Ragù Bolognese (Bolognese Sauce) – an Analysis, with Recipes, Tips & Resources

1.5K

Ragù Bolognese or Bolognese Sauce is justifiably famous all over the world. Widespread though it is, it is greatly misunderstood and ill-prepared outside of Bologna. Next week marks our 6th anniversary here, making it the perfect time for me to discuss this iconic, delicious, rich, and scrumptious meat sauce! Read on to learn about Ragù Bolognese as it’s prepared and served in Bologna. I will share insights and experiences, and provide recipe resources so that you can make this heavenly dish at home, Bolognese style!

I’ve wanted to write this post for a long time. A year in fact. Unfortunately, things kept delaying me and funnily enough, it’s kind of worked out. What better way to celebrate our anniversary than by discussing a dish that is so important in my adopted city! Also, due to Covid-19, people are home and cooking more than ever. Now, it’s fitting to talk about a sauce that takes time, love, and care to prepare well. Let’s geek out and obsess, shall we?

A birthday request

The idea to write this post came about around my daughter’s birthday last year. She requested Tagliatelle al Ragù for her birthday dinner. For her party, she requested Lasagne Verdi alla Bolognese. These two dishes just happen to be the most iconic ways to use Ragù Bolognese, which I will explain later on.

However, since we live in the land of fresh pasta served with Ragù Bolognese, I hadn’t made it much since we’d moved here. Why bother, when I could walk out the door and get it easily at any trattoria? (It’s rather time-consuming.) I could save my fresh pasta adventures for other dishes. She requested it though, so I got to work studying. Even though I used to make it in America for my family and clients, I wanted to switch things up and try a new recipe. Now that I could read Italian, I wanted to venture into recipes written in Italian for an Italian audience.

Hi, I’m Tina and I’m addicted to cookbooks…

After a ton of research, I actually settled on two new recipes to play with. As I read, I began to form ideas about what the parameters were for a traditional Bolognese sauce. What do I mean by parameters? Well, I mean what ingredients and techniques are used consistently in a wide range of recipes by a variety of cooks. After you study, sample, and talk to cooks enough about a dish, you begin to see patterns. (I think I’ve re-read over 50 recipes for this sauce this week… Phew!)

Even though there is an “official” recipe that I will link to later, there are as many authentic and good recipes out there as there are Bolognese cooks. Hence, I think understanding Ragù Bolognese is more important than fixing on just one recipe when they can all be delightful in their own way. I’ve prepared several different recipes over the years and have enjoyed them all.

After I give a breakdown of the dish, I will tell you what recipes I’ve used and will provide links to them when possible. I will also recommend cookbooks that you might enjoy and find useful on the subject. I must enable my fellow cookbook enthusiasts!

Bolognese Sauce outside of Italy

Unfortunately, it’s outside of Italy that the parameters get crossed so much that the sauce becomes unrecognizable. I want to help people understand the difference between what is called Bolognese sauce and what it actually is. (I’m talking to you Spaghetti Bolognaise!) Then, if you are looking for a traditional Bolognese sauce recipe, you should be able to tell if it’s close to tradition or not just by reading it. This will enable you to prepare something extraordinary and special and you won’t waste your time and money on a carelessly written recipe.

I want to say that I have nothing against being creative, whimsical, and non-traditional in the kitchen. However, I think that food professionals should be clear and be held to a higher standard. Sadly, many prominent magazines, websites, restauranteurs, chefs, blogs, menus, and cookbooks are neither clear nor do they do their research.

In my opinion, one should state whether a recipe or preparation is a riff or is traditional in nature. I think that the name of a traditional dish has importance. If you are going to use a name, such as “New England Clam Chowder” then prepare it traditionally. If not, change the name or note that it is a creative interpretation. (Note to home cooks – do whatever you want in the sanctity of your own kitchen!)

What’s is Ragù Bolognese?

Simply put, Ragù Bolognese is a thick, rich, meat-based sauce made in the Bolognese style. It’s not a tomato sauce with meat in it even though nowadays there is usually tomato in the sauce in some shape or form. The sauce should be cooked slowly for a minimum of 2 1/2 hours, preferably 3-5. The resulting ragù will be rich, luscious, subtle, and satisfying. Some ragus are more delicate, others more robust. It should be balanced and not heavy-handed. Resist the urge to apply French cooking techniques by using things like demi-glace. Keep an Italian sensibility by using good ingredients, applied simply.

Most commonly is it served on fresh egg tagliatelle, rigorously rolled out by hand. On menus, you will see it called Tagliatelle al Ragù. (In Bologna there is no need to add the word Bolognese as that’s the standard.) Also, it is used in the famed Lasagne Verdi alla Bolognese, which is a silky and sensual lasagna with fresh spinach pasta, ragù, bechamel, and aged Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. You can also serve it on short kinds of pasta that will catch the sauce well, like farfalle (called stricchetti in Bologna), penne rigate, rigatoni, and gnocchi. It’s also wonderful on soft polenta. Sorry, my British readers, spag bol is not a thing…

What’s in a name?

What’s interesting is that outside of Italy, the word Bolognese gets thrown around for any number of sauces such as “Mushroom Bolognese“, “Turkey Bolognese,” or “Vegan Bolognese“. It’s so weird because ragù is a word that allows much more flexibility! Mushroom or Vegan Ragù makes much more sense to me! Many historians think that ragù is a bastardized form of the French word ragout, which is essentially a stew, served as a main course. There are ragus all over Italy such as the extraordinary Neapolitan Ragù (the beloved Sunday Gravy to many an Italian-American).

Somehow, outside of Italy, the word Bolognese came to mean a chunky or hearty sauce whereas ragù is exactly that and has many variations. It’s funny how immigrant cuisines take on a life of their own and become new things. The mislabeling can cause people to waste their money however, when they buy ingredients for a specific recipe or order something at a restaurant based on the name and then receive something else entirely… It’s my #1 culinary pet peeve…

Ragù Bolognese – The Ingredients:

The base:

There are three ingredients that are in absolutely every Ragù Bolognese recipe that I’ve ever seen. They are non-negotiable.

• Onions (yellow)
• Carrots
• Celery

These three vegetables, finely minced, are the base of every Bolognese recipe under the sun. They should be chopped, preferably by hand, and you don’t need too much. Use a light touch. Many foreign recipes often use too many of these aromatics. This base of the sauce is called the soffritto in Italian. Garlic is not common in a Ragù Bolognese. I’ve never tasted it nor ever seen it written in an Italian recipe. I’m sure that there is some family out there that uses it but I would omit it. It’s much more common to see garlic in a Tuscan style meat sauce. Make sure you cook your soffritto slowly, for at least 10-15 minutes, preferably longer. You will not regret taking your time.

OK, that’s it! After the soffritto, the ingredients diverge already!

The fat:

Here are the options for the fat:

• Lard
• Butter
• Extra virgin olive oil
• A combination of butter and extra virgin olive oil

I think that lard (strutto) used to be utilized more regularly. Most of my friends use extra virgin olive oil, a more modern option. I generally use butter or extra virgin olive oil or a combo of the two. It’s a choice.

Optional additions to the soffritto:

• Pancetta, minced
• Prosciutto, minced

I’ve done recipes without, and with both of these ingredients. They are obviously delicious… It’s usually one or the other.

The meat:

Here are the kinds of meat normally used in Ragù Bolognese.

• Beef
• Pork
• Veal (Used less and an outrageous option for some but I have friends that use it.)

The meat is generally ground. There are some very simple and pristine recipes out there with only beef and no pork of any kind. Others use just beef and maybe a little pancetta or prosciutto. Others use all three types of meat plus the pancetta or prosciutto. The ratios of the meat vary as well. I’ve never seen sausage or lamb in a Bolognese sauce before. Lamb is not used extensively in Bologna. The use of sausage in ragù is more common in other areas of Emilia-Romagna. I’ve had ragù with sausage added in Ferrara for example. In Tuscany, I’ve had many a sauce with sausage in it.

The liquids:

Wine:

• Wine is used in most recipes. It’s rare to not see it. I have tried recipes with red wine and white. White wine will lead to a more delicate sauce and red will give you a more robust and rustic sauce. It is usually added to the sauce after the meat has been added and has lost its raw color. Make sure that you cook off all of the alcohol before moving on to the next step. You need to smell if the alcohol has evaporated and it should smell almost sweet once it has done so. Take your time with this step!

Milk:

• Milk is used in many recipes but not all. I usually use it. You may add it towards the beginning of the cooking process after the wine has evaporated or at the end after the sauce already been cooking for hours. I have tried it both ways and have frankly liked both. When you add the milk at an early stage, it makes the meat extremely tender and luscious. When you add it at the end of cooking it is a less delicate sauce but you still get the richness of the milk that cuts through the acidity of the tomato.

Tomato:

• Tomato can be in the form of puree (passata), canned, peeled tomatoes (called pomodori pelati), or tomato paste. It can be a combo. Some recipes use 1 spoonful of tomato paste and broth as the liquid, some use more puree. Just remember that the tomato is not the star.

Broth:

• Broth or water is often needed if your sauce is drying out and some versions make it the main sauce liquid. Usually, it is beef or a mixed meat broth with beef and chicken, and onion, carrot, and celery. No other aromatics are needed. Often the kind of broth isn’t even specified so if you have homemade chicken broth, go with it!

Heavy Cream:

• Heavy cream… I’ve never used it nor seen it much but it is out there. It is in the “official” recipe so I mention it. Some recipes seem to use it to loosen up the sauce at the end. I don’t think it’s needed.

Less used ingredients:

Ok. You have the basics now but there are some other ingredients that are sometimes added:

• Freshly grated nutmeg (really nice)
• Mortadella (I’ve seen rare recipes that add it)
• Chicken liver (absolutely delicious if used very sparingly)
• Chicken giblets (I need to try this)

Hardly ever to never used:

Here are some ingredients I’ve seen in recipes written outside of Italy but aren’t common in Bologna itself:

• Garlic (see above)
• Fresh or dried herbs (My friend’s father adds a fresh bay leaf and one recipe I read mentions sage. That’s not a high average so keep the herbs for other sauces.)
• Lamb
• Fish sauce (Yes, I’ve seen a recipe with Vietnamese fish sauce. Don’t ask.)
• Gelatin
• Porcini mushrooms (used more in Tuscan ragus)

Now, I’m not saying that my word is law and that there aren’t exceptions. However, over the years I’ve talked a lot about Ragù Bolognese with Bolognese friends and cooks, tasted many a bowl, read about it an awful lot. I have traveled extensively throughout the region and province. If you want to make a meat sauce with herbs and sausage and mushrooms and whatnot, it will surely be excellent and delicious. It just won’t be a Ragù Bolognese, rather it will be a ragù of your own creation. (And that’s just fine!)

Making things your own while staying true to tradition

So, as you can see, you can still be creative within the traditional parameters of the dish. There is always flexibility once you understand the genre. You can choose:

• What kind of fat you want to use
• What kind of meat
• How much of each kind of meat
• What cut of meat you want to use
• How the meat is ground (coarse or fine, ground once or twice)
• How long to cook your sauce
• What kind of wine
• Broth or water
• Tomato paste or pureed tomatoes
• Milk or no milk
• Cream or no cream
• Nutmeg or no nutmeg

You get the picture! All of this is to say that Italians do what they want in their families, understanding the tradition, what ingredients are normally used, and are flexible within the tradition.

A couple of points

As far as cooking vessels go, Ragù Bolognese will come out extraordinarily well slowly cooked in terra cotta. If you have a terra cotta pot, this is the time to use it! Just be sure to use a diffuser or it might crack. The results will be sweeter and more luscious. Something about terra cotta coaxes out wonderful flavors, as I mention in my post about Bagna Cauda. If you don’t have a terra cotta pot, use an enameled Dutch-Oven. Barring that, use what you have with the exception of an aluminum pot.

Cooking times for a ragù can be anywhere from 2 1/2 hours to 7! The initial process of cooking the soffritto, evaporating the wine, and the milk, if using, can take almost an hour in and of itself. If using terra cotta, it will take even longer as it cooks food very gently and slowly. After the final liquid is added whether it be broth, tomato, or both, you will need to simmer it for at least 2 hours or more. The sauce will need to be looser for lasagne and thicker and more reduced for tagliatelle.

The recipes and cookbooks

Here are some of the recipes that I have prepared over the years. I will provide links if the recipes are available online:

• It all started for me in 2006 with Marcella Hazan’s recipe in the Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. This is how many of you have probably started your journey with this sauce. Her recipe and notes are perfection. Many of you will have this cookbook anyway so it’s a good place to begin.
• Biba Caggiano was a chef, cookbook author, and Bolognese native who had a famous restaurant in California. In her book Biba’s Taste of Italy, she explores recipes from the Emilia-Romagna region. It’s a great book. In her other cookbooks, she provides a variety of Ragù Bolognese recipes. This link shares one of them.
• The next recipe is by Alessandra Spisni in her book La Maestra di Cucina. She is the owner of La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese where I learned how to roll out fresh egg pasta with a rolling pin. In her recipe, she uses only beef and no pork product other than using lard as the fat in the recipe. There is no milk so it is more rustic and pristine in flavor. It’s a very good recipe. (Note: in the link I’ve provided in English, it says to cook the sauce for 6-7 hours. In her book, it says 2-3 hours. You choose how long you want it to go!)

My new faves

Now, I am finally getting to the two recipes that I chose for my daughter’s birthday! They are my two favorites currently. I chose them because they differed in key ways. One recipe used red wine, the other white. One used milk towards the beginning of the cooking process, the other towards the end. I did a side-by-side comparison and we simply adored them both. They actually taste rather different but are both somehow proper Ragù Bolognese recipes. Cooking is so fun!

Drumroll…

• The first one I will mention is by the Simili Sisters who are culinary icons in the city. The recipe is from their book called Sfida al Mattarello. Their sauce is one of the most extraordinary things I have ever tasted. Period. It has the most elaborate and particular instructions but yields results like no other. They use white wine in the recipe and add milk towards the beginning of cooking. The meat comes out silky and so very tender. They also include one chicken liver which is rather magical and fresh nutmeg. Please look at their recipe! You will not regret it. Update: This recipe is in Italian. The original link that I had to the recipe in English is no longer available. You can use Google Translate to help you.
• The other recipe is by the Italian journalist Paolo Petroni. His cookbooks are superb and his recipes are generally easy and perfect. The ragù recipe that I used is from his book called Il Grande Libro dei Primi Piatti. His cooking method is simpler. He uses red wine and adds milk towards the end of the cooking time. The result is highly satisfying and rustic. You will not be able to keep your fork out of your bowl. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find the recipe online in either Italian or English. Sorry about that. His book is available online however for Italian readers.

Last tips…

As promised, here is the link to the “official” recipe registered at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce in 1982. I have not tried it yet but probably will one day. Update: The link is to an Italian site. The English version that I had previously linked to when I originally wrote the article is no longer valid. Google can translate it for you! Please feel free to write to me if you have any questions.

Another cookbook that I recommend for the cuisine of Emilia-Romagna is Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s classic book The Splendid Table. She delves into the history of ragù and shares many different ragù recipes. It’s on my “to-do” list to try one of those recipes as well.

If you want to learn how to make fresh pasta to go with your sauce, please check out my new series of pasta videos on IGTV. I instruct you on how to make pasta dough, roll it out with a rolling pin, and more.

Updates

Also, as an update as of November 2020, I recently did a podcast episode regarding Ragù Bolognese with Paolo Rigiroli from the podcast Thoughts on the Table. You can find the link here. Enjoy!

More news folks! Today (July 2022) a new video has been posted on YouTube in collaboration with Vincenzo’s Plate. In this video, we explore different ragus in Bologna. The link to the video is here. Grazie Vincenzo and I hope that you all enjoy the video.

Update for April 2023! I have now posted my own recipe for an Authentic Ragù Bolognese! This is a really delicious recipe that I know you’ll enjoy. Check it out!