1/12/15

Bolognese Sauce

An absolutely perfect recipe for the classic Italian meat sauce made with beef and pork and layers of flavor perfect over pasta or in lasagna.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  1. JUMP TO THE RECIPE
  2. WHAT IS BOLOGNESE SAUCE?
  3. IS IT THE SAME AS SPAGHETTI SAUCE?

I need y’all to listen to me for a minute. Like, I need you to hear me and believe it in your bones when I tell you this: This sauce is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever cooked in my whole life.

Ever. You can put that on page one. And take it to church.

I knew what Bolognese sauce was.  Well, I thought I knew what it was. I thought it was just like regular ol’ spaghetti sauce but with more meat. I was so wrong.

It is so much more than that. 

Bolognese Sauce! An absolutely perfect recipe for the classic Italian meat sauce made with beef and pork and layers of flavor perfect over pasta or in lasagna.

WHAT IS BOLOGNESE SAUCE? 

Bolognese is an Italian pasta sauce made with ground pork and beef, an aromatic combo of celery, carrots, onion and garlic, cooked down with milk (which tenderizes the meat and adds a silky complexity). The mixture is then cooked, uncovered, with wine and tomatoes. Bolognese sauce is typically served with flat strands of pasta or used to prepare Lasagna Bolognese (that's the one with the bechamel cheese sauce layer).

Bolognese Sauce! An absolutely perfect recipe for the classic Italian meat sauce made with beef and pork and layers of flavor perfect over pasta or in lasagna.

IS BOLOGNESE THE SAME AS SPAGHETTI SAUCE?

Bolognese is more about the meat and layering of flavors (and less about the tomatoes) than traditional spaghetti sauce. The tomatoes are somewhat insignificant in bolognese sauce so you can expect a much less acidic taste than traditional spaghetti or marinara sauce. Bolognese is cooked in two phases, uncovered, for hours and hours which both intensifies the flavors and tenderizes the ground meat.

Bolognese Sauce! An absolutely perfect recipe for the classic Italian meat sauce made with beef and pork and layers of flavor perfect over pasta or in lasagna.

I did a ton of research before I hashed out my recipe. I had no idea Bolognese had milk in it. Or white wine. I found recipes that used both red and white wines but the more reading I did, the more sure I became that white wine is not only more authentic but actually tastes better because the brightness of it works beautifully with the rich meat.

I did some comparison research online but most of the information I based my recipe on came from one of my favorite cookbooks of all time, The Italian Cooking Encyclopedia. I’ve had this book for about 15 years and I go to it time and time again. It’s chocked full of facts about authentic Italian cuisine and traditional recipes.

I can’t tell you how many times I've curled up on the couch with this book and a cup of coffee or a glass of wine!

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Recipe for Bolognese Sauce

Bolognese Sauce

Bolognese Sauce
Yield: 10 Servings
Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 3 H & 45 MTotal time: 3 H & 50 M
A rich Italian meat sauce recipe made with beef and pork with layers of flavor perfect over pasta or in lasagna.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 2 cups grated carrot (see notes)
  • 1 1/2 cups finely diced celery
  • 1 1/2 cups finely diced onion
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (or to taste)
  • 1 1/4 cups dry white wine
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

  1. Season ground beef and ground pork with salt and pepper to taste then brown in a Dutch oven or wide stock pot until cooked through. Remove meat from pot using a slotted spoon (leaving the drippings in the pan) then set meat aside. 1 lb ground pork, 1 lb ground beef, S&P to taste
  2. Add butter, carrots, celery and onion to the pot then sauté over medium heat until onions are semi-translucent (about 5 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste and minced garlic then continue cooking for 2 minutes. 1/2 cup butter, 2 cups carrots, 1.5 cups each celery and onion, S&P to taste
  3. Add cooked ground meat to pot with veggies and mix well. Stir in milk and nutmeg. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat for one hour or until the liquid has evaporated. Stir occasionally and adjust heat such that you maintain a very gentle simmer during this time. 2 cups milk, 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  4. Add white wine, tomatoes (with juice), Italian Seasoning, bay leaf, salt and garlic powder then stir well. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. 1.25 cups wine, 1 can tomatoes, 2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp each salt and garlic powder.
  5. Cover the sauce and remove from heat before cooking your pasta to let the sauce rest a bit before serving.

Notes

  • Bolognese is traditionally served with pasta strands (tagliatelle, spaghetti, etc.) or rigid tube pasta (rigatoni, penne, etc.) but any pasta will work! I find that I want more sauce than I usually have when eating traditional spaghetti sauce.
  • I use a box grater to shred my carrots instead of trying to finely dice them because it’s so much easier but feel free to finely dice yours.
  • You can’t use a cast iron pot or skillet (enamel covered cast iron is fine) with recipes that include wine (or vinegar or lots of tomato sauce or anything else highly acidic) as the acid will react unfavorably with the cast iron.
  • [UPDATE] Within 24 hours of publishing this recipe I've received several comments and emails asking what to substitute for the wine so I thought I better add this note. It is my opinion that there isn't a substitute for the wine in this recipe. I think it's just too important as it brightens the flavor and balances the richness from the butter, milk and meat. You can certainly leave it out if you like but I do not think the sauce will taste as good. Chicken broth would not be a good substitute as the only thing it has in common with wine is that it's wet.
bolognese, authentic, italian, meat sauce, traditional, the best, how to, recipe, pasta, milk, sauce, spaghetti, lasagna, pork, wine,
dinner, main course, sauce
Italian
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43 comments:

  1. This is my all time favorite sauce (gravy) even though Putanesca comes second!!! Yummy!!!

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  2. What besides wine can you use?

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    1. Hi, I just added a note about that above :)

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    2. We don't drink in our household so to buy a bottle of wine just to use in this sauce would be a waste. Do they have "mini" bottles? That would have an about the amount I would need for the sauce so there wouldn't be waste.

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    3. I've seen little 4-packs of small bottles in stores. They would be perfect as you can save the other bottles for another recipe.

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    4. Thanks Mandy.

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    5. How about white grape juice ?

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    6. Where i work we use apple juice concentrate to replace white wine in our recipes. I am just not sure how much to use to replace the wine

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    7. If it is the alcohol you are worried about, be assured by cooking it to a boil the alcohol evaporates out. I also am not a drinker, haven't touched the stuff in over 30 years. I cook with wine all the time and never had it affect me in anyway.

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  3. This recipe sounds (and looks) soooo good, with one exception - and it's just a personal thing with no criticism intended: This is probably a "sacrilege" to anyone who enjoys cooking with (or drinking) wine, but I really dislike the taste of wine and it has been my experience in tasting something with wine in it, that is the overpowering taste that jumps out on my taste buds and thereby ruins the dish for me. Is there anything that can be substituted that will not ruin the authenticity of your recipe? If not, can you explain what kind of wine one looks for, i.e., a table wine or cooking wine, for example and what brand constitutes a "dry" white wine? I'm willing to give it a try if it is deemed a "must" for this recipe to be a success. You can tell my level of expertise on wine is sub zero! My apologies to the good cooks out there for my ignorance.

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    1. You can never go wrong with a chardonnay when it comes to cooking. And you don't want to cook with anything that isn't good enough to drink (not to say you need to spend $20 - if you're buying it only to cook with I wouldn't spend more than $10). The wine cooks over two hours in the recipe so I promise it won't be overpowering :)

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  4. I'm so excited to try this recipe. I am not a wine drinker but do love it in cooking recipes. I usually buy the little 4-pack bottles that I can use in other recipes.

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  5. Sounds amazing!! Making on Saturday afternoon. I for one will use the 3 1/2 hours of simmering time to finish off the rest of the bottle of chardonnay ;)

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  6. Like "Anonymous," I am not a wine-drinker and hate the taste of it in food. (Unsophisticated? Yep, that's me.) This sounded so good, though...had to try it. I substituted beef broth & it was DELICIOUS. Mandy, love your site...keep up the great work!

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    1. Thank you, Lori!! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

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  7. I made this last night and it is fantastic! Mandy thank you for doing all the "tweaking" on your recipes, it is so nice to just chop, measure and simmer and not have to think about doing my own "tweaking". I added a parmesan rind to the final simmer because I had one on hand, and swapped the ground pork for Mild Italian sausage because I couldn't fine ground pork.

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed it! And thank you for your kind comments :)

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  8. I am making this as I write. Did anyone run into a problem of the milk curdling? after most of it evaporated i added the tomatoes and I added red wine since I had that on hand. As soon as I added it, the small out of milk leftover looked like it curdled some. I'm not using a cast iron pot. Is this supposed to happen?

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    1. It didn't happen to me but one of the articles I read when researching this had a note about. That it's OK if it happens and to just keep stirring. That the sauce will come back together. I'll see if I can find it!

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    2. Found it! It was Martha Stewart, "don't worry if it appears slightly curdled, it will smooth out again" http://www.marthastewart.com/972493/bolognese-sauce

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    3. Milk and acid (tomatoes, wine, etc) will often cause the milk to separate, unless combined vigorously... meaning a lot of stirring, it isn't curdled, just separated...

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  9. Thanks!!! It did come back together. Took a bit longer than the recipe called for but it came out great!! Thanks so much ! Keep on posting these great recipes!

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  10. O my! Thank you so much. We thoroughly enjoyed this! Familys approval was well worth the time spent. 😀

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  11. I have on occasion used like 1 tbs. red/white wine vinegar instead of 1 cup wine, just for a bit of brightness. Try with 1 tsp., increase as needed.

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  12. Love Bolognese but prefer a "hardier" pasta, my favorite is potato gnocchi. Much of the time wine is added to recipes so that alcohol soluble flavors are highlighted, and much of the alcohol is cooked out of the sauce, especially with a 2+ hours cooking time.

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  13. This looks SO stinkin good!!! My husband loves pasta but doesn't really like tomatoes, and I've really been missing spaghetti since I married him! :P I bet you he'll like this! Thanks for sharing! :)

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  14. what about the cooking wines they sell like Marsala or something. Would one of those work as a substitute for the wine?

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  15. Do you think for the simmering part a slow cooker uncovered would work? My range doesn't have a setting low enough not to scorch. I have everything but the wine and will pick that up tomorrow and cook this ASAP.

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    1. I used my oven at 350ºF. I'm going to leave it in a little longer, but so far it tastes EXCELLENT!

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  16. This recipe really turned out tasty. I made a few change ups based on my experience with other recipes. I started with bacon lardons, browned them and removed. Added the vegetables and then basically followed your ingredients and process. I added the bacon bits back in before simmering for the 2 1/2 hrs. Drove my wife and I crazy with the aroma! Very good!

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  17. The BEST recipe ever! Making it the second time right now! Yummy!

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  18. i am in the middle of this & just realized that i don't have nutmeg? is that a big deal?

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  19. Thank you for the recipe. I've made it so many times and each time, my family devours it. It's beyond delicious.

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  20. Made this the other day. It took a while to make and was skeptical of the results, however my family loved it! I will definitely make it again!

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  21. This recipe looks fabulous! I can’t wait to make it but I wanted to ask you about the white wine, I don’t drink wine but I want to buy some for this recipe, what white wine should I get? Do I buy cooking wine or regular white wine?

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    1. They say never cook with wine that isn't good enough to drink ;) I usually use chardonnay. Any $8-$10 bottle will be just fine!

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  22. Hey! Have you used these sauce for lasagna? That's what I'm doing. Wondering how it turned out. Thanks!

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  23. All time Favorite Sauce recipe
    I discovered Mandy’s recipe on Pinterest about 7 years ago and it was instantly a favorite for friends and family. We swap out chicken stock for the white wine because we don’t drink and to be sensitive to guests who are in recovery, and it is delicious. Now Mandy’s blog is my first stop for good ideas. ♥️

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Hi there! While I’m not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven’t been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments.

I can tell you now 1) I have no idea if you can substitute Minute Rice or brown rice in my recipes because I’ve never used them and 2) If I know how to convert a recipe to a Crock Pot version, I will make a note about it (otherwise, I don’t know).

And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y’all! - Mandy