Very Personal Bolognese Sauce Food

THE BEST BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Combine the beef and pork in a large bowl. "Pull" the ground meat apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and incorporating the meat without compacting it. Continue to pull the meat apart until thoroughly mixed and no clumps remain.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Cook the pancetta, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and is golden brown on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the pancetta with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread half of the ground meat in an even layer in the pot and cook undisturbed until lightly golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps with the back of a spoon and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is lightly browned on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot. Repeat with the remaining ground meat.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, onions, bay leaf, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until very fragrant and brick red, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and cook until it reduces and thickens and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the stock, milk and browned meat.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add the Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated away and the mixture resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the sauce should release occasional small bubbles. If you have a small burner you should use it; the larger burners even at their lowest setting might cook the sauce too quickly. If the sauce reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of stock or water and continue cooking; repeat if necessary. The sauce needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf and Parmesan rind. Use the back of a spoon to break up any remaining clumps of meat for an even-textured sauce. Season with salt and keep warm.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta. If using fresh pasta, cook about 3 minutes. If using dry, cook until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions.
• Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, then drain the pasta and transfer to the sauce. Increase the heat to medium, bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, tossing the pasta constantly, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce is slightly thickened, adding pasta cooking liquid if necessary, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer the pasta to a platter and top with grated Parmesan.

VERY PERSONAL BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Crumble the ground beef into a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring to break up large chunks, until no longer pink. Drain off excess grease. Mix in the tomato paste, harissa and Worcestershire sauce until blended. Stir in the tomato sauce and garlic; reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Stir in the mascarpone cheese, and simmer for another 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, and season with dried basil.

AUTHENTIC BOLOGNESE SAUCE (SUGO ALLA BOLOGNESE)

Steps:

• Place the chopped onions, carrots, celery, and garlic clove in a food processor. Pulse the motor until the vegetables are finely chopped.
• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan set over medium heat. Add the chopped vegetables and chopped bacon (or pancetta, which is an Italian bacon). Stir in the salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the ground veal (or beef) to the pot with the vegetables. Cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the meat is no longer pink, about 6 minutes.
• Stir in the wine, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and the milk (or cream). Add the pinch of ground nutmeg.
• Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours.
• Serve over spaghetti, cooked al dente, and pass the grated Parmesan cheese.
• Mangia!

"REAL" ITALIAN BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a Dutch Oven or Medium Size Pot, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat until butter begins to froth.
• Add onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and bacon.
• Cook until onions are translucent (about 8 to 10 minutes).
• Remove bacon and remove fat.
• Chop lean portions of bacon in small pieces and return to pot.
• Add Ground beef and ground Pork, and cook until meat loses red, raw color.
• Raise heat and add wine and consomme.
• Cook sauce until wine and consomme are mostly evaporated.
• Turn heat down to simmer and add oregano, salt, pepper, sage, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg.
• Let cook for approximately 20 minutes.
• Add crushed tomatoes and bring heat to a boil.
• Once the mixture comes to a boil, return to simmer.
• Let sauce simmer (very slowly) partially covered for about 2 to 4 hours (the longer the better), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
• About 5 to 10 minutes before serving, add milk.
• Sauce can now be added to cooked Penne Pasta, Spaghetti or many other Pastas to your liking.
• Remaining sauce may be frozen for up to two months for future use.

BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Saute the onion, carrots, and celery in about 5 tablespoons olive oil in a large rondeau until soft. Add the pancetta to the soffritto (onion mixture). Cook on a medium-high flame for about 7 to 10 minutes, then add the meat; break it up well with a wooden spoon. Cook's Note: You can jack up the heat a bit, and keep stirring until all the ground meat is browned. Add the red pepper flakes and the parsley and cook for just 1 minute.
• Add the wine now and cook until the alcohol is completely evaporated, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
• Pulse the tomatoes smooth in a food processor and add them to the meat, season generously with salt and pepper, lower the flame to medium and cook for about 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Finish the sauce by adding the whole milk, stir well and set aside, to cool off.

CLASSIC BOLOGNESE MEAT SAUCE (BOLOGNAISE)

Steps:

• Put the oil, 3 tbsp butter and chopped onion in the pot, turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring the onion until it becomes translucent.
• Add the celery and carrot and stir for two minutes while cooking to coat them well.
• Add the ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of black pepper.
• Cook the beef while crumbling it with a fork until the beef has lost its red colour.
• Add the milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently until the milk has completely bubbled away.
• Add the nutmeg.
• Add the wine and let it simmer until it has evaporated.
• Add the tomatoes and stir well. When the tomatoes start to bubble turn the heat down so that it is just simmering with the occasional bubble breaking the surface.
• Cook uncovered for 3 hours, stirring from time to time. While it is cooking you will find the sauce dries out so continue to add a 1/2 cup of water when necessary to stop it sticking. However there should not be water left at the end of the 3 hours. The fat will separate from the sauce and this should happen.
• Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary and toss with the pasta and rest of butter. Serve with parmesan on the side.

BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat in a large heavy-bottomed pot: 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Add: 2 ounces pancetta, diced fine.
• Cook over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add: 1 small onion, diced fine, 1 celery stalk, diced fine, 1 carrot, diced fine, 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, 5 sage leaves, 2 thyme sprigs, 1 bay leaf.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 12 minutes.
• While the vegetables are cooking, heat in a large heavy-bottomed pan, preferably cast iron: 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Add and brown over medium-high heat, in two batches: 1 pound skirt steak, cut into 1/8-inch cubes, 4 ounces pork shoulder, coarsely ground.
• Cook until the meat is a nice chestnut color. Once all the meat is browned, pour in: 1 cup dry white wine.
• Reduce the wine by half, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the browned meat and the deglazing juices to the tender vegetables with: 2 tablespoons tomato paste, Salt.
• Measure and stir together: 2 cups beef or chicken broth, 1 1/2 cups milk.
• Pour enough of this liquid into the pot to bring it to the level of the meat and vegetables. Simmer gently until the meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. As the liquid reduces, keep topping it up with the rest of the broth and milk, and skimming the fat that rises to the surface.
• When the meat is tender, remove the sauce from the heat and season to taste with more salt, if needed, and: Fresh-ground black pepper.
• Include 1/4 cup dried porcini, soaked, drained, and chopped fine, with the diced vegetables.
• Other cuts of beef can be used instead of skirt steak. Chuck or hanging tenderloin will make a delicious sauce, although hanging tenderloin will require at least an hour more of cooking time to become tender. During the additional cooking time it may be necessary to add more broth or milk to keep the sauce from becoming too dry.