Ragù alla Bolognese

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 6-quart Dutch oven or brazier
• •Food mill or fine-mesh strainer
• •Wooden spoon
• •Heat diffuser (if your burner runs hot)

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the soffritto

   In a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or brazier, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat until the butter foam subsides. Add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are completely soft and the onion has turned pale gold at the edges. This takes at least 20 minutes. Do not rush. One can often trace the unsatisfying taste, the lameness of dishes purporting to be Italian in style, to the reluctance of cooks to execute this step thoroughly.

   The vegetables should be cut uniformly small, about the size of rice grains. This is battuto before it cooks and soffritto after. Every region of Italy builds flavor this way.
2. 2

   Render the pancetta

   Add the diced pancetta to the soffritto. Cook, stirring frequently, until the fat has rendered and the pancetta begins to crisp at the edges, about 5 minutes. The pancetta contributes depth and a subtle smokiness that beef alone cannot provide.

3. 3

   Brown the meat completely

   Add the ground beef and pork. Break the meat into small crumbles with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. The meat must lose every trace of raw pink color and begin to brown. This is not quick work. It takes 15 to 20 minutes of attentive stirring. The meat should crumble into pieces no larger than peppercorns. Large chunks of meat have no place in ragù.

   If water pools in the pan, your heat is too low or you have added the meat too quickly. The water must evaporate before browning can occur. Patience.
4. 4

   Add milk first

   Reduce heat to medium. Add the milk and the nutmeg. Let the milk simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until it has been completely absorbed by the meat. The pan should look nearly dry. This step is critical and non-negotiable. The milk tempers the meat and creates the characteristic creaminess of true Bolognese. It takes 15 to 20 minutes for the milk to disappear. Only when the pan is dry do you proceed.

   The sequence matters. Milk before wine. The proteins in the milk coat the meat differently when they come first. This is not superstition. It is chemistry.
5. 5

   Add wine second

   Pour in the white wine and stir thoroughly, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the wine simmer until it has evaporated completely. You should no longer smell raw alcohol, and the pan should again be nearly dry. This takes another 15 to 20 minutes. The wine contributes acidity and complexity, but only after its alcohol has cooked away entirely.

6. 6

   Add tomatoes last

   Add the passed tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir to combine. The sauce will look quite pale compared to what Americans expect. This is correct. Add the broth and stir thoroughly. Season lightly with salt and pepper. You will adjust at the end.

   Passing the tomatoes through a food mill removes seeds and skins, which can become bitter during long cooking. If you lack a food mill, crush the tomatoes thoroughly by hand and strain out large pieces.
7. 7

   Simmer for hours

   When the sauce begins to bubble, reduce heat to the lowest possible setting. The sauce should cook at the laziest of simmers, with only an occasional bubble breaking the surface. If your burner runs hot, use a heat diffuser. Partially cover the pot, leaving a gap for steam to escape. Cook for at least 3 hours, preferably 4. Stir every 30 minutes. If the sauce becomes too thick, add broth or water, a few tablespoons at a time. The sauce should remain moist but not soupy.

   Never cook a sauce in a covered pan. Moisture must escape or the sauce cannot concentrate properly. Partial covering is acceptable. Full covering is not.
8. 8

   Taste and correct

   After 3 to 4 hours, taste the ragù. Correct the salt. The flavors should be mellow, rounded, unified. No single ingredient should dominate. The color should be warm terracotta, the color of clay roof tiles in the Emilian sun. If the sauce tastes sharp, cook it longer. If it tastes flat, add a pinch more salt. Remove from heat and let rest 15 minutes before serving or storing.

Chef Tips

• •There is no garlic in authentic Bolognese. None. If you have been adding garlic, you have been making something else. The soffritto of Bologna is onion, carrot, and celery. That is all.
• •Use beef chuck with at least 20% fat. Lean ground beef produces dry, mealy ragù. The fat is not optional. It carries flavor and creates the proper texture.
• •The official recipe calls for cartella, the diaphragm cut of beef. This is nearly impossible to find ground. Chuck is the acceptable American substitution. Do not use round or sirloin.
• •Some Bolognese cooks add chicken livers, finely minced, along with the pancetta. This is traditional in some families. One or two livers, no more. They should dissolve completely into the sauce.
• •Serve this ragù only with fresh egg pasta: tagliatelle, pappardelle, or lasagne. Dried pasta, especially spaghetti, is incorrect. The egg in fresh pasta creates affinity with the meat sauce. They belong together.

Advance Preparation

• •Ragù alla Bolognese improves dramatically after resting overnight. Make it a day or two before you need it. The flavors continue to develop and unify in the refrigerator.
• •The sauce keeps refrigerated for up to 5 days. Remove the layer of solidified fat before reheating, or stir it back in, as you prefer.
• •Ragù freezes beautifully for 3 months. Freeze in portions sized for one meal. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat gently with a splash of broth or water.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 200g)