Receta Ultimate Best Authentic Bolognese Sauce – the Great Italian Sauce!
You know that I’m always searching for best/perfect recipes, don’t you? Well, I’ve already told you in my Best Authentic Bolognese Sauce post what my favourite sauce for pasta was and I thought that my Mom’s Ragù was the best recipe ever, but recently I tried another one, just out of curiosity and to confirm my theory, and I was literally amazed!
This recipe is so perfect, rich and so delicious that I’m asking how couldn’t I ever imagined that? I tried many other recipes but no one satisfied me more than my mom’s recipe even if those were made by great grandmothers.
Now, look at the photo below… do I need to add more words to convince you???
Another reason why I was skeptical before trying this recipe is because it does not contain garlic. And I love garlic in Bolognese Sauce, it gives a wonderful taste. But this recipe is so tasty itself and is balanced in every part of it. So, garlic lovers, before adding some garlic, taste the sauce with pasta (not alone).
This Great Authentic Bolognese Sauce is heavier (more fats) than other recipes I shared with you, but worth everything, even your bikini, trust me. Next time you’ll make Tagliatelle you’ll want to try this one, really!
This is very simple to make too, just few easy steps and some time at home, but you don’t have to look constantly at the stove so you can do other things while it cooks.
I use this recipe just for special occasions, such as when I have guests or on special Sundays, while for “daily” lunchtime I always use my Mom’s recipe because it’s “healthier” (if a Bolognese sauce can be called that ahah!) and has less fats so I can continue in following my diet. That’s why I don’t remove this recipe from the blog, because is still valuable.
As I told you before in the other post, the secret for a special Bolognese Sauce, that we (italians) call Ragù (pron. Ruh-goo), is the long cooking time, 6 hours are best.
Yes, it can be ready after 2 hours but it will be just a sauce with some meat in it and very very bland.
People say that the habit of cooking meat for long hours is given by the fact that many years ago it was very tough, so long cooking times ensured a better tenderness to the meat, but I do not agree with that because when a Bolognese Sauce is cooked for at least 4 hours (or as I suggest 6), the meat along with olive oil, vegetables and tomato perfectly combine together to form a unique mouth-watering sauce, so there’s really a huge difference in the taste, not just in tenderness (the pictures below show the difference).
After 2 hours of cooking the sauce is watery, bland and the meat is whitish.
After 6 hours of cooking the sauce is dense and full of taste!
So this is the best Bolognese Sauce recipe I have ever ever ever eaten, period. If you know another recipe that is better than this one (I’m a bit skeptical but..), please let me know!!! It would be another huge discovery!
Enough said, now let’s move to the recipe!
Ultimate Best Authentic Bolognese Sauce*
* (adapted from Beniamino Baleotti’s Ragù alla Bolognese recipe, he works as a cook at Agriturismo Le Ginestre in Pianoro (Bologna). If you ever plan to go near there make sure to visit him and have a traditional lunch there or make a pasta course, he speaks Japaneese too! I made some adjustments to his recipe such as swapped out lard for butter, because for me the first one gives a too piggy taste.)
Difficulty: easy
Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 4-6 hoursYield: 6-7 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 500 gr / 1lb / 18 oz ground quality beef (94% lean if possible)
- 300 gr / 2/3 lb / 10 oz ground quality lean pork meat (chuck/shoulder or loin)
- 200 gr / 1/2 lb / 7 oz ground pork belly (skinned, raw/no seasoned)
- 450 gr / 16 oz / 4 1/2 cups soffritto vegetables OR 2 medium onions, 3 carrots and 2 celery stalks finely chopped
- 150 ml / 2/3 cup red wine (no bubbles)
- 600 gr / 1 1/4 lbs / 20 oz plain tomato sauce
- 2 sage leaf
- 1 bay leaf
- a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions:
Heat oil and butter in a heavy, bottomed pot and fry ground pork belly until it’s brown and crispy (about 8-10 minutes).
Don’t skip this passage, it’s the key for a tasty sauce!!!
Crispy pork belly
Add vegetables and fry them for about 10 minutes until they start to soften and color a bit (so vegetables are more savoury and sweet), scraping the bottom of the pan occasionally.
Mine were frozen
Add the remaining ground meat, breaking it up with a fork and cook until it’s browned all over (5-10 minutes) and all the water, that the meat releases, is evaporated.
Add red wine, give a stir and let the liquid reduce for 2-3 minutes or until you no longer smell alcohol.
Add tomato sauce, sage, bay leaf, nutmeg, salt and cover the meat with some water.
Partially cover with a lid and simmer Ragù for at least 4 hours (6 is better), stirring occasionally (about every 1 1/2 hours). During that time, if you see that the sauce is drying to much add some water (not at the end of the cooking time though!).
Here’s a photo of the sauce after just 2 hours of cooking (watery and bland).
That’s how the sauce has to look like after 6 hours of cooking:
As you have read, there’re just few steps to follow. It’s not complicated at all, so on the next rainy Sunday have a try and let me know if it’s your best italian Bolognese Sauce recipe too! And don’t forget that Ragú can be used with every kind of pasta, not just Tagliatelle!