Ultimate Ragù Bolognese

As legions of nonnas have counseled and writers have written, the key to a sumptuous ragù Bolognese is giving it plenty of time. Our recipe takes about 4 ½ hours to cook— and that’s once you have everything prepped.

Another essential element is the way the onion, carrot and celery are cut for the soffritto: Ideally, they should be finely chopped or very finely diced, as small as what the French call brunoise — cubes of about ⅛ inch. That way those aromatic vegetables will melt beautifully, with long, slow cooking, into the ragù. 

Equally important are the ground beef and pork, which should be the best quality you can get. I like to use grass-fed beef that’s 20% fat. Ground heritage pork is a bonus; I sometimes find ground Kurobuta (Berkshire) pork at my nearby Asian supermarket or other chopped heritage pork at my local Eataly. What truly great Bolognese ragùs have in common is that the meats are browned together very slowly, so be sure you take time — an hour, or nearly — with this step. It’s helpful to have a pot that’s wide enough so you have plenty of surface area for the slow browning.

This recipe calls for purchased chicken broth; if you happen to have home-made beef broth, that’s even better.

[What kind of pasta to serve with ragù Bolognese? Fresh egg tagliatelle is classic, and most Emilia-Romagnans wouldn’t have it any other way. But you have my friend Carlo-Maria Ciampolli’s permission to put it on spaghetti. Read our story.]

[Related recipe: Fresh Egg Pasta (made using a pasta machine)]

If you’re using the ragù to dress tagliatelle or other pasta, when your ragù is finished and you’re ready to serve, transfer the amount of ragù you’ll be using into a large sauté pan, keeping it warm while the pasta cooks. When the pasta is nearly done, spoon a little of the pasta cooking water into the ragù and stir it in, then use tongs to transfer the tagliatelle into the ragù, toss gently in the sauce and cook for another minute before serving.

Serves 8 to 12 (makes about 6 cups of sauce).

Ingredients

4 oz. pancetta, cut into ½-inch cubes

3 fat garlic cloves, peeled

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)

1 medium onion (8-9 ounces), finely chopped

1 medium carrot (4-5 ounces), finely chopped

1 large or 2 smaller celery stalks (3 ounces), finely chopped, including tender leaves, if any

1 pound ground beef (20/80, if possible; I prefer grass-fed)

1 pound ground pork

3 cups chicken broth (use the best brand you can find)

1 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup tomato purée (such as Pomi brand) or canned San Marzano tomatoes and juices, passed through a food mill

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place the pancetta and garlic in the bowl of a food processor, pulse a few times, then process till it is a smooth paste, or pestata.

2. Scrape the pestata into a large, wide Dutch oven or other heavy pot, along with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Melt them together over medium heat, spreading the pestata around with a wooden spoon so its fat begins to render. Cook about 4 minutes, until the fat is mostly rendered. Add the onion, carrot and celery (that’s the soffritto), and cook slowly over medium-low heat – stirring now and then so the soffritto doesn’t brown — until the onion is soft, translucent and pale gold, about 15 minutes.

3. Add the ground beef and pork to the pot, raise the heat to medium, and break up the meat with a wooden spoon as much as possible. Once you hear the meat start to faintly sizzle, reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the meat brown very slowly, stirring occasionally and continuing to break up any remaining clumps, for about an hour, until it is evenly browned and burnished. If necessary, lower the heat so it doesn’t scorch on the bottom.

4. When the meat is nearly done browning, heat the chicken broth in a medium saucepan; cover and keep it hot over low heat until ready to use. 

5. When the meat is browned, turn the heat to medium-high and stir in the wine, scraping up any browned bits or deposits on the bottom of the pan. Cook and stir until the wine is mostly soaked in and evaporated, about three minutes. Stir in the salt and nutmeg. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the milk, and cooking and stirring until it is barely visible, about three minutes.

6. Measure two cups of the hot broth and stir the tomato paste into it, so the paste dissolves. Stir the broth with paste into the meat sauce, then stir in the tomato purée. (Keep the unused broth handy in the pot in case you need to reheat it and add more to the sauce later.) Partially cover the pot and let it simmer very slowly and gently, stirring occasionally, for two hours.

7. After two hours stir the sauce. If it is starting to look at all dry, reheat the remaining chicken broth, ladle in a little more, and stir. Continue to simmer gently, uncovered, for an additional hour, until the vegetables have completely melted in. Stir it occasionally and add a little more hot broth or water if necessary to keep it sumptuously saucy. 

8. Cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into a few pieces and stir them into the sauce; add about 20 grinds of freshly ground black pepper and stir that in, too. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and/or pepper if necessary.

If you liked this, we think you’ll enjoy:

STORY: Cacio e pepe cheese coins may be the dreamiest aperitivo snack ever

STORY: We have achieved optimum Bolognese and (are you sitting down?) we grant you permission to put it on top of spaghetti

RECIPE: Lidia Bastianich’s Meat Sauce Bolognese

RECIPE: Pappardelle with Duck and Porcini Ragù

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