Mother SAUCE #5:
RAGÙ BOLOGNESEThe Bolognese sauce I knew growing up was not much
more than a basic marinara tossed with a pound of ground
beef. Tasty stuff, but decidedly not the real deal. (See here
for a better version of that quick weeknight meat sauce.)
Real ragù Bolognese is the king of meat sauces. Deep, rich,
rib-sticking, soul-satisfying, heart-warming, and yum-o are
all words that have been used to describe it (I’d use five out
of six of those descriptors). There are many myths and
traditions when it comes to Bolognese. So many that to try
and decipher them all and come up with a truly “authentic”
version would invariably end in insulting at least half the
population of Northern Italian grandmothers. Milk or no?
What type of meat should I use? And what about wine—red
or white?
I can’t vouch for authenticity, but here’s my take on all
those questions.
Meaty Matters
While the exact mix and cuts of meat can vary depending
on who’s making it, I like to use a mixture of three: ground
lamb, for its intense flavor (ground beef does just fine);
ground pork, for its mild fat; and ground veal, for the rich
gelatin and tenderness it provides. (See more on this in the
discussion of meat loaf, here.) Some folks like to brown
their meat intensely before simmering, but I find that