Difference between revisions of "Ragu alla Bolognese"

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Recipe by [[:category:Gravity84's Recipes|Gravity84]]
 
Recipe by [[:category:Gravity84's Recipes|Gravity84]]
  
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/4035961372/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2645/4035961372_befdff4780_z.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
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I follow, for the most part, Mario Batali's recipe.  I take a few liberties myself so feel free to change things to suit your taste.
<br />
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Made some ragu yesterday and thought, "Hey, a ragu thread would be a great thread! <span class="bbc-spoiler">(if we can avoid dumb arguments that tend to spawn in threads like these (I see you chili thread <img src="http://fi.somethingawful.com/images/smilies/negativeman-55f.png" border="0" alt="" title=":negative:">))</span>"  <br />
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Batali's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqBqiGM1O54
<br />
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What is a Ragù?  Well, generically it just means an Italian meat sauce.  There are many kinds, the two most popular are the ragùs of Bologna and of Naples. The easiest of the two is Bolognese and is the subject of this OP. Do not feel limited to talk about Ragù alla Bolognese in this thread, feel free to try other meats and preparations and share/discuss them here!  <br />
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Let's get started:
<br />
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I follow, for the most part, Mario Batali's recipeI take a few liberties myself so feel free to change things to suit your taste. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqBqiGM1O54" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqBqiGM1O54</a><br />
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==Ingredients==
<br />
+
*Meat - often pork shoulder, sometimes with beef or veal. Sometimes a little bit of liver is added. You can buy ground, I grind my own.
Let's get started:<br />
+
*Cured pork - I use home cured pancetta, you can also use salt pork or even bacon.
<br />
+
*Onion, Carrot, Celery - For the newbies, this is called a <i>mirepoix</i>
<i><u>Ingredients:</i></u><br />
+
*Garlic
Meat - often pork shoulder, sometimes with beef or veal. Sometimes a little bit of liver is added. You can buy ground, I grind my own.<br />
+
*Herbs - I like 2 Bay Leaves, a bit of oregano, and a bit of thyme, preferably fresh
Cured pork - I use home cured pancetta, you can also use salt pork or even bacon.<br />
+
*Tomato paste - You can go about this many ways. You can use store bought tomato paste, I had some tinned San Marzano tomatoes so I blended them and put them in a skillet and reduced to a paste while the meat was doing its thing, or if you have fresh paste tomatoes you can blanch, peel, foodmill, and reduce to a paste in a pan.
Onion, Carrot, Celery - For the newbies, this is called a <i>mirepoix</i><br />
+
*Heavy Cream - you can use milk (Mario does), I like cream. You choose.
Garlic<br />
+
*Butter
Herbs - I like 2 Bay Leaves, a bit of oregano, and a bit of thyme, preferably fresh<br />
+
*Olive Oil
Tomato paste - You can go about this many ways. You can use store bought tomato paste, I had some tinned San Marzano tomatoes so I blended them and put them in a skillet and reduced to a paste while the meat was doing its thing, or if you have fresh paste tomatoes you can blanch, peel, foodmill, and reduce to a paste in a pan.<br />
+
 
Heavy Cream - you can use milk (Mario does), I like cream. You choose.<br />
+
==Procedure==
Butter <br />
+
I used pork cushion meatCube and reserve the extra in freezer bags for another use.
Olive Oil<br />
+
[[File:1.jpg]]
<br />
+
Dice an onion
I used pork cushion meat.  Cube and reserve the extra in freezer bags for another use.<br />
+
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/6976617724/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/6976617724_3bcbac5401.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
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[[File:2.jpg]]
<br />
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Grind up the meat. Obviously, you can skip this if you bought preground.
Dice an onion <br />
+
 
<br />
+
[[File:3.jpg]]
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/7122699713/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7203/7122699713_4f669e6cee.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
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<br />
+
Sweat the onion in half butter, half olive oil. Mario stresses to not brown the onion, so watch the heat. Go until the onions are translucent. On medium heat this will take at least 10 minutes.
Grind up the meat.  Obviously, you can skip this if you bought preground.<br />
+
[[File:4.jpg]]
<br />
+
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/6976620070/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6976620070_438da22335.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
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Add the rest of the mirepoix and allow to sweat further, probably another 5-10 min
<br />
+
[[File:5.jpg]]
Sweat the onion in half butter, half olive oil. Mario stresses to not brown the onion, so watch the heat. Go until the onions are translucent. On medium heat this will take at least 10 minutes.<br />
+
 
<br />
+
Now, contrary to what I used to do, we add the meat directly to the sweated vegetables and crank the heat. I used to brown the meat first then sweat the veg. Mario says that the step after this is crucial so I do it this way. I'm sure it would taste fine the other way, too. 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/7122701095/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8146/7122701095_960a1cfeee.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
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<br />
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Don't forget the pancetta:
Add the rest of the mirepoix and allow to sweat further, probably another 5-10 min<br />
+
[[File:6.jpg]]
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/6976618436/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7090/6976618436_a1babe80f6.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
+
 
<br />
+
The addition of meat directly to the pan will result in some liquid release, this is fine and to be expected:
Now, contrary to what I used to do, we add the meat directly to the sweated vegetables and crank the heat. I used to brown the meat first then sweat the veg. Mario says that the step after this is crucial so I do it this way. I'm sure it would taste fine the other way, too. <br />
+
[[File:7.jpg]]
<br />
+
 
Don't forget the pancetta:<br />
+
Eventually, though, all of the liquid will evaporate.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/6976616958/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7264/6976616958_3187c2f34b.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
+
[[File:8.jpg]]
<br />
+
 
The addition of meat directly to the pan will result in some liquid release, this is fine and to be expected:<br />
+
When the pot is dry add more fat if needed for good browning.  Turn down heat to medium and allow the meat to brown, stirring intermittently. Not too little so that the bottom doesn't burn, but not too much such that it never gets a chance to caramelize. Eventually it will have a nice layer of brown bits on the bottom called fond.
<br />
+
[[File:9.jpg]]
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/6976620480/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7119/6976620480_3178fd469a.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
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<br />
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Eventually, though, all of the liquid will evaporate.  <br />
+
''One of the fundamental flavors of this dish is the contribution of the caramelized bits, or fond, at the bottom of the pot. Because of this, you <i>cannot</i> make this well in a crock pot.''
<br />
+
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/7122699579/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7119/7122699579_32f8157ba2.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
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Once the bottom has all the yummy bits add some tomato paste and mix in thoroughly. Allow for some caramelization of the paste then deglaze with a dry white wine. Nothing fancy but something drinkable and unoaked.  Reduce again.  Add garlic, minced.
<br />
+
[[File:10.jpg]]
When the pot is dry add more fat if needed for good browning.  Turn down heat to medium and allow the meat to brown, stirring intermittently.  Not too little so that the bottom doesn't burn, but not too much such that it never gets a chance to caramelize.  Eventually it will have a nice layer of brown bits on the bottom called fond.<br />
+
 
<br />
+
and cream or milk, bay leaves, a bit of oregano and thyme.  
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/7122703189/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7076/7122703189_ac87de22b4.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
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[[File:11.jpg]]
17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)[[User:Gravity84|Gravity84]]<br />
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<i><u>Preemptive strike</u></i><br />
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Lower heat, cover, and simmer for an hour, longer if you want. Just before serving taste for salt. Salt level should be pretty low, remember you can always salt later and you will be adding salt in the form of salty pasta water when finishing the dish.
One of the fundamental flavors of this dish is the contribution of the caramelized bits, or fond, at the bottom of the pot.  Because of this, you <i>cannot</i> make this well in a crock pot.  Just saying this now, because I know it will come up at some point.<br />
+
[[File:12.jpg]]
17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)[[User:Gravity84|Gravity84]]<br />
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<br />
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When ready to serve, boil some pasta. Ideal pastas are tagliatele, pappardelle, orrechiette, shells... basically pastas whose shapes take well to having a chunky sauce.  (the PRO-EST thing to do is make a Lasagne with the leftovers, but that's another thread)  I am going to disregard my own advice here and use spaghetti!  Why? Because I didn't have any of the "ideal" ones and I didn't feel like making pasta or going to the store for some, and besides, spaghetti with bolognese ragu is hella American.
Once the bottom has all the yummy bits add some tomato paste and mix in thoroughly.  Allow for some caramelization of the paste then deglaze with a dry white wine.  Nothing fancy but something drinkable and unoaked.  Reduce again.  Add garlic, minced.<br />
+
 
<br />
+
Anyway, when the pasta is limp but not yet al dente, put a measure of the ragu in a skillet on high heat.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/6976620656/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/6976620656_fe85d5d253.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
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[[File:13.jpg]]
<br />
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and cream or milk, bay leaves, a bit of oregano and thyme. <br />
 
<br />
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/7122700419/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7122700419_15c0341621.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
 
<br />
 
Lower heat, cover, and simmer for an hour, longer if you want.  Just before serving taste for salt.  Salt level should be pretty low, remember you can always salt later and you will be adding salt in the form of salty pasta water when finishing the dish.<br />
 
<br />
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/6976619492/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7198/6976619492_d78e971e12.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
 
<br />
 
When ready to serve, boil some pasta.  Ideal pastas are tagliatele, pappardelle, orrechiette, shells... basically pastas whose shapes take well to having a chunky sauce.  (the PRO-EST thing to do is make a Lasagne with the leftovers, but that's another thread)  I am going to disregard my own advice here and use spaghetti!  Why? Because I didn't have any of the "ideal" ones and I didn't feel like making pasta or going to the store for some, and besides, spaghetti with bolognese ragu is hella American.<br />
 
<br />
 
Anyway, when the pasta is limp but not yet al dente, put a measure of the ragu in a skillet on high heat.<br />
 
<br />
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/7122702387/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7104/7122702387_7a2a940eea.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
 
<br />
 
 
Add the quick drained, just under al dente, pasta to the skillet (it should still be a bit crunchy.  I like to transfer the pasta directly from the boil water with tongs (long pastas) or with a spider or slotted spoon (short pastas) splashing a bit of pasta water into the skillet. If you cannot do either of these, reserve a bit of pasta water with a ladle or a bowl and drain the pasta in a colander. It is important to cook the pasta to al dente with the sauce, and it is important to do it with a bit of the pasta water.  The starches in the water will help the sauce glaze the pasta ever so slightly and cooking the pasta to doneness in the sauce will help tie the whole dish together.<br />
 
Add the quick drained, just under al dente, pasta to the skillet (it should still be a bit crunchy.  I like to transfer the pasta directly from the boil water with tongs (long pastas) or with a spider or slotted spoon (short pastas) splashing a bit of pasta water into the skillet. If you cannot do either of these, reserve a bit of pasta water with a ladle or a bowl and drain the pasta in a colander. It is important to cook the pasta to al dente with the sauce, and it is important to do it with a bit of the pasta water.  The starches in the water will help the sauce glaze the pasta ever so slightly and cooking the pasta to doneness in the sauce will help tie the whole dish together.<br />
<br />
+
[[File:14.jpg]]
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/7122700581/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8015/7122700581_cef071d86b.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
+
 
<br />
+
 
Toss to combine and allow the water to evaporate, add more pasta water if it gets too dry and the pasta is still under. <br />
+
Toss to combine and allow the water to evaporate, add more pasta water if it gets too dry and the pasta is still under.  
<br />
+
 
Plate and top with fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, some minced flat leaf parsley is also nice, I didn't have any though.<br />
+
Plate and top with fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, some minced flat leaf parsley is also nice, I didn't have any though.
<br />
+
[[File:15.jpg]]
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/6976619036/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6976619036_9cebbc5eb3_z.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
+
 
<br />
+
Enjoy!
Enjoy!<br />
+
 
<br />
+
==Variations==
17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)<br />
+
 
<b><u>Variations</u></b><br />
+
As mentioned, you can use a blend of pork, beef, and veal.  You can add chicken or pork liver, but keep the ratio low.  You don't want to overpower the ragu with the flavor of offal.  I've made it with Wild Boar and it is out of this world.  Here it is with homemade pappardelle
<br />
+
[[File:16.jpg]]
As mentioned, you can use a blend of pork, beef, and veal.  You can add chicken or pork liver, but keep the ratio low.  You don't want to overpower the ragu with the flavor of offal.  I've made it with Wild Boar and it is out of this world.  Here it is with homemade pappardelle<br />
+
 
<br />
+
Anyway, I hope this is a good primer.  There are many other ragus to make!  Here is one, admittedly more Neapolitan (meat chunks rather than ground, no cream) than Bolognese, but with Roasted Chicken and served with homemade orecchiete.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/6908197021/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7070/6908197021_3729d89f6b_z.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
+
[[File:17.jpg]]
<br />
+
 
17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)17:07, 18 September 2013 (CDT)<br />
 
<br />
 
Anyway, I hope this is a good primer.  There are many other ragus to make!  Here is one, admittedly more Neapolitan (meat chunks rather than ground, no cream) than Bolognese, but with Roasted Chicken and served with homemade orecchiete.<br />
 
<br />
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmendoza/5687692949/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5230/5687692949_74f3c71156_z.jpg" alt="" class="img" border="0"></a><br />
 
<br />
 
 
There is also a fantastic Roman tripe ragu that I had once at Lupa, it was out of this world, but both of these can wait for another post.
 
There is also a fantastic Roman tripe ragu that I had once at Lupa, it was out of this world, but both of these can wait for another post.

Revision as of 22:24, 18 September 2013

Recipe by Gravity84

I follow, for the most part, Mario Batali's recipe. I take a few liberties myself so feel free to change things to suit your taste.

Batali's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqBqiGM1O54

Let's get started:

Ingredients

  • Meat - often pork shoulder, sometimes with beef or veal. Sometimes a little bit of liver is added. You can buy ground, I grind my own.
  • Cured pork - I use home cured pancetta, you can also use salt pork or even bacon.
  • Onion, Carrot, Celery - For the newbies, this is called a mirepoix
  • Garlic
  • Herbs - I like 2 Bay Leaves, a bit of oregano, and a bit of thyme, preferably fresh
  • Tomato paste - You can go about this many ways. You can use store bought tomato paste, I had some tinned San Marzano tomatoes so I blended them and put them in a skillet and reduced to a paste while the meat was doing its thing, or if you have fresh paste tomatoes you can blanch, peel, foodmill, and reduce to a paste in a pan.
  • Heavy Cream - you can use milk (Mario does), I like cream. You choose.
  • Butter
  • Olive Oil

Procedure

I used pork cushion meat. Cube and reserve the extra in freezer bags for another use. 1.jpg Dice an onion

2.jpg Grind up the meat. Obviously, you can skip this if you bought preground.

3.jpg

Sweat the onion in half butter, half olive oil. Mario stresses to not brown the onion, so watch the heat. Go until the onions are translucent. On medium heat this will take at least 10 minutes. 4.jpg

Add the rest of the mirepoix and allow to sweat further, probably another 5-10 min 5.jpg

Now, contrary to what I used to do, we add the meat directly to the sweated vegetables and crank the heat. I used to brown the meat first then sweat the veg. Mario says that the step after this is crucial so I do it this way. I'm sure it would taste fine the other way, too.

Don't forget the pancetta: 6.jpg

The addition of meat directly to the pan will result in some liquid release, this is fine and to be expected: 7.jpg

Eventually, though, all of the liquid will evaporate. 8.jpg

When the pot is dry add more fat if needed for good browning. Turn down heat to medium and allow the meat to brown, stirring intermittently. Not too little so that the bottom doesn't burn, but not too much such that it never gets a chance to caramelize. Eventually it will have a nice layer of brown bits on the bottom called fond. 9.jpg


One of the fundamental flavors of this dish is the contribution of the caramelized bits, or fond, at the bottom of the pot. Because of this, you cannot make this well in a crock pot.

Once the bottom has all the yummy bits add some tomato paste and mix in thoroughly. Allow for some caramelization of the paste then deglaze with a dry white wine. Nothing fancy but something drinkable and unoaked. Reduce again. Add garlic, minced. 10.jpg

and cream or milk, bay leaves, a bit of oregano and thyme. 11.jpg

Lower heat, cover, and simmer for an hour, longer if you want. Just before serving taste for salt. Salt level should be pretty low, remember you can always salt later and you will be adding salt in the form of salty pasta water when finishing the dish. 12.jpg

When ready to serve, boil some pasta. Ideal pastas are tagliatele, pappardelle, orrechiette, shells... basically pastas whose shapes take well to having a chunky sauce. (the PRO-EST thing to do is make a Lasagne with the leftovers, but that's another thread) I am going to disregard my own advice here and use spaghetti! Why? Because I didn't have any of the "ideal" ones and I didn't feel like making pasta or going to the store for some, and besides, spaghetti with bolognese ragu is hella American.

Anyway, when the pasta is limp but not yet al dente, put a measure of the ragu in a skillet on high heat. 13.jpg

Add the quick drained, just under al dente, pasta to the skillet (it should still be a bit crunchy. I like to transfer the pasta directly from the boil water with tongs (long pastas) or with a spider or slotted spoon (short pastas) splashing a bit of pasta water into the skillet. If you cannot do either of these, reserve a bit of pasta water with a ladle or a bowl and drain the pasta in a colander. It is important to cook the pasta to al dente with the sauce, and it is important to do it with a bit of the pasta water. The starches in the water will help the sauce glaze the pasta ever so slightly and cooking the pasta to doneness in the sauce will help tie the whole dish together.
14.jpg


Toss to combine and allow the water to evaporate, add more pasta water if it gets too dry and the pasta is still under.

Plate and top with fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, some minced flat leaf parsley is also nice, I didn't have any though. 15.jpg

Enjoy!

Variations

As mentioned, you can use a blend of pork, beef, and veal. You can add chicken or pork liver, but keep the ratio low. You don't want to overpower the ragu with the flavor of offal. I've made it with Wild Boar and it is out of this world. Here it is with homemade pappardelle 16.jpg

Anyway, I hope this is a good primer. There are many other ragus to make! Here is one, admittedly more Neapolitan (meat chunks rather than ground, no cream) than Bolognese, but with Roasted Chicken and served with homemade orecchiete. 17.jpg

There is also a fantastic Roman tripe ragu that I had once at Lupa, it was out of this world, but both of these can wait for another post.