbage, salt, spices. Fill with water, having previously parted tomato paste in it. Start the slow cooker in fire mode for 1 hour.
Bigus, cooked according to this recipe in a slow cooker, turns out juicy, satisfying. It has a pleasant aroma and slight sourness. It can be served on the second or as a snack to strong alcoholic beverages.
Bigus with sausage
Composition:
- smoked sausage - 0, 2 kg;
- boiled sausage - 0, 2 kg;
- sauerkraut - 1 kg;
- carrots - 0, 3 kg;
- onions - 0, 2 kg;
- vegetable oil - 50 ml;
- butter - 40 g;
- spices - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Cut the boiled sausage into cubes, about 1 cm in size, cut the smoked sausage into strips.
- Rinse the cabbage thoroughly in running water.
- Peel carrots and onions. Chop carrots on a grater with small holes, finely chop the onion with a knife.
- Pour vegetable oil into the slow cooker, put sausage into it. Run the Baking program for 15 minutes.
- 5 minutes after the start of the program, stir the sausage, add onions and carrots to it. Fry sausage together with vegetables for 5 minutes, mix it all over again and leave to roast until the program is completed.
- Add sauerkraut to sausage. Put spices on top. Salt is not necessary. Run the program "Baking" for another half an hour. 5 minutes before the end of the program, add butter.
- When the program is over, leave the biggus in the slow cooker for another 15 minutes in heating mode.
Before serving, bigus should be mixed. Delicate creamy taste, which gives cabbage oil, hardly anyone will leave indifferent. And the flavor of smoked meats will make Bigus even more appetizing.
Bigus mushrooms
Composition:
- fresh cabbage - 0, 4 kg;
- sauerkraut - 150 g;
- fresh mushrooms - 0, 3 kg;
- celery root - 50 g;
- onions - 100 g;
- tomato paste - 20 ml;
- vegetable oil - 40 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Chop fresh cabbage.
- Cut the mushrooms into thin plates.
- Cut onion into thin half rings.
- Crush the celery root with a knife.
- Pour oil into the multicooker bowl, put celery and onion in it.
- Fry vegetables in frying or baking mode for 5 minutes, add the mushrooms and continue cooking in the same mode for another 5 minutes.
- Turn off the multicooker. Put in her sauerkraut and fresh cabbage. Add tomato paste and a little salt.
- Start the unit by selecting the “Quenching” program for half an hour.
This bigus will appeal to vegetarians. You can eat it in the post. At the same time bigus with mushrooms turns out nourishing, fragrant and very tasty.
Cooking bigus in a slow cooker is a pleasure. From the hostess will require a minimum of effort, and the result will almost certainly meet the expectations.
