Bigos (; , , or бігус, , ), often translated into English as hunter's stew, is a Polish dish of chopped meat of various kinds stewed with sauerkraut and shredded fresh cabbage. It is served hot and can be enriched with vegetables, spices or wine. Originally from Poland, the dish also became traditional in the areas of the vast Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Etymology The Polish word is probably of German origin, but its exact etymology is disputed. According to the Polish loanword dictionary edited by Elżbieta Sobol, it may derive from German , meaning "doused" or "basted". Jerzy Bralczyk similarly derives the word from archaic German , "sauce". Aleksander Brückner has proposed German , "piece of lead", as a possible source, referring to a tradition of divining from strangely shaped flakes of molten lead dropped into water. Maria Dembińska rejects this etymology as "doubtlessly erroneous", suggesting instead either archaic German , "to chop", or old German ( in modern German), meaning "mugwort" (Artemisia vulgaris), a herb that was popular in medieval cuisine. Andrzej Bańkowski also points to Italian , or "pot for cooking soup", as a possible derivation via German. Ingredients and preparation The principal ingredients of are assorted kinds of meat chopped into bite-sized chunks and a mixture of sauerkraut and shredded fresh white cabbage. The meats may include pork (such as ham, shoulder, bacon, ribs, and loin), beef and veal, poultry (chicken, duck, goose, turkey) and game, as well as charcuterie, especially various kinds of . The variety of meats is considered essential for good ; its preparation may be a good occasion to clean out one's freezer and use up leftovers from other meat dishes. Some of the meats may be roasted before being diced together with other cuts of meat and braised in lard or vegetable oil. The sauerkraut is often rinsed and drained before being chopped and mixed with shredded fresh cabbage. The proportion depends on the sauerkraut's maturity; the longer it has cured, the more sour it tastes, calling for more fresh cabbage to balance the flavor. Traditionally, cabbage was pickled in fall, so made at that time could be made with only half-cured sauerkraut, but by early spring, the sauerkraut had to be combined in equal parts with fresh cabbage. The mixture is precooked in a small amount of water before being mixed with the braised meat and left to simmer for several hours.