eG Cook-Off 57: Bolognese Sauce

[Mjx]

This time, I decided to combine Rossetto Kasper's presentation of the traditional recipe in The Splendid Table with some of the ideas from Cook's Illustrated's interpretation (which involves chicken liver and gelatine), along with my own logic at any given moment (the last broke down in several places).

Raw ingredients, in order of appearance in the pot: 210g pancetta (7.4 oz), 400g beef (14.1 oz), 500g pork and veal blend (17.6 oz), 150g chicken livers (5.3 oz), a clove, a large carrot, a celery stalk, a medium onion, 70g tomato paste (2.5 oz), 250mL white wine (about a cup), 1L chicken stock (a little under a quart; reduced last night from 2L).

I'm doing this in my boyfriend's parents' kitchen (we're staying with them while we're house hunting), so I knew this would alter my usual approach.

I'd originally planned on unpacking the 30cm, straight-sided, deep stainless skillet I normally use, then realized it is much too large for even the largest burner on the stove, so went with a heavy cast iron pot, instead; the only other choice that was even close to large enough was a skillet that was way too shallow to contain the ingredients.

I wanted to work with the fat in the meat, adding as little extra as possible, so I decided to start by sautéing the pancetta

Then I added the beef, and pork and veal mix.

Because the pot is very curved, and has a relatively small base, the fluid from the meat accumulated over a quite small area, throwing off clouds of steam (also made taking pictures a little challenging).

I didn't want to steam/boil the meat before it browned, so I pushed the meat to the sides of the pot, and cooked off the liquid, until only fat remained, then, in the clear space at the centre, I sautéed the livers, which I then mashed up with a fork.

I stirred the meat together. It was at this point that I realized that unless I was willing to give it a very long time with constant vigilance over a fairly high heat, it was never going to really brown, because relatively little of the volume was in contact with the pot at any given time, and very little of the pot was in contact with the heat.

At this point, my boyfriend's father began his daily trumpet practice. He decided that he would not practice in the kitchen as usual, and moved to another room, but my boyfriend's mother stayed in the kitchen and sang along, so I wouldn't miss out.

I pushed the meat to the sides of the pot again, saw there was very little fat, added a little olive oil, and then added the carrot, celery, and onion. As I did this, I realized it was an idiotic and lazy move: Naturally, as I began stirring the vegetables, the meat continuously crowded them, and tumbled in amongst them. I carried on regardless, since there seemed to be no other reasonable option at that point.

My boyfriend wandered into the kitchen, grinned, and asked whether there was anything he could do; I demanded port. I continued mucking about with the sauté until the onions looked translucent, then tumbled everything together. My boyfriend returned with the port, which I drank while staring at the anaemic-looking mass in the pot.

At this point, I decided to take heart from the fact that peposo (where raw beef is simply boiled for hours with tomatoes and water) comes out just fine, even in the absence of any browning: I'd just start adding the liquid, and hope for the best. I added about 70g tomato paste, 250mL of wine, and 375mL broth (Time=12.12).

I continued adding enough broth to just be visible at the surface of the meat, at roughly half-hour intervals. According to the discussion in Cook's Illustrated, dumping all the broth in at one go works just as well as adding it at intervals, but I was using a litre of of broth, rather than 2 cups, which I felt would make a difference.

A little over three hours later, all the broth had been added, and the liquid was reduced to the point that, if I was planning on adding gelatine I should probably do it now. I scooped through it and decided that a bit more cohesiveness mightn't hurt, so I added 17g of gelatine, about half the amount recommended in the Cook's Illustrated version, but given the presence of two litres of reduced broth, it seemed a safe decision. I also added a large pinch of nutmeg and a about 23 grinds of coarsely-ground black pepper, because the distinct livery/gaminess seemed to call for a something to balance it out.

Time=15.33: The ragu is meaty, unctuous, and too intense to eat straight, which I find usual for this sauce.

No picture of this over pasta, because I've been asked to make salmon for dinner tonight (not entirely pleasing to my boyfriend, who wanted to know why he'd been left out of this decision), but I'll add that as soon as it happens.

[David Ross]

Was there a reason for using red onion over say a sweet yellow onion or was the red just what you had on hand?

[Mjx]

It's what was on hand. My boyfriend was sweet enough to do the shopping for this (I was racing to meet a deadline), so I made the list as loose and flexible as possible, so I'd have some form of everything I needed.

Incidentally, the clove is apparently only noticeable if you're told about it, and sniff for it; the predominant note is liver, which I haven't decided whether or not I like.

[David Ross]

It's what was on hand. My boyfriend was sweet enough to do the shopping for this (I was racing to meet a deadline), so I made the list as loose and flexible as possible, so I'd have some form of everything I needed.

Incidentally, the clove is apparently only noticeable if you're told about it, and sniff for it; the predominant note is liver, which I haven't decided whether or not I like.

The liver in my Bolognese was very subtle. However, I put a lot of chicken liver in the meat sauce I use for Canneloni and Lasagna. It adds the unctuous creaminess when combined with the besciamella and tomato sauce I used in those dishes.

[Shelby]

Such lovely looking sauces, everyone!

Sorry my pictures are a tad blurry. I was multi-tasking lol.

I started mine at 4:00 p.m. yesterday.

It took a lot longer because I had to grind up the goose and the duck.

I used the largest holed grinder attachment and I only ran the meat through once. I wanted to leave the meat big enough so that it didn't cook down to nothing.

Beginning at the top left and going clock-wise:

Mallard, Speckled Belly Goose, Blue Wing Teal

I mixed about 1/2 a tube of plain pork sausage with the goose/duck grindage. Wild goose and duck are both very lean. I also threw in about 1/3 of a cup or scantly less of some sausage spices I had laying around. And, a good bit of black pepper.

Starting top left and going clock-wise:

Venison, bacon, duck/goose/pork mix, plain pork.

I also have some chicken livers that I might add later today. I was afraid to put them in early because I didn't know how "liverish" the duck/goose was going to be. After tasting this morning, I am amazed at how good this is. You don't taste any "liver" taste except for a faint tinge of deep "meatiness" in the back of your throat (if that makes sense). So, what do you think? Should I chop up some of the chicken liver, sautee in butter and add to my bolo?

Carrot/onion/celery--I like my veggies a bit chunky.

Beginning at the top and going down:

Veggies, Duck/goose mix, Venison

I couldn't resist frying up a patty of the duck/goose. OMG is it good. In fact, I made breakfast sandwiches with English muffins, runny eggs and those patties for my husband to eat this morning while pheasant hunting.

[Mjx]

It's what was on hand. My boyfriend was sweet enough to do the shopping for this (I was racing to meet a deadline), so I made the list as loose and flexible as possible, so I'd have some form of everything I needed.

Incidentally, the clove is apparently only noticeable if you're told about it, and sniff for it; the predominant note is liver, which I haven't decided whether or not I like.

The liver in my Bolognese was very subtle. However, I put a lot of chicken liver in the meat sauce I use for Canneloni and Lasagna. It adds the unctuous creaminess when combined with the besciamella and tomato sauce I used in those dishes.

Did you use the 1 lb ground meat to 1/2 lb chicken livers (2:1 ratio) of the recipe you mentioned ?

I used about 31.7 oz ground meat to about 5.3 oz chicken liver (roughly, 6:1 ratio), and I'm finding the liver's presence pretty assertive... and I like liver. I'm trying to figure out what's goingon, here.

[Shelby]

Ok, so this is after adding a cup or so of milk:

Milk cooked out:

Here I added a couple shakes of nutmeg.

After adding a cup of white wine:

After the wine cooked out, I added a couple of roughly chopped up tomatoes from my now frozen garden. These were barely starting to turn red when I picked them to save them from the frost. They are no where near as good as summer tomatoes, but better than store bought for sure. After adding them, I didn't feel like there were enough, so I opened a can of these and put roughly 3 or 4 in. (forgive Newman, the cat's legs. He's a show-off)

After that, I had a large moment of panic thinking I'd added too much tomato. But, I think it's ok.

I dumped it all in a slow cooker:

and turned it on low for 2 hours last night. I turned it off before I went to bed.

Here it is this morning before stirring:

It's too runny, right?

After stirring:

I have it on low, now and I guess I'll let it simmer there all day??? Everything I've read says that the longer you cook it, the better......

Again, should I add the chicken livers now?

Some thoughts:

It sure was hard for me not to add garlic. But, after tasting this morning, I don't miss it a bit. I also thought I'd miss basil etc. but, nope. This sauce is not gravy, but it's definitely going to be added to my cooking rotation.

This is the richest sauce I've ever tasted. You couldn't take more than a couple of bites without pasta (IMO).

Next time I make it, I'll make a much bigger batch.

My husband is thrilled that we've come up with a new way to eat geese and ducks.

I'm ready for any ideas and thoughts.

[Mjx]

. . . .Mallard, Speckled Belly Goose, Blue Wing Teal. . . . pork sausage . . . .

That is a delicious-sounding combination, and I thought it was interesting that you too found the liver very mild, since my sauce smells so livery to me (making things more confusing, my boyfriend isn't getting this note at all, although he has a far better sense of smell than I do, most of the time).

I simmered my sauce until the last of the litre (about a quart) of broth I added was reduced, which came to about 3 hours and a quarter. I guess you could simmer it covered after that, but my experience is that it is one of those things that improves each time you reheat it, sort of like pinto beans.

[Shelby]

. . . .Mallard, Speckled Belly Goose, Blue Wing Teal. . . . pork sausage . . . .

That is a delicious-sounding combination, and I thought it was interesting that you too found the liver very mild, since my sauce smells so livery to me (making things more confusing, my boyfriend isn't getting this note at all, although he has a far better sense of smell than I do, most of the time).

Well, again, I didn't add any chicken liver yet. I find goose and duck (at times) to be very livery tasting, so I was scared to add the real liver.

And, you are a brave woman...living with trumpet-playing in-laws lol.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

It sure was hard for me not to add garlic. But, after tasting this morning, I don't miss it a bit. I also thought I'd miss basil etc. but, nope. This sauce is not gravy, but it's definitely going to be added to my cooking rotation.

This is the richest sauce I've ever tasted. You couldn't take more than a couple of bites without pasta (IMO).

Next time I make it, I'll make a much bigger batch.

My husband is thrilled that we've come up with a new way to eat geese and ducks.

Way to go! It is definitely not "gravy".

And you will be thrilled with a duck version. It is swoon-producimg. My favorites are duck, pork, rabbit.

I make probably a gallon a month of various kinds to pass on to grown "kids" who keep it on hand in the freezer. I use wide-mouth jars so they can just thaw the edges and turn out into a saucepan for fast-food dinner.

[David Ross]

It's what was on hand. My boyfriend was sweet enough to do the shopping for this (I was racing to meet a deadline), so I made the list as loose and flexible as possible, so I'd have some form of everything I needed.

Incidentally, the clove is apparently only noticeable if you're told about it, and sniff for it; the predominant note is liver, which I haven't decided whether or not I like.

The liver in my Bolognese was very subtle. However, I put a lot of chicken liver in the meat sauce I use for Canneloni and Lasagna. It adds the unctuous creaminess when combined with the besciamella and tomato sauce I used in those dishes.

Did you use the 1 lb ground meat to 1/2 lb chicken livers (2:1 ratio) of the recipe you mentioned ?

I used about 31.7 oz ground meat to about 5.3 oz chicken liver (roughly, 6:1 ratio), and I'm finding the liver's presence pretty assertive... and I like liver. I'm trying to figure out what's goingon, here.

No, I fudged on the liver to meat ratio in the classic recipe I used. I only used about 3 chicken livers, sauteed in butter but left rare, then minced and put into the meat mixture.

[Shelby]

It sure was hard for me not to add garlic. But, after tasting this morning, I don't miss it a bit. I also thought I'd miss basil etc. but, nope. This sauce is not gravy, but it's definitely going to be added to my cooking rotation.

This is the richest sauce I've ever tasted. You couldn't take more than a couple of bites without pasta (IMO).

Next time I make it, I'll make a much bigger batch.

My husband is thrilled that we've come up with a new way to eat geese and ducks.

Way to go! It is definitely not "gravy".

And you will be thrilled with a duck version. It is swoon-producimg. My favorites are duck, pork, rabbit.

I make probably a gallon a month of various kinds to pass on to grown "kids" who keep it on hand in the freezer. I use wide-mouth jars so they can just thaw the edges and turn out into a saucepan for fast-food dinner.

Oh! Interesting! I've never used mason jars in the freezer like that. Great idea!

[Mjx]

. . . .I also have some chicken livers that I might add later today. I was afraid to put them in early because I didn't know how "liverish" the duck/goose was going to be. After tasting this morning, I am amazed at how good this is. You don't taste any "liver" taste except for a faint tinge of deep "meatiness" in the back of your throat (if that makes sense). . . .

Heh, I misunderstood that as your having added them to the sauce

. . . .Did you use the 1 lb ground meat to 1/2 lb chicken livers (2:1 ratio) of the recipe you mentioned ?

I used about 31.7 oz ground meat to about 5.3 oz chicken liver (roughly, 6:1 ratio), and I'm finding the liver's presence pretty assertive... and I like liver. I'm trying to figure out what's goingon, here.

No, I fudged on the liver to meat ratio in the classic recipe I used. I only used about 3 chicken livers, sauteed in butter but left rare, then minced and put into the meat mixture.

I thought that looked less less than half a pound of livers!

[David Ross]

Chef Pellegrini told me that typically Bolognese is paired with a flat pasta like Pappardelle or Tagliatelle and preferably fresh. We don't have much in terms of fresh-made pasta where I live, but we do have a very good, small Italian market where I bought dried Pappardelle, Tagliatelle and Cencioni. Cencioni is literally "little rag" pasta-a befitting name for its shape which looks like shards of torn rags. It's smooth on one side and textured rough on the other side so any sauce will cling better to it. I wasn't familiar with Cencioni when I spotted the package in the store, but it was flat, little scoop spoons if you will and I thought it would hold up well to the Bolognese.

Left to right-Pappardelle, Tagliatelle and bottom, Cencioni-

I love Pappardelle, but the brand I bought is somewhat thin and falls apart quickly. For a tough sauce like Bolognese with a lot of structure, I went with the Tagiatelle which was thicker yet the width of the noodle was thinner than the Pappardelle. The Cencioni took a lot longer to cook, about 30 min. in boiling, salted water. In the end, the Cencioni would prove to be my favorite.

[Katie Meadow]

Ragù more or less means "a dish or sauce made out of a bunch of ingredients long-cooked together with meat." Think about its relationship to the French word ragoût. This may include tomatoes, but it doesn't have to include tomatoes. The meat is almost always present in the sauce, but it doesn't have to be present in the sauce and the meat may be served in as a separate course (e.g., ragù Napoletano). As with many things Italian, there is not great consistency in nomenclature and regional customs abound (Italian only became the majority language spoken in the home as recently as the 1980s!). However, generally speaking, if the meat is cooked in the sauce but not included in the sauce, the sauce is usually called "sugo di [something]" -- unless, of course, it is a preparation that's traditionally called "ragù." So, for example, I have some friends who run a trattoria and when they make ossobuco they sometimes have a lot of leftover braising sauce. This leads to a special of "gnocchi al sugo di ossobuco" (or tagliattelle or whatever pasta they feel like serving with the ossobuco braising sauce). I suppose they could technically call it "ragù di ossobuco," but unless it contained substantial amounts of ossobuco meat in the sauce my experience is that they wouldn't be likely to call it that.

This is fascinating. I never had a clue what sugo meant and leftover sauce from braised meat is one of my favorite things! I looked up several definitions of sugo and it can be as basic as "sauce" which I think is a little misleading, or as specific as: "a sauce made by adding stock, flour or other ingredients to the juice and fat that is rendered from cooked meat." That is also a little misleading, since in my mind that is gravy--as in what happens when the turkey comes out of the oven. Not to be confused with what Margaret Pilgim noted is "sunday gravy" which often refers to the whole pot of braised meats that is then divided and served in two parts: the meat, and a portion of pasta al sugo. I prefer a broader more middle-ground approach as Sam describes above, meaning simply the sauce without the meat that cooked in it. That way it applies to what I love about the leftovers of Coq au Vin: the chicken is long gone, but the sauce on rice is the last meal.

Apparently sugo is from the Latin "to suck" (and that would be suck in the best possible way.) As in serve the succulent sauce that is left over after the meat has been eaten or removed over some yummy carbs (whether pasta, polenta or rice) and suck. It. Up.

To get back on topic, I did make a Bolognese once, from a Batali recipe. I don't think it was a bad recipe, but I came to the conclusion that I simply don't like the idea of milk in a meat-based sauce.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

[Shelby]

Mouth droolingly gorgeous.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Just another example of "keep it simple, stupid" plates. We overthink, overwork and over season much of what we do. To say nothing of over-sauce at serving, the anathema of homeland Italian cooking.

[David Ross]

Well, today I finished my Bolognese challenge with three variations of the sauce, 1) No cream or milk, 2) With milk, 3) With Cream. Each dish was served with the Cencioni pasta and garnished with a small amount of finely grated Parmesano-Reggiano. I must say I was surprised with the results:

No cream or milk-

With milk-

With cream-

The first version, sans dairy, was not technically "traditional." It had good texture and substance and decent flavor. The second version, with milk, had an added creaminess but not an overpowering creamed flavor. It tempered the first sauce and had added flavor. The third version was my least favorite. The cream almost tasted bitter in competition with the meats and the small amount of chicken liver. In fact, I pushed the bowl aside after just a few bites. I definately won't be eating a Bolognese made with cream in the future.

Which version was my personal winner? #2 with the addition of milk. I was suprised yet gave myself a bit of a chuckle. I learned that in my case of searching for Bolognese, the traditional style with dairy, aka milk, was the best.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Bravo, David. I am, as I'm sure others are, interested in your expected results.

[David Ross]

I should add that the recipe I followed instructed one to add the cream at the last "few" minutes of cooking--don't stir it in too early and let it cook for hours.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Okay, now I really need clarification. I can't get my arms around this sequence: "add the cream at the last "few" minutes of cooking--don't stir it in too early and let it cook for hours".

So, when should we add the cream (or milk?) When should we start stirring? How many hours?

Perhaps I read too quickly but what recipe did you follow?

[nickrey]

If you are using milk, add it early and cook it off. If you are using cream, add it at the last minute to enrichen the sauce.

[David Ross]

Okay, now I really need clarification. I can't get my arms around this sequence: "add the cream at the last "few" minutes of cooking--don't stir it in too early and let it cook for hours".

So, when should we add the cream (or milk?) When should we start stirring? How many hours?

Perhaps I read too quickly but what recipe did you follow?

It was the aforementioned recipe from the Time-Life Series the Foods of the World: The Food of Italy. Per the recipe I didn't add the milk or cream early on and let the sauce cook for hours. The sauce had already cooked for about 4 hours. In both the milk batch and the cream batch I added it the last few minutes of the cooking process and stirred it a few times to incorporate it into the sauce and to insure the sauce was heated well.

[Shelby]

Okay, now I really need clarification. I can't get my arms around this sequence: "add the cream at the last "few" minutes of cooking--don't stir it in too early and let it cook for hours".

So, when should we add the cream (or milk?) When should we start stirring? How many hours?

Perhaps I read too quickly but what recipe did you follow?

I followed Marcella Hazan's cookbook The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

She says to cook the meat in milk before adding wine and tomatoes due to the taste that the acid would cause.