Bolognese Sauce

Packed with flavor and simmered to mouthwatering perfection, my bolognese sauce recipe will change how you think of meat sauces for life!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 4 30

Total Time 4 50

Servings

Calories 652kcal

¼ cup unsalted butter ½ stick
1 medium onion finely diced
2 large carrots peeled and finely diced
2 large celery stalks finely diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
4 ounces pancetta diced
¾ pound ground beef
¾ pound ground pork
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups whole milk
1 cup low-sodium stock chicken or beef
28 ounce whole tomatoes peeled San Marzano tomatoes and their liquid. Tomatoes can be crushed by hand or cut up.
2 bay leaves
¼ cup flat leaf parsley chopped
kosher salt
black pepper freshly ground
1 pound pappardelle pasta cooked according to package instructions.

Melt butter in a large heavy pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat, and add in the pancetta. Stir frequently until crispy.
Remove the pancetta and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, tomato paste and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
Saute, stirring frequently, for about five minutes. If the onion or garlic starts to brown reduce heat. Cook until fairly soft, then add in the pancetta again.
Add the beef and pork about a third at a time, allowing most of the liquid to evaporate before incorporating more.
Cook, stirring frequently, until all the pink is gone from the meat, all the liquid is evaporated and you can feel brown bits starting to stick to the bottom of the pot.
Deglaze the pot with the cup of white wine, scraping up all the browned bits. Then lower the heat to medium-low so it doesn't start sticking again.
Add milk, broth, tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, a crack of freshly ground black pepper and bring to a boil. Crush the whole tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon (or cut them up before adding them).
Reduce heat to as low as possible maintaining a very lazy simmer. Add bay leaves and parsley.
Simmer on low, half covered, for four hours, stirring occasionally.
Once the cook time is up, remove bay leaves.
If the sauce has not completely thickened yet, increase heat slightly and simmer another 15 to 30 minutes with the lid off.
Serve with pasta and a healthy dose of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

This is one of those sauces that cannot be made quickly. You absolutely must let it simmer for at least four hours to ensure that the flavors have completely melded together and the texture is thick and rich.

Make sure to leave the lid just slightly off so that some steam can escape. This ensures that the sauce will thicken versus just continuing to boil.

Make sure to cook the vegetables up in the fat from the pancetta. This will flavor them as they cook.

For extra umami flavor, rehydrate a packet of dried porcini mushrooms, then dice them and add them into the sauce. Use a little of the liquid alongside the broth.