Bigos

Fry the bacon in a heavy Dutch oven. Reserve the bacon pieces and drain off the bacon fat.

Use part of the bacon fat and some of the butter to brown the meat chunks. Brown a portion of the meat, set aside, add more bacon fat and butter to the pot and more meat chunks. Continue until all of the meat is browned.

Saute the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Add back the meat chunks. Pour in the stock, wine or beer, tomatoes with their juice, sauerkraut, cabbage, apples, prunes, bay leaves, juniper berries, and honey or sugar and bring to a boil (I put the cabbage in a bowl and microwave it for a few minutes until it collapses so all of this fits into my pot). Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 2-4 hours. Add water as needed during cooking.

Stir in the ham and sausage, then cover and cook on low heat for another hour.

When ready to serve, remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning. Ladle into bowls and serve with boiled potatoes, a bowl of sour cream, and thick, crusty dark rye bread.

NOTE: I usually make this with regular mushrooms but the preferred mushrooms are the real Polish brown Boletus mushrooms. These can be bought dried and soaked. If you use dried mushrooms, soak in a little hot water and add both mushrooms and liquid to the pot.