The definitive Bolognese Sauce or Ragout

[HattoriHanzo]

The perfect Bolognese sauce or ragout is something I have been experimenting with and fine tuning for years. Rather than going through all the stages at risk of boring everyone I will simply post the ingredients at this stage. This is where I am up to.

Peters Bolognaise Sauce

Ingredients :
1.5 Kg minced beef ( Premium )
4 large Pork loin chops
150g pancetta or good bacon, finely chopped
8 large cans of Italian tomatoes put through sauce machine
¾ cup tomato paste
12 cloves of Garlic
1 cup of finely diced carrot
1 cup of finely chopped celery
2 teaspoons dried Thyme
3 sprigs of Rosemary
1 tblspn of chopped fresh Oregano
4 large Bay leaves
2 cups of good red wine (Shiraz)
1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated Nutmeg
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

I normally cook this for at least 2 hours on a low simmer.
Note that I do not use any onions and they are replaced by garlic.
If during the cooking the sauce is getting to thick you may add more red wine or chicken stock. The addition of the pork makes the sauce unctuous and complex. I remove what ever fat from the pork that hasn't rendered after 2 hours.

This recipe is fun to play with and the sauce is equally at home with spaghetti or Lasagne. My favorite with this is Linguine.

[Big Daddy's House]

HattoriHanzo, this is a recipe, which should be posted in the Recipe forums.

Please kindly post all future recipes posted by you there in there appropriate categories. Thank you.

[HattoriHanzo]

My apologies Sherm but this thread was posted to encourage debate on one of the worlds most challenging culinary issues....Bolognese Sauce......What is the definitive recipe ?. I didn't post it in "recipes" for that reason.

[Big Daddy's House]

No problem.

I was trying to decide as to whether it should go into the Beef or Pork sections, but since it has both beef and pork, I moved it to the Main Couses / Entrees section.

[HattoriHanzo]

No problem.

I was trying to decide as to whether it should go into the Beef or Pork sections, but since it has both beef and pork, I moved it to the Main Couses / Entrees section.


LOL

[QSis]

Oh man, this looks unbelievably great!!

Okay, so 3.3 pounds of beef and 1/3 lb prosciutto or bacon. Right, Hattori?

Lee

P.S. Wait, your name is PETER??? Well, heck, that's a LOT easier to remember than your user name, which I have to look up every time I reply to your posts! LOL!

What's the origination of your user name? If you've explained in a previous post, I missed it!

[HattoriHanzo]

Hi Lee

Your spot on with those weights but the recipe does allow some latitude. If you want you can omit the pork chops and use 1/2 Beef or Veal mince and 1/2 Pork mince. Historically there is pork, veal and pancetta in a true Bolognese.

Speaking of pancetta, I made a boo boo in the ingredients but I have fixed it.It replaces the prosciutto.

My user name ? Have you seen Kill Bill ? Consequently I have a passion for japanese kitchen knives :)

[QSis]

I most certainly will NOT omit the pork chops, sir! When I used to make homemade sauce, I ALWAYS used pork chops! :-)

I thought the proscuitto was a creative spin you put in, LOL! I love bacon and will use that instead of pancetta (I can never understand using pancetta, since I miss the smokey flavor).

I saw Kill Bill, yes, but the name didn't ring a bell. I have a Furi-FX santuku knife, which sounds Japanese (is it?). It was a gift from a foodie loved one, and is my favorite knife.

Lee

[HattoriHanzo]

http://www.tarantino.info/wiki/images/Hattori1.jpg

Hi Lee

The sword that Uma Thurman used was made by Hattori Hanzo ( pictured ), master sword artisan in the film. And good on you for not omitting the pork chops..That was a test! LOL

Peter

[Chowhound]

You must have big rats.....
lol