11/10/10

Nancy's Authentic Bolognese Sauce (Ragu)


Recipe courtesy of Nancy Josland Dalsin


It is worth the time to make a large batch and freeze in portions.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 lb Italian Sausage
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped carrots
2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 - 28-ounce can peeled, whole tomatoes; roughly chopped, strained juice

How to make it

Cooked slowly, to develope it's rich, unique flavor. It takes about four hours to prepare and cook Bolognese.

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil and add the ground meats. Sauté the meat until all the water has cooked away and the meat is sizzling. Allow the meat to brown as you stir it.

Add the finely chopped onions, carrots and celery.

Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Thoroughly mixing while continuing to cook for about 3 minutes.

Pour in the wine and cook stirring until the wine is reduced and disappears.

Turn down the heat and add the milk and nutmeg and cook until the milk is reduced and disappears. The milk tenderizes the meat.

Add the tomatoes and mix thoroughly.

Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce to the least heat necessary to maintain a very slow simmer. A very slow simmer means that the air and steam bubbles that break the surface of the ragù occur only a few time each minute. DO NOT BOIL! There should be no spattering of the sauce. This step in cooking the ragù should be a slow reduction of moisture and concentration of flavors.

Cook uncovered for 3 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

When done the ragù may be used immediately or refrigerated or frozen until needed.

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