I need a Ragu Bolognaise sauce recipe

JBod

JBod

JBod

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I want to make one from scratch, does anyone have any recipes they can personally recommend? I'd rather not pick one at random from a google.

Thanks!
 
Well for me, there are two different versions that I make, however, from experience, I don't think I have ever seen two recipes that are alike.

If I make a bolognaise ragu, then I either go the extremely authentic route, or my own adaption, that I make with the aim to be extremely rich. Both, although contain a lot of the same elements, are cooked completely differently and could turn out any differently.

What kind of ragu do you want? Something rich and deep, or something lighter and more authentic?
 
Detroit_Waves said:
Well for me, there are two different versions that I make, however, from experience, I don't think I have ever seen two recipes that are alike.

If I make a bolognaise ragu, then I either go the extremely authentic route, or my own adaption, that I make with the aim to be extremely rich. Both, although contain a lot of the same elements, are cooked completely differently and could turn out any differently.

What kind of ragu do you want? Something rich and deep, or something lighter and more authentic?
Click to expand...

I was looking for something rich, possibly red wine based. But as a wise diva once said, why not post both :)
 
Once you've done it a few times you'll end up adding some finesse to it, but very generally:

- Brown mince (make sure you properly fry it and not boil it - get some crusty bits)
- Gently fry mirapoix (onion, celery, carrot, garlic minced finely - just soften it, don't brown it)
- Add some wine (whatever type you've got) to deglaze the pan and reduce
- Add some tomato puree and some tinned tomatoes/passata
- Leave to simmer for 2-4 hours (slow cooker is ideal for this)

That's the long and short of it. It's pretty flexible so if you've got no wine you can do without, or try something unusual. If you're missing one of the mirapoix veg just make up the difference with the others. The mince is typically beef, but in a big batch I'll do half beef and half pork. You could probably use turkey or whatever if that's what you had. There's no specific quantities of anything, just add stuff based on your own judgement.

Everyone adds their own stuff at the point where they add the tomatoes. Personally I add some worcester sauce and a cup of milk (for umami and richness, respectively). I also season at that point, but fine tune it towards the end of the long simmer.

That's it really. The two key points are browning the mince properly and giving it a good, long simmer.
 
The Guardian has an interesting article on it and the rceipe at the end is good.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/nov/25/how-to-make-perfect-bolognese

However I tend to just make my own far more simply.

Fry the onions and garlic together until soft, add a bit of wine and reduce, add the meat and brown, add more wine plus the tinned tomatoes and herbs, then simmer for a bit. I'll also add finely chopped Lambs liver if I've got any in as it makes it much richer.
 
Ingredients for 2 kg (approx) of Bolognese Ragù
600gm coarsely ground lean beef
400gm coarsely ground lean pork
200gm pancetta diced or chopped
100gm chopped onion
100gm carrot diced
100gm celery diced
1kg chopped tomato (canned)
300ml dry white wine
500ml fresh milk
3 pc bay leaves
Black pepper and salt to taste

Procedure
• Place the pancetta in a thick base large stainless steal saucepot (cm30x20) stir and cook over low flame until the fat is melted, add the onion and keep stirring until the onion is translucent
• Add the carrot and celery and the bay leaves and keep cooking until the vegetables start to soften and get some colour,
• Raise the flame to very high and add the ground meats, previously mixed and seasoned with salt and black pepper and mixed well, by hand
• Keep cooking and stirring with a wooden spoon until the meat is well done
• Pour in the white wine and keep cooking until the wine has evaporated
• Process briefly the peeled tomatoes in the food mill and add to the pot and continue cooking slowly over a low flame for at least 2 hours, if it becomes too dry add some beef stock
• Add some milk and some chicken stock, stir and leave to slow boiling at low flame
• Keep going with the milk and the stock for 60 minutes at low flame
• Season to taste and leave to rest


SERVE WITH TAGLIETELLE ! DONE AL DENTE

This actually freezes quite well
 
JBod said:
I was looking for something rich, possibly red wine based. But as a wise diva once said, why not post both :)
Click to expand...

Monkeyspank's recipe is actually so close to the authentic recipe that I have always followed I shall not post mine, as it will just look like a double post. The only thing I don't add is the pancetta when making it that way. I would follow Monkeyspank for something authentic. Its amazing how different the ragu will turn out using white instead of red wine, and the addition of milk. Completely transforms the ragu.

monkeyspank said:
Ingredients for 2 kg (approx) of Bolognese Ragù
600gm coarsely ground lean beef
400gm coarsely ground lean pork
200gm pancetta diced or chopped
100gm chopped onion
100gm carrot diced
100gm celery diced
1kg chopped tomato (canned)
300ml dry white wine
500ml fresh milk
3 pc bay leaves
Black pepper and salt to taste

Procedure
• Place the pancetta in a thick base large stainless steal saucepot (cm30x20) stir and cook over low flame until the fat is melted, add the onion and keep stirring until the onion is translucent
• Add the carrot and celery and the bay leaves and keep cooking until the vegetables start to soften and get some colour,
• Raise the flame to very high and add the ground meats, previously mixed and seasoned with salt and black pepper and mixed well, by hand
• Keep cooking and stirring with a wooden spoon until the meat is well done
• Pour in the white wine and keep cooking until the wine has evaporated
• Process briefly the peeled tomatoes in the food mill and add to the pot and continue cooking slowly over a low flame for at least 2 hours, if it becomes too dry add some beef stock
• Add some milk and some chicken stock, stir and leave to slow boiling at low flame
• Keep going with the milk and the stock for 60 minutes at low flame
• Season to taste and leave to rest


SERVE WITH TAGLIETELLE ! DONE AL DENTE

This actually freezes quite well
Click to expand...

As for a super rich ragu, this is how I do mine, something I have adapted from many recipes over the years, to get it just how I like it. Sorry for the lack of measurements, but I don't really use them, I just adjust depending on the amount of people.

Start with the amount of mince you are going to use as a basis of measurement. You'll be able to tell how much is right for one person/2 persons/4 persons and so on. You want 50% of the mince to be beef, and 50% to be pork. Season is up with salt and pepper and leave to the side. Next up, have some fresh pancetta, and get into small lardons, I normally do a small handful for 2 persons. Start frying this up in a deep frying pan until it starts to brown, then remove from the pan and set aside. After this, lightly fry some chicken livers in the same pan (I never used to add them, as I don't really like them, but they do add a lot of flavor, and when you're done, you will never know they were there. When lightly cooked, remove and dice finely. After this, finely dice onions, celery and carrot. You want about a third of each, with the total amount being just less than equal to that of the mince. Fry the onion off first in the same pan lightly for a couple of minutes (I always like to season my onions with a bit of pepper here). After this, add the celery and carrots and a couple of bay leaves, and lightly fry until everything softens up. Just before removing I add a small amount tomato puree (Im not sure why, I remember reading it once that there was a benefit, but I have always done it since. After everything is cooked, remove from the pan and set aside. Now add your mince to the same pan everything has been cooking in. Cook lightly just so everything turns a light brown. Any fat that has come off you can now drain away as this won't be needed. Add to the mince all the vegetables, diced livers and pancetta. I add a small dash of worchester sauce at this point, although not crucial, I love the smell! After this, I add some homemade beef stock. Its a fairly light stock, so you could use chicken stock, however, I would make it at home if you can, makes all the difference. I add enough to JUST about cover everything. I also add a good pinch or two or freshly chopped rosemary and thyme at this point. Let this simmer away until almost all the stock has been reduced. Once this has happened, I then remove everything from the frying pan and transfers to a heavy le creuset pot. Here you want to you get the oven on a medium/low heat. Then add a whole bottle of good red wine to the pot. This then sits in the oven for as long as you can bear. I normally get a good 4 hours on it, which seems to be just enough time to have the red wine reduce into the the most perfectly rich ragu of all time!

Takes its time, but its WELL worth the wait!
 
Thanks for the recipes guys, anyone recommend a good (but cheap) red for cooking with? I am not a wine guy.
 
monkeyspank said:
Ingredients for 2 kg (approx) of Bolognese Ragù
600gm coarsely ground lean beef
400gm coarsely ground lean pork
200gm pancetta diced or chopped
100gm chopped onion
100gm carrot diced
100gm celery diced
1kg chopped tomato (canned)
300ml dry white wine
500ml fresh milk
3 pc bay leaves
Black pepper and salt to taste
Click to expand...

I do this without the milsch
 
Biz.Kid09 said:
Bit of a thread bump but I am making bolognese tomorrow for all my flat mates (7 People) and I saw this recipe was recommended,
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/nov/25/how-to-make-perfect-bolognese

I was just wondering, could I follow that recipe at the bottom but do it all in a saucepan rather than putting it in the oven?
Purely for convenience and time?
Click to expand...

YERP. Low heat and make sure it doesnt stick to the bottom of the pan. Heavy bottomed pan or keep stirring every 15mins etc.
 
Mine from an aging book

Minced beef, salt and pepper and brown all sides and set aside in a sieve to drain
Lard ons browned and set aside to drain with mince
Celery / onion / carrotts chopped and browned in the juices / fat from the seived meats
Tinned tomatoes
Add all together with a pint of milk and allow to absorb the milk till almost nothing left
Ditto red wine a glass less than a bottle
Then beef stock and tomatoe puree then simmer for 3 hrs turn off then leave overnight and eat the next day
 
randomshenans said:
YERP. Low heat and make sure it doesnt stick to the bottom of the pan. Heavy bottomed pan or keep stirring every 15mins etc.
Click to expand...
Thanks mate. I don't have a particularly heavy pan, just a cheapo set from somewhere. The only other thing I have is a big deep 32cm frying pan but that won't be much good!

I will just have to keep stirring it and making sure as you say it doesn't stick.
 
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