• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Domestic Dreamboat
  • Recipes
  • Special Diets
  • Kitchen Basics
  • Meet Carissa
    • Contact Me
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • Resources
  • Work with Me
  • Subscribe and Follow

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipe Index
    • Resources
    • Work with Me
  • Subscribe and Follow

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Dish Type / Soups and Stews / Polish Hunter's Stew (Bigos)

    Polish Hunter's Stew (Bigos)

    Published: Oct 26, 2017 · Modified: Sep 12, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a small commission if you buy an item in my links, at no charge to you.

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe
    Total Time 4 hours
    Number of Servings 8
    Polish Hunter's Stew (Bigos)

    Polish Hunter's Stew (Bigos) is a hearty, smoky stew filled with chicken, sausage, bacon and loads of vegetables. Makes a large batch and is great reheated.

    Polish Hunter's Stew (Bigos)

    Way back in January 2014, Hunter's Stew was one of the very first recipes I ever published. Here we are, almost 3 years later, and things have come a long way. But over the years, I've changed the recipe a bit, so I wanted to share it again.

    Polish Hunter's Stew (Bigos)

    When I first shared the recipe, I made it in the traditional way - with pork, and pork based bacon and sausage. However, one time I didn't have any pork in the freezer so I used chicken thighs instead - I didn't notice any compromises to the quality.

    Because cutting back on red meat is an important dietary goal to me, I have made it with chicken ever since. To further reduce fat and calories, I also use turkey or chicken based sausage too.

    The Hunter's Stew is still as rich and smoky as ever - perhaps even more so because I started using smoked paprika in addition to regular sweet paprika.

    Polish Hunter's Stew (Bigos)

    How to Make Hunter's Stew:

    Please don't let the long ingredient list and long cooking time prevent you from making this stew. Yes, it's a bit of a cooking time investment. But make it on a weekend, and you will be reheating it throughout the week.

    Hunter's Stew Ingredients:

    • Turkey bacon
    • Chicken or turkey kielbasa sausage
    • Chicken thighs
    • Garlic
    • 1 large onion, diced
    • White mushrooms
    • Carrots
    • Green cabbage
    • Sauerkraut
    • Canned tomato paste
    • Bay leaves
    • smoked paprika
    • Sweet paprika
    • Dried basil
    • Dried marjoram
    • Salt
    • Ground black pepper
    • Caraway seed
    • Cayenne pepper
    • Dry red wine
    • Low sodium chicken broth
    • Diced tomatoes

    There will be some chopping and slicing involved, as there is a long list of vegetables that go into the stew. Make sure you have a good knife to make it a little easier.

    Trust me, it's worth it. I have made it countless times for my family (even my super picky kids love it!), extended family and friends, and everyone raves about it every time!

    Want more hearty soup recipes?

    A spoon of chicken barley soup held over a bowl of soup.
    Weeknight Chicken Barley Soup
    Chicken and Dumplings in a bowl
    Chicken and Dumplings
    Mulligatawny soup in bowl
    Mulligatawny - Curried Chicken and Apple Soup

    Polish Hunter's Stew Nutrition Notes:

    Polish Hunter's Stew is traditionally made with regular (pork) bacon and sausage, as well as cubed pork instead of chicken thighs. You can definitely use those, but the resulting fat and calories will be higher.

    I found that by using chicken, I was able to slightly cut down on fat (as well as reduce my family's red meat intake) without compromising the flavor of the stew.

    Polish Hunter's Stew (Bigos)
    5 from 1 vote
    Pin for later
    Print Recipe

    New and Improved Polish Hunter's Stew (Bigos)

    Carissa Serink
    Polish Hunter's Stew (Bigos) is a hearty, smoky stew filled with chicken, sausage, bacon and loads of vegetables. Makes a large batch and is great reheated.
    Prep Time30 mins
    Cook Time3 hrs 30 mins
    Total Time4 hrs
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 193kcal
    Keep your screen on

    Ingredients

    • 4 slices turkey bacon
    • 1 ring chicken or turkey kielbasa sausage, cut in half and sliced into ½ inch half moons
    • 1 pound chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 large onion, diced
    • 8 ounces white mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
    • 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
    • ½ medium green cabbage, shredded
    • 16 ounces sauerkraut, drained
    • 2 tablespoons canned tomato paste
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
    • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
    • 1 teaspoon dried basil
    • 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • ¼ teaspoon caraway seed
    • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
    • ¼ cup dry red wine (or 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar)
    • 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
    • 14 oz can diced tomatoes

    Instructions

    • Heat oven to 350°F. Cook bacon and sausage in an oven safe dutch oven over medium high heat until browned. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside.
    • Add chicken thighs to dutch oven and cook until browned on all sides. Transfer to the bowl with the bacon and sausage.
    • Add garlic, onion, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage and sauerkraut to the dutch oven and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
    • Add the tomato paste, bay leaves, smoked paprika, paprika, basil, marjoram, salt, pepper, caraway, and cayenne. Stir and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Slowly pour in red wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the dutch oven.
    • Stir in the chicken broth and diced tomatoes, then add back the bacon, sausage and pork. Bring to a boil, then cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2.5-3 hours.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 840mg | Potassium: 864mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 5673IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 3mg

    Nutrition Disclaimer: I try my best to make sure the nutrition information I provide is accurate to provide you with the best information possible. However, due to ingredient discrepancies and other factors, the above nutrition information should be considered an estimation only.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @DomesticDreamboat or tag #DomesticDreamboat!

    More Soups and Stews

    • Beet borscht in a white bowl garnished with fresh dill and sour cream.
      Beet Borscht Soup
    • Homemade Rhubarb soup in a white bowl.
      Rhubarb Soup
    • Chicken barley soup in a light blue bowl
      Weeknight Chicken Barley Soup
    • Cream of tomato soup in a white bowl
      Quick and Easy Cream of Tomato Soup

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Carissa! I'm the face behind Domestic Dreamboat. I love to cook, I love to eat, and I love to stay healthy. Thanks for joining me in my homemade journey!

    More about me →

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    {"title":"","limit":"5","offset":0,"range":"last24hours","time_quantity":"24","time_unit":"hour","freshness":false,"order_by":"views","post_type":"post","pid":"","cat":"","taxonomy":"category","term_id":"","author":"","shorten_title":{"active":true,"length":"25","words":false},"post-excerpt":{"active":true,"length":"75","keep_format":false,"words":false},"thumbnail":{"active":true,"width":"75","height":"75","build":"manual","size":""},"rating":false,"stats_tag":{"comment_count":false,"views":false,"author":false,"date":{"active":false,"format":"F j, Y"},"category":false,"taxonomy":{"active":false,"name":"category"}},"markup":{"custom_html":"1","wpp-start":"
      ","wpp-end":"","title-start":"

      ","title-end":"","post-html":"
    • {thumb_img}
      {taxonomy}{title}"},"theme":{"name":"cards-compact"}}

      Quick & Easy Meals

      • Ham and Cheese Muffin with Butter cropped
        Savory Whole Wheat Ham and Cheese Muffins
      • One-Pan Pork and Broccoli Noodle Bowl in a pale blue bowl.
        One-Pan Pork and Broccoli Noodle Bowls
      • Tomato and cucumber salad in a white bowl.
        Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Tahini Dressing (Jerusalem Salad)
      • Chickpea salad with carrots and olives in a square, white bowl.
        Chickpea Salad with Carrots and Olives

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Policies

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    About Me

    • Contact
    • About Carissa

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023

    63 shares
    Domestic Dreamboat
    Manage Cookie Consent
    To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
    View preferences
    {title} {title} {title}