Ragù alla Bolognese made with coarsely minced beef, pancetta, vegetables, wine, and a light touch of tomato, slowly cooked until thick and well combined.
Finely chop the onion, carrot, and celery with a knife, keeping the pieces small and fairly even. Finely chop the fresh pancetta as well, so that its fat can gradually render during the first stage of cooking.
Place the pancetta in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with the extra virgin olive oil and cook over low heat until the fat begins to render. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook gently, stirring regularly and taking care not to let the vegetables brown too much.
Increase the heat, add the coarsely minced beef, and break it up thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the meat is well browned and most of the liquid it releases has evaporated.
Do not rush this stage: before adding the wine, the beef should be properly browned rather than simply cooked in its own liquid.
Pour in the red or white wine and let it reduce completely over medium heat, stirring as it cooks. Wait until the liquid has reduced and the base has concentrated again before adding the tomato.
Add the tomato passata and double-concentrated tomato paste, stirring thoroughly to distribute them throughout the meat. Pour in an initial amount of hot stock, enough to keep the ragù moist as the slow cooking begins.
Reduce the heat, cover, and cook the ragù very gently for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add a little more hot stock as needed to prevent the sauce from becoming too dry.
The cooking time can be extended to approximately 3 hours, depending on the meat used and the consistency reached.
If using the whole milk, add it halfway through the cooking time and continue cooking gently, allowing it to be absorbed and incorporated into the ragù.
At the end of cooking, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Check the consistency before removing the pan from the heat: the Ragù alla Bolognese should be thick and cohesive, without excess liquid.
For long, even cooking, use a heavy-bottomed saucepan; an earthenware pot also belongs to the traditional preparation. Keep the heat gentle and add hot stock little by little only when needed. If the ragù is still too liquid towards the end, continue cooking uncovered until it reaches a thick, cohesive consistency.
The recipe registered in 2023 also recognises several variations. Beef alone may be replaced with a mixture of approximately 60% beef and 40% pork; the meat may be chopped with a knife, while flat or rolled pancetta may replace fresh pancetta. A light touch of nutmeg is also permitted. The documentation also mentions traditional additions including chicken offal, pork sausage, blanched peas added towards the end of cooking, and dried porcini mushrooms. These ingredients are not part of the main formula used in this recipe.
Traditionally, cartella di manzo, a beef cut from the diaphragm area, was used for ragù, but it can be difficult to find today. The current reference recommends collagen-rich cuts from the forequarter, including shin, shoulder, chuck, belly, and brisket point.
Whole milk is optional. If you choose to use it, add it halfway through cooking and allow it to be absorbed as the ragù continues to cook.
Once cooled, the ragù can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days. It can also be frozen, preferably in individual portions. Thaw it in the refrigerator before reheating thoroughly.
For this recipe, we have chosen to follow the formula registered with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce in 2023, retaining its main ingredients and proportions. Whole milk is optional, as specified in the registered recipe, while the recognised variations have not been incorporated into the main preparation.
The 2023 version was not the first registered recipe for Ragù alla Bolognese. An earlier formula dates back to 1982, and the transition from one to the other also reflects how the process of documenting a preparation deeply rooted in Bolognese cooking has evolved over time. Its history deserves a closer look of its own.
👉 Discover the history of Ragù alla Bolognese and how the 2023 registered recipe came to be