Beef Ragu with Pappardelle
This cozy and satisfying beef ragu recipe is inspired by my late Italian great-grandmother’s family-famous fettuccine. While I should preface this recipe with the fact that this is not her recipe (sadly, I don’t have it), she did teach me what good Italian food should taste like, and this is most definitely it. My version is rich, thick, hearty, and warm-you-straight-down-to-your-toes satisfying. It is perfect cold weather comfort food, and takes only 30 minutes to prep before going in the oven. You’ll love how tender the meat gets after cooking for hours, (much like with my beef stew). If you’re intimidated about cooking a roast–don’t be. We’ll be breaking it down into smaller pieces and searing on the stove for just a few minutes before the oven does the rest. This is a mostly hands-off recipe, and great for preparing in advance! I highly recommend serving with some garlic knots or breadsticks for the full stick-to-your-ribs experience. One note before we begin: Do not use a non-enameled cast iron pot! The iron will react with the tomato sauce and will make the final dish taste distinctly metallic after cooking all that time. I’ve learned this the hard way 🙁
What You Need
This beef ragu is a flavor explosion of carefully-selected ingredients, including:
Beef. Chuck roast is the best choice here. It shreds nicely and becomes super tender and flavorful after cooking for a few hours.Veggies. We use a mirepoix; carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and tomatoes. We’ll also throw in some herbs including bay leaves and thyme.Red wine vinegar. It’s Imperative (Yes, capital “I” — it’s very important!) that you cook down the red wine vinegar as indicated, otherwise your beef ragu will have a vinegary taste. When cooked properly, it improves the tenderness of the beef and makes the sauce rich and flavorful. Cook it until you can no longer smell the acidity when you waft the steam from the pot towards you. When in doubt, always opt to cook for more time rather than less.Pasta. I like to use thick pappardelle or tagliatelle noodles or even fettuccine. Broad noodles are best for this type of sauce.
SAM’S TIP: If you don’t want to use vinegar, a dry red wine (like merlot) could be used instead. You can increase this to ½ cup, but still reduce it on the stovetop as indicated. Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Beef Ragu
SAM’S TIP: If you plan to serve your beef ragu with noodles, save some of the pasta water! It helps the sauce cling beautifully to the noodles. If you’re tossing everything together, I also recommend just starting with ¾ lb of noodles (as the noodles absorb a lot of the sauce) and only add more if needed. Looking for more comfort food? Try my baked ziti or stuffed shells! Enjoy! Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
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