Salsas de Carne

8/13/2019 Salsas de Carne

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RAGU' ALLA BOLOGNESE, THE MEAT SAUCE OF BOLOGNA

I made a Bolognese Sauce tonight pretty much holding onto the rules set forth by theAccademia Italiana della Cucina, Bologna Chapter, back in 1982. After much thought, thisgroup of foodies decided to preserve Ragu' alla Bolognese in it's original and most perfectversion. Most versions of Bolognese sauce are like the "meat" sauce my Mom made,very good, delicious and great on pasta..ground beef or pork, or both sauteed up withonions, basil, black pepper, salt, wine, then the tomatoes added and it was cooked until itresembled an Italian Sloppy Joe.According to the Accademia it must contain Chopped minced Beef, Pancetta, onion, milk,tomato paste, stock, wine,carrots, celery, and a spoonful of heavy cream at the end.

Toss the pasta with 2 tbs. of unsalted butter, a good grinding of black pepper, and 1/8 cupfreshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Then sauce with about 3 ladles of the Ragu'..nomore..as with all pasta dishes in Italy, the sauce is secondary to the pasta..having saidthat..add as much as you like, I will not dictate how you like something, but I will guide you onwhat is considered the proper way a dish is to be prepared and eaten.For the sauce: finely dice 2 celery stalks, 2 peeled carrots, and 1 large onion, 1/2 lb. ofpancetta, and 3/4 lb. skirt steak or chuck steak all minced... In a large heavy bottomedpot, heat 3 tbs of good Olive Oil, then add the chopped steak and pancetta. Let this saute'for about 5 -8 minutes stirring frequently. Now add the carrots, celery, and onion. Let thissaute together for about 15 minutes, then add 1 cup of white wine, salt, mix. Then add 1cup of stock and let this come to a boil, add 1/2 can of tomato paste and stir. Let thissimmer on low. Over the course of the next 2 hours, add 1 1/2 cups of milk in smallbatches. Why? Because the Accademia said so. Let this simmer for a total of no lessthan 3 hours, stirring frequently. When you've reached that point and it's sufficiently

thickened..add 2 tbs. of heavy cream. Then dress the pasta you have prepared with thethree ladles..Shower it with lots of shaved Parmigiano and cracked black pepper.

This is a very earthy sauce made this way, the garden freshness of the vegetables and the


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long simmered meat...very different in many ways from what we are used to thinking of asa Bolognese Sauce...and with the leftover sauce, I may just HAVE to turn that into aLasagne Bolognese with Spinach and Bechamel over the weekend..

Posted by peter battaglia at 10/2/2013 3:13 PM

MEAT SAUCE

Meat Sauce...doesn't sound too great, but most people know it means a tomato sauce forpasta that

contains...MEAT. What kind? I guess you can decide for yourself what you would like toput into it, but if you want my opinion on it, Let's go with my definition of what Meat Saucemeans. A tomato based pasta sauce simmered with ground beef and some pork, onions,basil, oregano, olive oil and maybe some wine, maybe. Here's your first piece ofinfo...Meat Sauce is not Bolognese Sauce, although a Bolognese Sauce is a meat sauce.See what I did there? Of course Bolognese is a sauce with meat in it..but a meat sauce isnot a true or proper or close to autherntic Bolognese. There are many ingredients in aBolognese which, in a plain old Meat Sauce do not show up. My version of Meat Sauce,which can be used for Lasagne, for Baked pastas like a Baked Ziti al Forno or for anyother pasta you would serve with a tomato sauce, contains lots of onions for sweetnessand flavor, good tomatoes, olive oil, fresh basil, dried oregano.A Bolognese would contain some butter, milk, carrots, celery, ground meats, not a whole

lot of tomato.I limit my cooking of the sauce to 1 hr and 15 min. Why? Because I'm not making chili.The longer you cook tomato, especially with ground beef in it, the closer it comes to tastingin that instiutional way.Let me show you how to make this in a straightforward no fear sort of way and it will fastbecome one of your go-to sauces especially on those in between after work during theweek nights or on a long weekend where you want maximum flavor without have 20different menu items on your docket.


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Start by heating 1 tbs. of olive oil in a heavy dutch oven or sizeable sauce pot. Add 1 lbground beef. then 1/2 lb loose Italian Sweet Fennel Sausage meat.Add 1/2 tsp. of kosher salt, 1/2 tsp of cracked black pepper, 1/2 tsp. oregano (the Greekand Sicilian types that you can get in Italian and Greek Markets are great, or a good driedbrand works well too, just, as always, rub it between your hands especially cooking..forgetkitchen utensils, your hands ARE your most used tool when cooking) before you add it.This releases all the locked in essential oils and flavor of the dried herb.The most common fallacy regarding all Italian Cuisine is that garlic is in everything. Nottrue. And this is not a PSA for the Anti-Garlic Movement. I love garlic. But, resist the

temptation to add it to every single dish that comes from the Italian playlist. I've said thisbefore (and guess what, here is comes again), my Grandma Scaramuzzi had a rule whichwas meat in the sauce...no garlic....no meat in the sauce, use garlic. So, out of respect forher, and just because it tastes so good, my meat sauce is flavored with no garlic Keepstirring the meat around on medium heat for agood 6-7 ,minutes. It will be partially browned. Dice 2 medium or one large onion and addit to thepot. Let this cook on medium for 10 minutes, until the onions are softened. As always,check the onions for softness at this point. For some FoodScientific reason, if your onionsare not softened, when you add the tomatoes and liquid, they will still have some bite tothem. You don't want that.


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Flavor booster: Italian Grating Cheese Rinds..I read some recipes that assume you all have these hanging around your refrigerator. Iknow. It's

just not true. Big HOWEVER, if you do have one, or can get your hands on some, manystores actually sell them in the cheese dept, a piece of Parmigiano or Romano rind is anawesome way to add that deliciously cheesey, yet subtle background flavor to something.Yes, you can add grated cheese while you're cooking but that will eventually fall to thebottom of the liquid and begin to actually burn onto the pot surface. So, grated cheese isalways added after a sauce, soup, or dish is off the flame. Ok.If you have a piece add it now, that''s a rind piece from a finished wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano in

the picture. Now add the tomatoes. 1 can of paste, distribute throughout the meatmixture. Then,one can of wine or water. Now add a can of Crushed Italian tomatoes, but seriously, inthis sauce, the Meat, not the tomato is the dominant flavor. Add 3/4 of that can filled withwater to the pot. Mix well. Add 5 torn basil leaves. Now set the pot on the back burnerand let it simmer for a good 1 1/2 hours, stir frequently.

What are you looking for? You are looking for most of that water to cook out of the sauce,the water helps the meat continue to release it's flavor into the tomato. It's a happymarriage. The sauce will have reduced, changed color, and become thicker. Let it rest


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and then remove all the fat that has risen to the top and discard. This sauce is amazingover Ravioli and like I've already mentioned in Lasagne, baked pastas, over just oversome other type of macaroni.

So there is your finished Meat Sauce. Have I captured the change in color and thethickness in this pic from the one above it? They were taken 1 1/2 hrs apart from eachother. Note: Tastes better the next day, freezes well for all you Bulk/Freezer Happy typesout there. It makes enough sauce to dress 1 -1 /2 lbs of cooked pasta. That's about 8people or kids who will love you for doing this. I wound up making it last night for asleepover my girls were having. It's what I make when I want meat and sauce andmacaroni but really don't feel like doing meatballs. Salad on the side...nice dinner.

Posted by peter battaglia at 11/16/2013 11:57 PM

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