Name: Ragu Bolognese Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 180 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 carrot; 1 medium onion (or half of a large onion); 1 celery; 1 teaspoon salt; Pepper to taste; 1 pound ground beef (I use grass fed); 1 pound ground pork; 2 cloves garlic (crushed); 1/2 cup dry white wine; 28 ounces diced tomatoes; 28 ounces beef broth

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This is my ragu Bolognese recipe! It is chock full of beef and pork and so delicious. I love to top this on some pasta as well as my ricotta gnocchi.

A white plate with a meat red sauce on pasta with asparagus and a pan of the gravy in the background

My mother didn’t make this ragu. In fact, if we had gravy, it was always her version made with various cuts of meat. Everyone in my family makes their gravy differently, including me. My mother made hers in a pressure cooker. Some of the ingredients she used were, let’s say, animal parts that you probably would never eat unless you were either enticed with the offer of a million dollars or you didn’t know what they were.

For instance, my mother frequently put pigs feet, tails and ears in her gravy. I liked the pigs feet. The tails and ears I could do without, but I would still eat gravy that contained them if it were offered by a relative. My mom’s gravy also had pork, beef, sausages and meatballs. As you can see, it was chock full of meat.

A little side note

Christopher and I recently went out to lunch with my Uncle Jackie (my mom’s bro) and my Aunt Rosemary. We had lots of laughs and we chatted about gravy and all the different ingredients we put in it. One of the things we reminisced about was this lovely and delicious food called “cotica.” (It always sounded to me like my mother was saying “gorthiga”, but that’s American Italian for you.)

You are all going to think I’m nutso, but cotica is pig rind (skin) cut in a roughly 6″ by 9″ long sheets. You lay it on your cutting board, sprinkle salt, pepper, herbs and garlic powder on it. Next you roll it up to form a little tube and secure it with some twine. Then you stick it in the gravy you are cooking and when it’s done, you slice it and eat it all up. My family lines up for this delicacy.

It probably doesn’t sound it to you, but it is totally yum. I wish I could make some now. Not sure where I’d get the pig rind (skin), though I would first try the local butcher.

Do you eat anything other people would think was odd if they knew you ate it? Do tell in the comment section. I promise not to judge since I’m cray-cray for weird foods.

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How to make ragu bolognese recipe

Carrot, celery and onion on a red cutting board and a Dutch oven in the background

Time to get the first few ingredients: a carrot, celery stick and half a large onion.

Out comes my food processor and in go the veggies. I pulse them until they look like they are diced. I heat up my heavy stockpot on medium and put 3 tablespoons of olive oil in it. When that’s heated, I add the veggies along with some salt and pepper.

I sauté them for 8 minutes.

Overhead view of onion, carrot and celery sautéed in a pan with a wooden spatula in it

Grab the meat

I get the 1 pound of grass fed beef and 1 pound of ground pork from the refrigerator and unwrap them. Sometimes I put lamb in a ragu too, but the store didn’t have any.

I plunk the meat in the pan and cut it up with my metal spatula. I sauté it all for around 8 minutes or until it is browned but not fully cooked. See all that uncooked red goodness?

Overhead view of a pan with meat sautéd in it

I add 2 cloves of crushed garlic and I put it in the meat mixture while I gather the rest of the ingredients

Time to measure out 1/2 cup of dry white wine, open 2 small cans of diced tomatoes, a container of beef broth and a small can of tomato paste.

Simmer time

Into the meat mixture they go. I let it come to a simmer and cook it for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

The liquid will reduce and the gravy will thicken up.

I taste the ragu Bolognese recipe at this point and add more salt if needed.

Time to grab the plates and fill them with pasta and a veggie.

Gravy in a cast iron pan with a white plate with pasta in the background

Oooooo. Let’s ladle some on top of that pasta!

And add some parmesan cheese.

Parmesan cheese sprinkled on the gravy covered pasta with the pan of red sauce in the background

There we go. We are ready to eat.

And we did. 🙂

I hope you enjoyed this recipe.

Also, I’m looking forward to trying my blogger friend Pina’s ragu recipe!

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

If you’ve tried this recipe, I’d love the know what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!