(SERVES TEN)
The tradition of this Polish hunter's stew goes back centuries, and every ancient Polish manor had a Bigos recipe in its house cookbook. The ingredients were kept in good supply in larders, and the stew was taken on long road journeys and eaten on feast days. While the stew cooked in a huge pot, the hunters drank crystal clear, gold-flecked vodka from Gdansk. It's one of our favorite recipes for venison, a lean meat which has a tendency to dry out when cooked by other methods. Used in Bigos, it becomes tender, juicy, and flavorful. 8 tablespoons olive oil
2-1/2 pounds venison (or stewing beef or pork), cut in 2-inch pieces
2 onions
4 cloves garlic, crushed
8 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons mild paprika
3 10-1/2 oz. cans of condensed beef broth, plus 3 cans of water
8 ounces smoked ham, cut in large dice
8 ounces smoked sausage, sliced
2 teaspoons marjoram
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt
Black, white, and red cayenne pepper in equal parts, to taste
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 head white cabbage, chopped
4 apples, cored and chopped
4 carrots, thinly sliced
16 pitted prunes, roughly chopped
6 tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
2/3 cup red wine or Madeira
Pinch sugar
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Roughly chop the onion, add with the garlic and cook 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add the venison in four small batches, cooking over high heat to brown. When all the meat is browned, return it to the skillet with the onion and garlic. Sprinkle the flour over the meat, stir in and cook until light brown. Add the paprika and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer everything to a large stock pot, pour on the beef stock gradually and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to simmering and add the smoked meats, herbs, salt, three peppers, and tomato paste. Stir well, cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and add more liquid if necessary during cooking. When the meat is almost tender, add cabbage, apples, carrots, prunes, tomatoes, wine, and sugar. Cook a further 20 minutes, adjust the seasoning and serve immediately.