The cuisine of every nation boasts at least a few dishes that have gained popularity all over the world. If we talk about the Polish and Lithuanian cuisines, then such dishes should certainly include a bigus. Prepare it from cabbage with meat or sausages. It is believed that meat for bigus fits any, but still the most traditional recipes are considered to be pork. Bigus with pork is a particularly satisfying and tasty dish that is suitable for both everyday and festive table. It is eaten both hot and cold, served instead of the second, or as a snack to alcoholic beverages, including beer. Therefore, if you do not know which dish to cook for a male company, you can safely choose a bigus with pork.
Cooking Features
Cabbage dishes with meat are present not only in Polish and Baltic cuisine, but nevertheless it is bigus that has gained immense popularity all over the world. Probably, the whole thing is in a special sour taste, which successfully shines the taste of stewed cabbage and meat, first fried and then stewed. So you can’t make a real bigus with pork without knowing the features of the technology. Before you start cooking, it makes sense to learn a few of the most important points.
- It is not recommended to take the meat of an old animal for a bigus, as it will take too much time to bring it to softness, and the cabbage during this time will turn into a mash. It is better to choose the meat of a young piglet, which can be recognized by a light shade and white fat, without yellowness.
- Frozen meat is not the best choice for cooking bigus. When it is defrosted, the structure is disturbed, because of which the meat loses its juiciness, it will turn out dry, tough and almost tasteless. If you have no choice and have to use frozen food, remove it from the freezer in advance so that it has time to thaw in the refrigerator. Speeding up the process with water or a microwave will not lead to anything good.
- It is possible to fry pork without oil or in its minimum quantity so as not to increase the caloric content of the dish. The fat made from pork will be enough to keep the pieces of meat from burning.
- Bigus should not be liquid, watery. Therefore, water or other liquid in its preparation should use a minimum amount.
- A slight sourness is one of the characteristic features of the bigus. Her dish give sauerkraut, tomatoes, wine. Therefore, if any of these ingredients are indicated in the recipe, you should not refuse to use it. So, replacing wine or tomato juice with water would be a bad idea.
The technology of bigus preparation can be different - it all depends on the chosen recipe. However, the general principles will be unchanged.
Traditional bigus with pork
Composition:
- pork - 0, 5 kg;
- fresh cabbage - 0, 5 kg;
- sauerkraut - 0.5 kg;
- onions - 0, 3 kg;
- tomato juice - 0, 2 l;
- butter - 100 g;
- salt, spices - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Wash pork, dry with paper napkins. Cut the meat into cubes not exceeding 1.5 cm.
- Wash cabbage. Remove the upper leaves, as they will almost certainly be sluggish. Chop the cabbage into a fine straw.
- Rinse sauerkraut in running water and squeeze to remove excess liquid. If the cabbage is not washed, the bigus may turn out to be too sour.
- Peel the onion and cut it into small cubes.
- Melt in a cauldron half the oil specified in the recipe.
- Put the onion in the butter and fry it for 2-3 minutes over medium heat.
- Put the pork in the cauldron. Fry her pieces on all sides until a brown crust appears.
- Salt and pepper pork. Put to her sauerkraut and fresh cabbage, mix. Add spices, pour juice.
- Remove the heat and cook the bigus under the lid for an hour. If the juice is evaporated too early, you can add a little water. The main thing is to make sure that the cabbage does not burn.
- 5 minutes before readiness, place the remaining butter in thin slices into the cauldron on the cabbage.
- Before serving, the dish must be mixed.
To prepare a bigus with pork according to this recipe, not only a cauldron can be used, but also a thick bottom saucepan. The main thing is to keep the container well warm, since thanks to this the dish turns out to be soft, fragrant and cooks a little faster.
Bigus from fresh cabbage with pork
Composition:
- pork - 0, 5 kg;
- carrots - 150 g;
- onions - 150 g;
- fresh cabbage - 1 kg;
- garlic - 2 cloves;
- tomato paste - 60 ml;
- water - 0, 2 l;
- fresh parsley - 50 g;
- fresh dill - 50 g;
- bay leaf - 2 pcs .;
- allspice peas - 5 pcs .;
- vegetable oil - how much will leave;
- salt, seasonings - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Wash the meat, blot it with napkins and cut into small cubes.
- Wash the cabbage head; remove the upper leaves, which have already become sluggish and ugly. Cabbage cut into squares, the size of each square should be about 1, 5-2 cm. It is this method of cutting cabbage for bigus is considered traditional.
- Chop the garlic.
- Dissolve tomato paste with water.
- Chop greens with a knife.
- Peel the onions and carrots. Chop carrots on a coarse grater, chop onion finely.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan with a thick bottom. Put onions and carrots in it. Fry them over medium heat, stirring for 5 minutes.
- Add the pork and fry it, turning it over until it is covered with a brown crust on all sides.
- Reduce heat and put cabbage in pan. Mix it with pork and cover with water with tomato paste. Add spices, pepper, salt to taste, mix.
- Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the cabbage and meat for about an hour. During this time, the pork will be soft, its flavor is mixed with the aroma of cabbage.
- 5 minutes before the dishes are ready, put the greens and garlic in the pan, mix. Thanks to them, the bigus smell will be even more appetizing and seductive.
Bigus with pork, cooked according to this recipe, is satisfying in and of itself and can be quite satisfying, even if you don’t have an extra side dish served. However, rice or potatoes will not be superfluous: Bigus fits very well with them.
Bigus with pork and sausage
Composition:
- pork - 0, 5 kg;
- fresh cabbage - 0, 5 kg;
- Krakow sausage - 0, 25 kg;
- sauerkraut - 0.5 kg;
- onions - 150 g;
- carrots - 150 g;
- prunes - 100 g;
- salt, spices - to taste;
- vegetable oil - how much will leave;
- dry wine (best plum) - 150 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Pork, washed and dried, cut into large strips.
- Cut the sausage in the same pieces as the pork.
- Coarsely cleaned carrots rub.
- Onion, freeing from the husk, cut into thin quarters of rings.
- Chop fresh cabbage and rinse sauerkraut.
- Pour prunes for 10 minutes with warm water, then dry it and cut into thin strips.
- In hot oil, fry the pork for 5 minutes, then add the sausage and fry for another 5 minutes.
- Move the meat and sausage to the edges, place the onions and carrots in the center. Stir them, stirring, for 5 minutes. Mix with meat and sausage, move to the sides of the pan.
- Stir fresh cabbage with sauerkraut, put in a saucepan. Fry it for 10 minutes, mix with meat and sausage.
- Add spices, prunes and wine. Simmer on low heat for half an hour. Make sure that the dish is not burnt - if necessary, add a little more water.
This recipe of bigus with pork is as close as possible to the traditional one. Sausage gives the dish a special flavor. If desired, sausage can be replaced with any smoked meats - it will turn out no less tasty.
Bigus with pork is a traditional dish of Polish cuisine, which was to the taste of our compatriots. Prepare it from sour or fresh cabbage, often mixing them. To give a spicy flavor to the dish, smoked meats are often included in the recipe. As a result, Bigus with pork can be prepared for almost any taste, choosing the most suitable recipe.
