Bigos (Polish Hunter's Stew)

by Tom Ashworth

30 servings

Dried Mushrooms

• 4 ½ cupsdried mushrooms (porcini or other forest mushrooms)
• 4 ½ cupswater, for soaking

Stew

• 1.65 lbpork shoulder
• 1.65 lbbeef chuck
• 1 tbspsalt, for the meat
• black pepper, for the meat
• 6 to 9 tbspoil
• 18 slicessmoked bacon
• 3large onion
• 1.49 lbbutton mushrooms
• 3 headssmall head of white cabbage
• 3.31 lbsmoked kielbasa
• 3 ⅛ cupschicken, beef or vegetable stock
• 1.12 lbtomato paste
• 2 tbspsalt
• 12 to 15 leavesbay leaves
• 3 clovesgarlic
• 30whole black peppercorns
• 30whole allspice berries
• 1 ½ tspground black pepper
• 9.92 lbsauerkraut
• 18pitted prunes