Name: Classic Bolognese Sauce
Total time: 3 h 45 min
Cuisine: ItalianEurope
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; 2 tablespoons minced onion; 2 tablespoons minced carrot; 2 tablespoons minced celery; 3/4 pound meatloaf mix or 1/4 pound each ground beef chuck, ground veal, and ground pork; 1/2 teaspoon table salt; 1 cup whole milk; 1 cup dry white wine; (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes , packed in juice, chopped fine, with juice reserved

Why This Recipe Works

A good Bolognese sauce recipe should result in a thick, smooth sauce with rich, complex flavor. To get this complexity, we built our Bolognese recipe in layers, starting with just onions, carrots, and celery, sautéed in butter. Then we added a combination of ground beef, veal, and pork. For dairy in our Bolognese sauce recipe, we used milk, which added just enough dairy flavor to complement the meat flavor without adding too much richness. Once the milk was reduced, we added the white wine to the pot for a more robust sauce, followed by chopped whole canned tomatoes.

Before You Begin

Don’t drain the pasta of its cooking water too meticulously when using this sauce; a little water left clinging to the noodles will help distribute the very thick sauce evenly into the noodles, as will adding an extra 2 tablespoons of butter along with the sauce. Top each serving with a little grated Parmesan and pass extra grated cheese at the table. If doubling this recipe, increase the simmering times for the milk and the wine to 30 minutes each, and the simmering time once the tomatoes are added to 4 hours.

Instructions

Heat butter in large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion, carrot, and celery and sautè until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add ground meat and 1/2 teaspoon salt; following illustration below, crumble meat with edge of wooden spoon to break apart into tiny pieces. Cook, continuing to crumble meat, just until it loses its raw color but has not yet browned, about 3 minutes.

Add milk and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until milk evaporates and only clear fat remains, 10 to 15 minutes. Add wine and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until wine evaporates, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and their juice and bring to simmer; reduce heat to low so that sauce continues to simmer just barely, with an occasional bubble or two at the surface, until liquid has evaporated, about 3 hours (if lowest burner setting is too high to allow such a low simmer, use a flame tamer or a foil ring (see related Quick Tip) to elevate pan). Adjust seasonings with extra salt to taste and serve. (Can be refrigerated in an airtight container for several days or frozen for several months. Warm over low heat before serving.)