1 reply to this topic

[fiftydollars]

Hello Mr. Batali,

I am a huge fan. Over the years I have made dozens of your recipes and I have loved them all. One of my absolute favorites is your ragu, and lasagne, bolognese.

I have a question about the browning of the meat after the sweating. After I sweat the vegetables I turn up the heat and proceed to brown the pancetta, veal, pork, and beef. However, I can never get the meat to actually brown at all. Even when I work in batches it just doesn't seem to brown. It usually just sort of stews in the moisture of the vegetables. Or else, the meat browns, but so do the vegetables. It always turns out delicious nonetheless, but I dream of a day when it will actually maillardize the way I think it's supposed to. What am I doing wrong?

Despite my apparent inability to replicate your results this is always delicious and it is one of my favorite foods.

Jorge Saavedra

P.S. I love the zabaglione for your zampone fritto! I've only made the full dish once, but this delicious savory zabaglione has found its way onto many, many meals. Thank you!

[Mario Batali]

hey js just let it keep cooking... you need a very thick bottomed pan for this step to work, eventually the fat will render and start to almost fry the meat.... after the juices have evaporated,,, this could take an hour over low heat perservere!!!!!! mb