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Meat Sauce

Aya Brackett

BY The Editors

PUBLISHED December 22, 2023

This fairly traditional Bolognese sauce or ragù doesn’t require much in the way of work, but it does require occasional attention over the course of a morning or afternoon. Since this sauce freezes so well—and to make the time well spent—you’ll have enough sauce leftover to freeze for another meal. (Or double the amount of pasta and feed eight easily.)

 

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Meat Sauce

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Makes 4 servings, with about 2 cups leftover sauce 1x

Time about 3 hours, largely unattended

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped
  • 2 ounces bacon or pancetta, chopped
  • 8 ounces lean ground beef
  • 8 ounces lean ground pork
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3/4 cup dry white wine or juice from the tomatoes
  • 2 28–ounce cans whole plum tomatoes, drained; reserve the juice if you’re using it instead of wine
  • 1 cup beef or chicken stock
  • 1 cup heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk

Instructions

1. Put the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. When it is hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, and bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the ground meats, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring and breaking up any clumps, until all traces of red are gone, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

3. Crush the tomatoes with a fork or your hands and add them to the skillet along with the stock. Adjust the heat so the sauce bubbles gently and cook, stirring occasionally to break up the tomatoes and meat, until the mixture thickens and develops a uniform texture, 1 ½ to 2 hours. (At this point, you can refrigerate the sauce for a day or 2, or freeze it for several months. Reheat before proceeding.)

4. Add the cream to the sauce and cook at a gentle bubble, stirring occasionally, until it’s incorporated, 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

— Recipe from How to Cook Everything Completely Revised 20th Anniversary Edition

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