Italian Meat Ragu Recipes

NORTH ITALIAN MEAT SAUCE (RAGU BOLOGNESE)

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add pancetta, onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to a heavy large saucepan.
• In same skillet, heat olive oil. Cook ground beef and pork over medium heat, stirring to break up any lumps, until browned. Pour in the wine, increase the heat and boil briskly, stirring constantly, until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Transfer ground meat mixture to the saucepan with the pancetta and vegetables. Set skillet aside.
• Stir the beef stock and tomato paste into the saucepan. Bring sauce to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat in the original skillet. Add chicken livers and saute for 3 to 4 minutes, or until firm and lightly browned. Remove livers from skillet and dice. Set aside and add to sauce 10 minutes before it is done. A few minutes before serving, stir in the cream and let it heat through. Season sauce with nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.

ITALIAN MEAT RAGU

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Cut beef into four uniform pieces and coat all sides with the salt and pepper.
• In a large Dutch oven over medium high heat, add two tablespoons of the oil and sear two pieces of the beef on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the two seared pieces of beef to a plate, add one more tablespoon of the oil and sear the second two pieces, then remove them to the plate.
• Reduce heat slightly and add the last of the oil then add the pancetta and cook until browned, about five minutes.
• Add the sausage pieces and cook to brown, about three minutes then remove to the plate with the beef.
• Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook to soften, about three minutes, scraping the bottom as you cook.
• Make room in the center and add the tomato paste and cook two minutes.
• Add the merlot, scraping the bottom and cook to evaporate, about one minute.
• Add the stock and tomatoes and stir.
• Tie the thyme, parsley and bay with twine and place in the pot along with the beef and sausage pieces.
• Cover and place in the oven for two hours.
• Remove and flip the pieces over, cover and cook for up to 90 minutes more until beef is tender and shreds with a fork. Different cuts and grades of chuck will take longer than others so the timing depends on how tender the meat is at the two-hour mark.
• Boil and salt water to cook the pasta and cook according to package instructions, about 10-12 minutes.
• Remove and discard the herbs and bay leaves from the beef pot.
• Remove the four pieces of beef and shred with two forks. Remove any large strands to your cutting board and cut in half.
• Gently stir the beef back into the sauce along with a half cup of the Parmesan.
• Once the pasta is cooked, save the pasta water but with a spider, remove and place the pasta back into the pasta pot. I saved the water in a large 2-quart glass measuring cup.
• Ladle in the Ragu along with enough pasta water to loosen the mixture and serve.
• Sprinkle on the remaining Parmesan cheese and serve.

ITALIAN BEEF RAGU

Steps:

• Finely chop the carrot, onion and celery and sweat the vegetables gently in a large frying pan with the olive oil. Once the vegetables are soft add the ground beef and pork and cook until browned.
• If there is a lot of excess fat in the pan, drain some out. Add the red wine and reduce by half. Once the wine has reduced by half add the passata and half of the beef stock and a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Stir the sauce and let it simmer on a low heat for 2 and a half hours topping up the rest of the stock as it reduces.
• Tip: Remeber to check on the ragu every now and then to stir it and add extra stock or water if needed.
• To serve with pasta add cooked pasta into the ragu and toss or use as desired.

ITALIAN RAGU WITH MEATBALLS AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large sauce pot (8-quart size minimum), heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil on a very low flame. Add the diced onion and cook slowly until it has turned translucent. Do not brown the onion, but allow it to almost melt away. Add the garlic cloves and very lightly cook them in the oil until golden before adding the tomatoes and all their juices. Add salt and pepper to taste, and the basil leaves and set the heat on low. Allow the tomatoes to cook at very low heat for at least 2 hours before adding the meat.
• Make the meatballs: mix the ground beef and veal together in a large bowl. Combine the bread and milk and mash together to form a paste; add the bread to the ground meat. Add the eggs, garlic, parsley, cheese, salt, and pepper to the meat mixture and combine all the ingredients using your fingers to mix uniformly, but do not over mix or the meat will dry out when cooked. Pick up 2 tablespoons of the mixture and roll it into a ball shape, between the palms of your hands. Do this until you have used all the meat. This should yield approximately 24 meatballs.
• Place the remaining olive oil in a heavy skillet and heat over medium flame. Add the meatballs in 1 layer and brown on all sides before removing. Do this to the remaining meatballs until all are browned to a caramelized color. After all the meatballs have been browned and removed from the skillet, add the sausage links and brown well, following the same method as the meatballs. When all the meat has cooked, add to the tomato ragu, which has been cooking for 2 hours and cook an additional hour. Serve the tomato ragu over rigatoni pasta cooked to manufacturer's directions. Serve the meats on another plate as a second course.

ITALIAN-STYLE BOLOGNESE (RAGù) RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Heat olive oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and pancetta. Cook for around 10 minutes until the onions start to look translucent.
• Add the minced meats and brown all over, ensure the meat is fully broken up and no large chunks remain.
• Add salt and pepper to taste. Increase the heat, add the wine, and allow to evaporate for around 2-3 minutes.
• In a large jug, dilute the tomato puree into the chicken stock and add to the pan, stir well.
• Reduce to a low heat, then cover and simmer for 2 hours. Check from time to time to ensure the sauce is not drying out. If this occurs, add a small amount of stock.
• Cook desired pasta and toss in the bolognese.
• Top with parmesan cheese and serve.
• Enjoy!

BEEF RAGù RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Season the meat on all sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat a large heavy pot with a lid over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and brown the meat in batches until a crust forms, turning to ensure even color on all sides.
• Once one batch is done, set aside in a bowl or plate with a lip, add another fresh tablespoon of olive oil and continue until all the meat is brown.
• Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and sauté the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
• Pour in the wine and let it boil off and reduce until barely any remains in the pan.
• Next, add the browned meat back to the pan, along with the tomato paste. Stir until tomato paste is coating all the ingredients and allow the paste to toast slightly.
• Pour in the tomatoes, stock, and herb bundle and stir, bring to a simmer and cover with a lid.
• Allow to simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, if your pot and lid are oven safe, cook in a 325˚F (170˚C) oven for 3 hours.
• Remove the herb bundle and beef shank.
• Pull the meat from the oxtail. Using a fork or tongs, discarding the bone and any extra cartilage or extra fat. Add the meat back to the ragu and stir.
• Skim off any extra fat from the top of the ragu.
• Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup (120 ml) of the pasta water before draining.
• Add a few ladlefuls of ragu, the pasta, and a splash of pasta water to a large pot, gently stir to coat the pasta in the ragu.
• Add a handful of cheese and stir to melt into the sauce.
• Garnish with more cheese and fresh parsley before serving.
• Enjoy!