Bigos

1. Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven, to render the fat. Drain the bacon on the side and reserve. Then toss the pork chunks, garlic, onions, and mushrooms into the rendered fat. Saute on medium low until the meat is browned--about 5 minutes.
2. Pour in the stock, tomatoes with their juice, sugar, bay leaves, sauerkraut, and apples, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 2 hours. Stir in the ham and sausage, then cover and cook on medium-low heat for about 30 more minutes.
3. When ready to serve, remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with the reserved bacon, and serve with boiled potatoes, a bowl of sour cream, and thick, crusty bread.

• AUTHENTICITY ALERT! I've been contacted by Kazimierz Ziezio, who gives the following excellent advice to true hunters: "Some Hunter's stew--Where's the game? Add vension! Maybe some pheasant and rabbit. Saute the meat in butter add good Hungarian paprika, then sauté the mushrooms in the drippings. Add the best kielbasa you can afford. Not to do a plug, but go to www.Hapskielbasa.com if you can't find kielbasa made by a Pole. Wash the kraut out of the sourkraut! Then slowly cook the Bigos a few times in a crock for a few days. Serve it with sour cream, rye bread, good beer or dry mead!!" Kaz, prompted by me, says about himself, "My dad was not a hunter, but my uncles were. My dad would usually make Bigos for his poker games with the guys he grew up with on the Polish side of Utica, NY. That was where I learned to make his variation & play poker. But I've also had Bigos in a Polish-Chinese resturant that used to be open locally where the Polish chef made "Bigos from Warsawa"--tomato based & completely meatless! And in Poland where it resembled spare ribs & sour kraut. There are as many variations as there are Polish kitchens. Wesolych Swiat!"
• Sophie Dill of Las Vegas, Nevada, notes: "being of Polish heritage--this soup always included chunks of potato. Also, adding 1/2 head of fresh cabbage makes it a much healthier soup! Otherwise, it brings back memories of "soup for dinner"--about 5 nights a week when I was growing up, about 50 years ago!!"
• Kazimierz Michalak adds that, from an eastern Poland point of view, the best variation is the one that uses equal parts sauerkraut and cabbage in the mix--and game, of course.
• Wladek Wolanski of Coatbridge says, "My father was from Drochobycz in pre-war Poland and often took over the kitchen to cook Bigos,which was rich, hearty and utterly delicious.He used to add stewing steak and pork with plenty garlic, also canned tomatoes and tomato puree to the recipe.His friend , my Uncle Tony was a Polish butcher who made a vast array of Kielbasa which was enthusiastically added to the pot.Usually the more piwo that had been consumed , the better the resulting dish seemed to be.Not a classical chef tip but nonetheless it "seemed" to work. Bigos has been a great addition to Scottish nights in our family especially big football matches wiyh a good crowd of friends round."
• Here's Shirley P., trying it for the first time: "At the time when I was making it, I kept thinking, this is a weird soup. But now every bowl I have, I like it more. I look forward to coming home and having a bowl of it."
• And Janina from Houston: "RE: Bigos vs. suerkraut soup. I noticed that some comments refer to bigos as 'soup'. Bigos is quite different from sauerkraut soup -- it has very little liquid, the recipes are quite different. So please--while cooking bigos disregard any suggestions concerning the sauerkraut soup."