Hearty, rich and delicious ragu sauce with fall-apart beef slow cooked to tender perfection. Serve this rich and meaty Italian ragu over tagliatelle with plenty of grated Parmesan for the ultimate comfort meal.
You will also love my Braised Beef Recipe
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Beef ragu is one of the all-time comfort food greats and my favourite thing to order at our local Italian restaurant.
They never bother with the menu when I come in… I am greeted with a wink and a smile and the promise of yummy ragu over thick strands of pappardelle!
This richy meat sauce is also incredibly easy to make at home on the hob, in your slow cooker or the Instant Pot. Follow my step by step instructions and recipe video for the best homemade beef ragu.
Ragu Vs Bolognese
Ragu is a rich meat-based sauce which can be made with ground or cubed meat and vegetables simmered slowly with wine, tomatoes and/or stock. Authentic Italian ragu is primarily meat-based not tomato-based!
Ragu can be made with beef, pork (or a combination of the two), duck, game… you name it! I have even heard of Roo Ragu (made with kangaroo meat) which has a nice ring to it.
Bolognese is a regional variation of ragu from Bologna (ragu alla bolognese) made with white instead of red wine and (sometimes) milk to tenderise the meat. The differences are quite subtle and confusingly the terms are often used interchangeably.
Beef Ragout on the other hand is a French recipe, more of a stew than a sauce, but again I have seen beef ragout recipes that are remarkably similar to its Italian cousin served over pasta…
What is the best cut of meat for ragu?
Choose a cut of beef that is suitable for slow cooking, even inexpensive cuts will shine in this ragu recipe.
You can use brisket, braising steak, chuck steak, beef shin or beef rib trim which I got online from Donald Russell (<––– this is what I used in the recipe video). The long cooking time allows any fat to melt into the sauce to create a rich deep flavour.
Since beef ragu tastes even better the next day, store the sauce in the fridge overnight and you can easily skim any fat which solidifies on the surface.
Ingredients
You have chosen your beef, now let’s look at what else you will need…
- Beef (see above) cut into chunky cubes
- Cubed pancetta – you can find cubetti di pancetta in most supermarkets
- Finely chopped onion, celery and carrot (known as soffritto) this trio of vegetables is the base for many sauces. Some supermarkets carry frozen pre-chopped soffritto which is a great time saver.
- Plenty of minced garlic
- A little brown sugar (or Sukrin Gold for Slimming World Ragu)
- Salt, pepper
- Tomato purée (paste)
- Red wine – use a good Italian red wine, such as Chianti, not cheap cooking wine which is usually quite acidic. If you don’t enjoy red wine, or simply don’t drink alcohol, you can replace it with more beef stock.
- Hot beef stock – I use a Knorr beef stockpot
- Bay leaves and Parmesan rind
- Grated Parmesan, lemon zest and chopped parsley to serve
Slow Cooker Ragu
I like to make this recipe in my slow cooker since it needs to be simmer gently for several hours anyway. I have simplified the prep as much as possible to allow you to pretty much ‘dump and start’.
If your crock pot allows for searing then cook as instructed below. If it doesn’t you can simply add the ingredients and skip the browning.
STEP 1 Heat the slow cooker and brown the pancetta cubes over medium-high heat for a few minutes.
STEP 2 Add the onion, celery, carrots, sugat, salt, pepper, garlic and tomato paste. Stir well and cook for up to 10 minutes until slightly softened.
STEP 3 Add the red wine and bring to a simmer, cooking for 5 minutes.
STEP 4 Top with the beef cubes, add the hot beef stock, bay leaves and cheese rind.
STEP 5 Cover and cook on LOW setting for 8-10 hours, stirring halfway through if able. Don’t uncover the cooker for too long or it will start losing heat and add to your cooking time.
STEP 6 Check the beef with a fork – it should be very tender and literally melting into the sauce. Use two forks to shred any large pieces of the beef against the side of the cooker.
TOP TIP You can cool and store the ragu in the fridge at this point and finish cooking the following day. This helps the flavours to meld and intensify and allows for the fat to solidify so you can discard it.
STEP 7 Continue to cook for another hour on HIGH until the ragu thickens. Discard the bay leaves and cheese rind. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Cooking on the hob / oven
Follow the instructions in the recipe card to cook this recipe in the oven. It will need to simmer in a low oven in a covered pot such as a Dutch Oven. This method requires more stock so check the instructions carefully.
Instant Pot Instructions
If you are an Instant Pot lover then you can cut down the cooking time by something like 80%. Follow the instructions in the recipe card to cook this recipe in a pressure cooker (this needs half the amount of stock – check the recipe card).
Serving suggestions
Toss cooked tagliatelle, Mafaldine (pretty lacy edged thick pasta) or pappardelle with the sauce so that it coats the pasta. Add fresh parsley, grated lemon zest and plenty of freshly grated Parmesan and serve.
You can also serve this delicious sauce over mashed potatoes or polenta or as baked potato topping. Use the ragu to make lasagne – replacing the ground beef Bolognese for a richer dish.
STORING AND FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS
It’s worth making a big batch of ragu because it tastes even better as leftovers and freezes beautifully.
Keep the sauce in the fridge for up to three days or portion into freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to three months.
Thaw the sauce overnight in the fridge and reheat in a pot, stirring well until it is hot all the way through. You might need to add a little water if the sauce is too thick.
Lucy’s tips
- Use a good quality red wine that you enjoy drinking – avoid cheap cooking wines!
- Ragu sauce tastes even better the day after you cook it so plan accordingly.
- If you are serving over pasta then choose a flat wide pasta like pappardelle – it just gives the sauce more surface area to cling to!
- Always toss the pasta and sauce together before serving, don’t just serve the pasta with the ragu on top. Non negotiable! (this is where my husband and I fall out because he never does this no matter how many times I tell him to!)
- Make a slimming friendly version by replacing the pancetta with lean bacon, the red wine with an Oxo red wine stock cube and make sure to skim the fat off the sauce (see tip).
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Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
Ingredients
- 1.3 kg (3 pounds) casserole beef such as shin, cut into chunks
- 200 g (7oz) cubed pancetta
- 3 tbsp olive oil (for hob version)
- 2 onions , finely chopped
- 3 carrots , finely diced
- 3 celery sticks , finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 140 g (5oz) tomato purée (paste)
- 120 ml (½ cup) red wine such as Chianti
- 2 bay leaves
- small piece Parmesan rind
- 500 ml (2 cups) hot beef stock increase to 750ml (3 cups) for hob version
- salt and pepper to season
Serving Suggestions
- cooked pasta such as Tagliatelle or Pappardelle or choose your favourite
- fresh parsley , chopped to serve
- 1 lemon , zest only to garnish
- grated Parmesan cheese to serve, as much as you like
Instructions
Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
- If your slow cooker allows for searing then cook as instructed below. If it doesn’t you can simply add the ingredients and skip the browning.
- Add the red wine and bring to a simmer, cooking for 5 minutes.
- Top with the beef cubes, add the hot beef stock, bay leaves and cheese rind.
- Cover and cook on LOW setting for 8-10 hours, stirring halfway through.
- Check the beef with a fork – it should be very tender and literally melting into the sauce. Use two forks to shred any large pieces of the beef against the side of the cooker.
- Continue to cook for another hour on HIGH until the ragu thickens.
- Discard the bay leaves and cheese rind, check the seasoning and serve tossed with pasta . Add grated Parmesan, the parsley and lemon zest and enjoy.
Cooking on the hob /oven
- Use 750ml (3 cups) beef stock for this version.
- Preheat the oven to 150C (300F). Heat a large the oil in a large casserole dish or Dutch oven.
- Add the beef, in batches, and sear over high heat until nicely coloured. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a bowl.
- Add the pancetta to the pan and cook until it starts to render the fat and become a bit crispy. Transfer to the bowl with the beef.
- Add the onion, celery, carrot, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often, until softened but not coloured.
- Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and then the wine and bring to a simmer.
- Add the beef, pancetta and stock and bring to a simmer.
- Cover the pot tightly, transfer to the oven and cook for 4 hours.
- Take the pot out of the oven and shred the beef using two forks. Return to the oven and cook for a further 30 minutes, with the lid off if you need to thicken the sauce.
- Discard the bay leaves and cheese rind, check the seasoning and serve tossed with pasta . Add grated Parmesan, the parsley and lemon zest and enjoy.
Instant Pot Ragu
Use 250ml / 1 cup of stock in this version
- For best taste sear the beef and cook the soffritto first (following steps 1-4 of hob method). Otherwise add all the ingredients to your pressure cooker and cook on HIGH pressure for 50 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally. Shred the beef, discard the bay leaves and cheese rind and check the seasoning.
- Cook on Sauté with lid off for 15-20 minutes if the sauce needs to be reduced further.
Video
Notes
Nutritional Info
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