This recipe is a great way to get your family involved in cooking.
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What is the best type of meat for Ragu Bolognese?
How to use liver in Ragu Bolognese
The Best Cooking Liquid For Ragu Bolognese
How to get tender and flavorful meat
Make Ragu Bolognese even more flavorful
Dressing Pasta in Ragu Bolognese
Why it Works
Slowly roasting the sauce in the over will save you time stirring and keep everything tender while retaining the well-developed flavors.
Gelatin and pancetta create a sauce that is rich and silky.
The sauce is emulsified by adding heavy cream and Parmesan.
The umami flavours of the sauce are enhanced by adding fish sauce at the end.
The cold, snowy weather is what I miss the most about New York. It’s not just that I enjoy the snow and cold (I do!) I love the cold and snow days, but they also make meaty, slow cooked, rib-sticking dishes even more delicious. Ragu Bolognese is a dish that’s both more meaty and satisfying.
My reaction is almost Pavlovian: as soon as I notice the first snowflakes, my feet move toward the butcher’s counter, my hands reach for my largest Dutch oven, and then my fingers go straight for the wooden spoon. My brain still hasn’t figured out how to make all three of them do it at once.
Ragu Bolognese, is a dish that I prepare in large quantities and jar, then send to my family. I will taste the dish for seasoning and then taste it again and again to make sure. Before I know it, I have eaten two servings of Bolognese straight from the pot.
It’s important to get this straight: I mean “true ragu” when I refer to “ragu Bolognese.” This slow-cooked sauce is almost exclusively meat. Only a little wine, stock tomato and dairy are used to hold it together. The “spaghetti Bolognese”, which is served in Little Italy and UK pubs, is made from ground beef simmered with marinara. It may taste good, but it’s a completely different animal.
*Ofcourse, saying “true” ragu is a fighting word. Recipes vary depending on who you ask. Whether it’s an Italian cook from Bologna, or The Silver Spoon Cookbook, they can be very different. All agree that the sauce should focus on meat, and include minor ingredients to enhance – not compete with – this meat.
When I worked as a line cook for No. Barbara Lynch’s flagship Northern Italian New American Restaurant in Boston, 9 Park is Barbara Lynch. Every morning during the winter I had to prepare ragu Bolognese in the large rondeau, which fit over the four burners. We always let the ragu Bolognese sit in the walk-in for at least one day to improve its flavor. In a separate pan, I sauteed onions, carrots and celery while browning three types of meat. I would mix them together and then simmer the mixture with a combination of chicken and veal stock, wine, milk and a little tomato.
It would then reduce into a rich, velvety sauce that could only be topped with the fattest fresh pappardelle and tagliatelle.
Over the years I have tweaked and improved that Bolognese, trying out all of the variables I could think of in order to improve their flavor and texture, and align them with my personal tastes. I’ve created a few variations of the theme including this No-Holds Barred Lasagna Bolognese.
Recently, I learned that the best way to cook a full-flavored, rich tomato sauce is in the oven. What if I used the same technique to make my Bolognese?
What is the best type of meat for Ragu Bolognese?
Bolognese sauce is made from meat and choosing the right meat is important. At No. No. 9 Park, Lynch combined coarsely ground lamb, pork and veal. Why? Veal is rich in gelatin, but low in flavor. The sauce will have a silky texture. Pork has a high fat content and a moderate flavor. This fat blends well into the final sauce. Lamb is a great meat, but it has a coarse texture. Combining all three will give you a flavorful, fatty and silky mixture, perfect for meatloaf or meatballs.
But I’ve always wondered: since veal can be bland, is there another way to add flavor and gelatin to the mix (besides being expensive and hard to find)? I knew that if I got rid, I would have to find another source of gelatin. The original recipe calls for gelatin-rich bone broth made from veal, but I only have chicken stock in my house. I also didn’t want to spend the day making it, since the recipe takes about four hours.
I followed the same recipe but substituted veal for ground beef, and used 100% chicken stock. The sauce was richer in flavor, but lacked the silkiness of classic sauces. What is the solution? Add the gelatin by itself.
Six packets of gelatin bloomed with thin chicken stock from the store, adding enough body to make it a better alternative than veal-fortified stock. The flavor was improved by adding ground beef, while pancetta – a common ingredient in ragu recipes – added even more flavor.
What are the advantages of pancetta over ground pork? Cured meats are a concentrated source of inosinic and glutamic acids. Glutamic Acid, which is available in the form of MSG powder, is an organic compound that can be found in cured foods, cheeses and seafood. It’s responsible for the umami taste. Inosinic and glutamic acids work together to make foods taste savory.
I tried to incorporate pancetta using different methods: grinding, finely chopping in a food processer, and adding simple dice. The third method, which is the simplest, melts into sauce while it cooks.
In the original recipe No. In the original No. 9 Park recipe the meat is prepared in a separate pot from the vegetables. In a restaurant, this type of cooking is common. Cooking like with like – meat with meat and vegetables with vegetables – allows you to control how much each ingredient is cooked.
I don’t like retaining restaurant techniques at home, but this works great, especially because I make ragu in big batches.
How to use liver in Ragu Bolognese
Here we have what many people who tried Barbara Lynch’s recipes would consider to be the key ingredient. Chicken livers are the, er…Barbara Lynch pin, if you like (sorry). Pellegrino Artusi included it in his 1891 book Science in the Kitchen: The Art of Eating Well. It includes the first recipe for ragu Bolognese. Modern recipes don’t include chicken livers.
The liver adds depth and flavor to the sauce, but it is not noticeable. The sauce is so good that no one would suspect it contains livers, unless they bite into a piece.
In the restaurant I would carefully trim and clean the veins from each liver, before finely cutting them by hand. With an immersion blender, I can easily blend them into a smooth purée.
What is the best cooking liquid for ragu Bolognese?
The liquid is the final ingredient in any ragu Bolognese. Use wine or water? Do we use red or white wine? What about milk? Does it keep meat tender? What about tomatoes, for example?
After years of reading, testing, tasting and researching, I cannot answer these questions.
The wine.
The color of the wine is not important. The color of your wine doesn’t really matter as long as it is dry and oak-free.
Wine is a key element to any meal, whether you choose red or white. It adds a bit of acidity and brightness that balances the heavy meat.
The other acidic ingredient is tomatoes. Silver Spoon’s classic recipe uses only tomato paste, water or stock as a thinner. I like to use whole peeled tomatoes in cans, but only high quality ones. Imported Italian D.O.P. is a good choice. San Marzanos.
The liquid is mainly made up of gelatine-enriched stock. The stock becomes richer in flavor and texture as it reduces.
Now, let’s move on to the most controversial topic: dairy.
It’s not really controversial. Most modern ragu Bolognese recipes call for dairy products in some form, be it milk or cream. It’s unclear what the effect of dairy is. Many sources state that adding milk at the start of the cooking process keeps the meat tender. However, very few provide an explanation.
This bit of Cook’s Illustrated was the closest explanation I could find:
Why does milk make meat more tender? Browning gives meat a richer flavor but also denatures the proteins. The proteins link together to form a tighter web and remove some of the moisture in the meat. A long simmer allows for some of the liquid to be reabsorbed. If you cook the meat without browning, and instead use milk or any other liquid to begin with, the temperature is limited to 212 degrees. The meat that is cooked in milk will not become tough or dry, but instead remain tender.
If you carefully read the article, you will realize that it should be retitled at least “Why does meat cooked with any liquid remain more tender than that which you brown?”
I like to do my experiments the old-fashioned, traditional way. I made a few batches using different liquid ratios, ranging from 100% milk to 100 percent stock. It turns out that the liquid in which you cook the beef has no effect on the tenderness of the final product. Meat cooked with stock is not distinguishable from meat that has been cooked with milk.
It is true that adding milk to your cooking liquid, and letting it reduce, will give the ragu a rounded flavor and silky texture. Maybe the silkiness in the liquid makes some people think that the meat is more tender.
It’s obvious that adding milk to your cereal is a great idea.
How to get tender and flavorful meat
Now we are at the final phase: the long cooking. Browning meat can add flavor but also toughen the meat. How can we brown meat without turning it into dry ash?
It was a result of my new technique for simmering the sauce in the oven rather than on the stovetop that I was so excited to see Bolognese Season start this year.
The oven not only delivers more even heat, but also better reduction and less mess. It also creates delicious bits of caramelized tomato around the edges and on top of the sauce, which can be stirred back into the sauce to give it a richer, deeper and more complex flavor.
What would happen if I did the same thing with my Bolognese sauce? The technique, in theory, should add flavor by browning the sugars and proteins that are stuck on the inside of the pot and any small pieces of meat that are visible at the surface of simmering sauce while keeping most of the meat under water and tender.
Do you love when your theories come true in reality? After cooking the sauce down in the oven, and scraping the edges while it cooked, I was able to get a sauce that had a rich, browned-meat taste, but was still silky, and tender.
When your sauce is done, it should look something like this. The sauce will start off looking watery, but as it cooks, the liquid will reduce until it is no longer able to emulsify with the fat released from the meat. Once the fat has formed a thick layer over the ultra-thick sauce you are ready to proceed.
At No. We would put the sauce in the walk-in fridge to cool it, and then remove the fat. Then we would add it back into each order at the right amount. In my kitchen, I remove and discard everything but one cup of the sauce. This is just enough to make it rich, flavorful and not greasy. You can do this immediately if you are using liquid fat or after the fat has been refrigerated overnight.
Make Ragu Bolognese even more flavorful
Fresh parsley added after cooking gives the dish a new dimension of flavor. Fresh sage is too strong at this point. Parmesan cheese also adds to the sauce’s umami and helps bind it.
I finish my sauce off with a generous amount of heavy cream. It helps to emulsify the sauce and makes it richer.
We have reached the secret ingredient. You can now turn your back on the fish sauce if you’re from Bologna. Yes, fish sauce. Yes, I’m talking about the Southeast Asian condiment that is made of fermented anchovies.
It makes sense from a taste perspective. The glutamates, and inosinates that we discussed earlier are abundant in fish sauce. It will give your sauce a meaty flavor without making it taste fishy. It’s also not that out of place in Italian cuisine. Many Italian dishes call for adding a little glutamate-rich fish to enhance the meat. Southern Italian cuisine is a big fan of fermented anchovies. If we go back to Roman history, fish sauce was similar to garum. It was made of fermented anchovies.
What do you do when faced with a sauce such as this? Serve it with the best pasta you can buy or make, preferably one that is wide and thick, such as pappardelle. Here’s a tip: buy fresh lasagna noodle and cut it into 1-inch ribbons. Dry ridged pastas, such as rigatoni or penne, also work.
Dressing Pasta in Ragu Bolognese
Then drain the pasta and reserve some of the starchy liquid. Add the most of the sauce to the pot and thin it with the starchy liquid. Cook at a simmer for 30 seconds until it has a pasta-coating consistency.
It’s the kind of sauce you can eat and still have your house smelling great for up to four hours afterward. It is utterly intoxicating.
4:51
How to Make Ragu Bolonese
December 9, 2014
Recipe Facts
4.4
(43)
Prep:
10 minutes
Cook:
3 hrs. 45 mins.
Active:
60 minutes
Total:
3 hrs 55 minutes
Serves:
8
Ten servings
Rate and Comment
Ingredients
Buy or make a quart (1L), homemade low-sodium Chicken Stock
Knox gelatin powder, such as 1 1/2 to 1 1/2 ounces (4 to 6 packets of 30 to 45g),
Peeled whole tomatoes in a 28-ounce (800g) can, preferably San Marzano
Finely minced chicken livers, 1/2 pound (225g).
1/4 cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Ground beef chuck (about 20 % fat) – 1 pound
Ground pork shoulder, 1 pound (450g), with about 20% fat
Ground lamb shoulder, 1 pound (450g), with about 20% fat
Divide kosher black pepper and freshly ground kosher salt.
Unsalted Butter, 4 Tablespoons (60g).
Finely diced Pancetta, 1/2 pound (225g).
Finely mince 1 large onion (about 8 ounces or 225g).
Two carrots, finely sliced (about 8 ounces or 225g).
Finely chop 4 celery ribs (about 8 ounces or 225g).
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
Fresh sage leaves minced to 1/4 cup (about 250g).
Half a cup of fresh parsley leaves minced (about 50g), divided
Two cups (475ml) of dry red or white wine
1 cup (235ml) of whole milk
2 Bay Leaves
1 cup (235 ml) heavy cream
Parmesan cheese, 3 ounces (85g), finely grated
Red Boat, Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce (about 2 tablespoons)
To Serve:
You can use dried or fresh pasta. Pappardelle or penne are the best choices.
Directions
Set oven rack in lower-middle and heat oven to 300degF. Pour stock into a medium-sized bowl or 1-quart liquid measuring cup and sprinkle gelatin over it. Set aside. Puree the tomatoes using an immersion blend or in the bowl of the countertop blender. Transfer the chicken livers into a cup just big enough to fit the head of an immersion blender. Puree until smooth.
Heat the olive oil until it shimmers in a large Dutch Oven. Add the ground beef, lamb, pork and season with pepper and salt. Cook, stirring with a wooden spatula or potato masher, until no longer pink. Stir in the pureed livers and remove from heat.
In the meantime, melt butter in a large pan with pancetta over medium heat. Stir frequently until most of the fat is rendered, but neither butter nor pancetta has yet begun to brown. This should take about 8 minutes. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Garlic, sage and half the parsley. Cook, stirring and tossing until vegetables have softened, but are not browned. Add vegetables cooked to the meat mixture.
Continue to cook the Dutch oven on high heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 more minutes.
Stirring constantly, add the wine and cook until it is mostly evaporated. Add the reserved stock, tomatoes and milk. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Sauce should be brought to a gentle simmer and then transferred to the oven, uncovered. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping the sides of the pot, until liquid is almost completely reduced, and sauce becomes rich and thick under a heavy layer fat. This will take 3 to 4 hours. After 4 hours, if the sauce is still liquid or if fat hasn’t separated into a thick layer, move to the stovetop. Continue cooking on a low simmer while stirring often.
Skim the majority of the fat off, leaving about 1 cup. For a more accurate measurement, remove all the fat and then add 1 cup back. You can also let the sauce cool and then store it in the refrigerator overnight. This will allow the flavors to meld and the fat to solidify. Remove the solidified fat and reserve a cup for when you warm the sauce.
Add the remaining parsley, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and fish sauce. Stirring constantly, bring to a rolling boil on the stovetop. Salt and pepper to taste. Bolognese may be stored in sealed containers for up to a week in the fridge or frozen.
To Serve: Heat sauce in a large pot until just simmering. Set aside. In a large pot, cook pasta until it is just al dente in well-salted boiling water. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Add just enough sauce and some cooking liquid to the pot to coat pasta. Stirring and tossing gently over high heat until the sauce thickens and pasta is covered, approximately 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl and serve right away, passing the parmesan around at the table.
Special Equipment
Dutch oven, immersion blender
Notes
You will only need four gelatin packets instead of six if you use homemade chicken stock that contains enough gelatin to gel into a mass when chilled. For the gelatin to dissolve, heat the stock until it becomes liquefied, then add the gelatin and allow it to rest for a few minutes.
