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–+ servings
Birdwood Venison

Polish Bigos (Hunters Stew)

A hearty slow-cooked dish, that will taste best on the second day. You can keep it simple with venison and mushrooms, or supplement half of the venison with pork, beef and/or rabbit.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Servings: 6 people
Course: Main
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kg Birdwood Venison (cuts such as round, silverside or topside work well)
  • 150 gms Birdwood Venison Landjaeger (Hunters’ Sausage)
  • 200 gms mixed mushrooms (foraged Saffron Pine Mushrooms and Slippery Jacks plus supermarket Swiss Browns and Enoki)
  • 100 gms dried wild mushroom (foraged Adelaide Hills Porcini)
  • 150 gms prunes, pitted
  • 1 bottle good red wine
  • 3 onions, chopped
  • 500 gms sauerkraut (500g for the faint hearted, 1kg for the bold)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 8 juniper berries, crushed
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable stock powder
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method
 

  1. Rehydrate the mushrooms by placing in boiling water for 30 minutes then draining and repeating. Alternatively, we powder our harvested porcinis and use this as required.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large pan and brown onions and then add the venison and brown all sides.
  3. Add the sauerkraut, bay leaves, juniper berries, half the wine, half the mushrooms and seasoning – cover all ingredients with water.
  4. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, add the mushrooms and any liquid if you rehydrated the mushrooms. Simmer for at least 2 hours. Add the rest of the wine and allow flavours to develop overnight/for several hours without direct heat.
The next day prior to serving
  1. Ensure there is enough fluid and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the Landjaeger mushrooms and prunes and continue to simmer. Do not let it dry out, top up with water as required.
  2. After 2 hours add the vegetable stock powder and adjust to taste with salt and pepper.
  3. Serve with hearty winter sides such as mashed potato, pickled forest mushrooms, beetroot and radish salad and fried red cabbage.

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