Beef Ragu – Sugar Spun Run
7 min read
My Beef Ragu recipe cooks for hours till the meat is extremely tender and flavorful. Serve it with pappardelle pasta for a hearty and spectacular dinner! Recipe features a how-to video!
Beef Ragu with Pappardelle
This cozy and satisfying beef ragu recipe is impressed by my late Italian great-grandmother’s family-famous fettuccine. Whereas I ought to preface this recipe with the truth that that is not her recipe (sadly, I don’t have it), she did educate me what good Italian meals ought to style like, and that is most undoubtedly it.
My model is wealthy, thick, hearty, and warm-you-straight-down-to-your-toes satisfying. It’s *good* chilly climate consolation meals, and takes solely half-hour to prep earlier than going within the oven. You’ll love how tender the meat will get after cooking for hours, (very like with my beef stew).
In the event you’re intimidated about cooking a roast–don’t be. We’ll be breaking it down into smaller items and searing on the range for only a few minutes earlier than the oven does the remaining. It is a principally hands-off recipe, and nice for getting ready upfront! I extremely suggest serving with some garlic knots or breadsticks for the complete stick-to-your-ribs expertise.
One be aware earlier than we start: Don’t use a non-enameled forged iron pot! The iron will react with the tomato sauce and can make the ultimate dish style distinctly metallic after cooking all that point. I’ve discovered this the laborious manner 🙁
What You Want
This beef ragu is a taste explosion of carefully-selected substances, together with:
- Beef. Chuck roast is your best option right here. It shreds properly and turns into tremendous tender and flavorful after cooking for just a few hours.
- Veggies. We use a mirepoix; carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and tomatoes. We’ll additionally throw in some herbs together with bay leaves and thyme.
- Crimson wine vinegar. It’s Crucial (Sure, capital “I” — it’s essential!) that you simply cook dinner down the pink wine vinegar as indicated, in any other case your beef ragu may have a vinegary style. When cooked correctly, it improves the tenderness of the meat and makes the sauce wealthy and flavorful. Cook dinner it till you may now not odor the acidity once you waft the steam from the pot in direction of you. When doubtful, at all times choose to cook dinner for extra time moderately than much less.
- Pasta. I like to make use of thick pappardelle or tagliatelle noodles and even fettuccine. Broad noodles are finest for the sort of sauce.
SAM’S TIP: In the event you don’t wish to use vinegar, a dry pink wine (like merlot) may very well be used as a substitute. You possibly can improve this to ½ cup, however nonetheless cut back it on the stovetop as indicated.
Bear in mind, that is simply an summary of the substances I used and why. For the complete recipe please scroll right down to the underside of the put up!
How you can Make Beef Ragu
- Sear the meat – Season your beef with salt and pepper, then sear it over medium excessive warmth till browned on all sides. Take away the meat to a plate.
- Cook dinner the veggies – Cut back the warmth to medium and add the butter. As soon as melted, toss within the carrots, celery, and onion and cook dinner till softened.
- Create a flavorful base – Add the garlic and cook dinner for 30 seconds, then stir within the tomato paste.
- Deglaze the pan – Add the pink wine vinegar, scraping the pan as you do to include any browned bits on the underside of the pot. Cook dinner till the vinegar is 50% diminished and now not has a pungent odor.
- Add the remaining substances – Stir within the beef broth, tomatoes, water, and crushed pink pepper. As soon as simmering, add the meat and herbs.
- Cowl and cook dinner – Cowl the pot with a lid and cook dinner at 350F for 3 hours.
- Take a look at for doneness – As soon as the meat is tender, take away it to a plate.
- Create the sauce – Mash the greens within the pot till easy.
- Shred the meat – Shred the meat, then return it to the pot. Style check for seasoning.
- Take pleasure in! Toss with cooked pasta and prime with grated parmesan, or function desired.
SAM’S TIP: In the event you plan to serve your beef ragu with noodles, save a few of the pasta water! It helps the sauce cling superbly to the noodles. In the event you’re tossing every thing collectively, I additionally suggest simply beginning with ¾ lb of noodles (because the noodles take in a number of the sauce) and solely add extra if wanted.
Often Requested Questions
I favor a broad pasta noodle like pappardelle, fettuccini, or tagliatelle. You would additionally do rigatoni, gnocchi, or cavatappi. In the event you don’t wish to serve your beef ragu over pasta, every other grain may work (like polenta!) or you possibly can even serve it over mashed potatoes.
A beef reduce that shreds properly is finest; for me, that’s chuck roast. Brisket may additionally work, nevertheless it’s not my favourite selection right here. As a bonus, chuck roast is usually fairly cheap, and whereas it’s a troublesome reduce of meat, the lengthy, sluggish cooking course of makes it unbelievably melt-in-your-mouth tender by dinnertime.
Sure! Beef ragu will hold within the freezer in an hermetic container for a number of months. To thaw, let sit within the fridge in a single day earlier than reheating.
On the lookout for extra consolation meals? Attempt my baked ziti or stuffed shells!
Take pleasure in!
Let’s bake collectively! I’ll be strolling you thru all of the steps in my written recipe and video beneath! In the event you do this recipe, you’ll want to tag me on Instagram, and you can too discover me on YouTube and Facebook
Beef Ragu
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Servings: 8 servings
Energy: 565kcal
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Directions
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Prepare rack to heart of oven and preheat oven to 350F (165C).
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Season beef on all sides with salt and pepper.
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Warmth oil in a big enameled Dutch oven over medium/excessive warmth. As soon as oil is shimmering, add beef and sear on all sides till deep brown in shade (when you place the meat within the pot, let it sit for about 2-3 minutes earlier than touching/turning it so that you get a pleasant sear). After searing, take away to a plate and put aside. There ought to be a lot of browned bits on the underside of the pot – go away these, they’re nice for taste.
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Cut back warmth to medium. Add butter to the pot and, as soon as melted, add carrot, celery, and onion and cook dinner, stirring sometimes, till softened (about 3-5 minutes).
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Add garlic and cook dinner, stirring ceaselessly, till aromatic (about 30 seconds).
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Add tomato paste and stir till well-incorporated with veggies.
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Deglaze the pan by slowly pouring in pink wine vinegar and scraping the underside of the pan to loosen any brown bits. Cook dinner till the vinegar is diminished by about 50% and the steam from the pot now not has a pungent vinegar odor.
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Add beef broth, water, crushed tomatoes, and crushed pink pepper (if utilizing). Convey to a simmer, stirring sometimes.
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Return beef to the pot and add bay leaves and thyme (ensure they’re submerged), cowl with lid, and switch to the oven.
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Cook dinner for 3 hours or till beef is extraordinarily tender and could also be simply shredded with a fork (however don’t shred it but).
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Take away beef from the pot. Use a potato masher to interrupt up the greens within the pot (for a smoother sauce, use an immersion blender, however I like mine a bit heartier). Shred the meat and return to the pot. Style-test and add further salt/pepper as wanted.
Serving
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Function desired, I wish to serve mine over pappardelle. In the event you’d wish to toss the noodles with the bolognese sauce, reserve a little bit of the pasta water (about ½ cup) and add it into the sauce with the noodles and simmer over low warmth for a number of minutes till thickened and clinging to the noodles earlier than serving. Prime with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
Sluggish Cooker
For finest taste in a sluggish cooker, I like to recommend first following steps 1-7 then transferring every thing (beef, veggies/vinegar in pot and remaining substances) to the sluggish cooker and cooking for 7-8 hours on low or 5 hours on excessive. Don’t skip the steps or the sauce will probably be skinny and vinegary tasting.
Storing
Retailer in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 5 days or within the freezer for a number of months.
Diet
Serving: 1serving | Energy: 565kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 42g | Fats: 27g | Saturated Fats: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 3g | Monounsaturated Fats: 13g | Trans Fats: 1g | Ldl cholesterol: 157mg | Sodium: 854mg | Potassium: 1092mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 448IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 6mg
Dietary info relies on third-party calculations and ought to be thought-about an estimate solely. Precise dietary content material will differ primarily based upon manufacturers used, measuring strategies, cooking technique, portion sizes, and extra.
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