BEEF RAGU
Servings
4
Servings
4
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. 24-48 hours before cooking your ragu, wash, dry and then rub your chuck roast with the 2 1/4 teaspoons of salt. Return to the fridge. When you are ready to cook the recipe, proceed with the below steps.
  2. Mince the carrots, onion and celery. Some people use a food processor but I prefer my half-moon knife because it allows me to keep the vegetables slightly larger than when they are minced in the processor.
  3. In a heavy bottom pan (I prefer ceramic coated), begin to sauté the minced vegetables with oil and lard (or butter). Add some salt and paprika. On a slow flame cook and stir until the onion becomes translucent. Move the vegetables to one side. Pat the roast dry and add it to the pot. Brown each side, then add the tomatoes. Lower the heat to the lowest setting possible, to keep at a very low simmer; if necessary, use a heat diffuser. Add the whole glove of garlic and bay leaf, and sprinkle in a little more salt. Cook for about 8 hours, turning the roast every 2 hours. (You may use an electric slow cooker if you like.) I know that the dish is ready from the color and consistency of the sauce: dark red-brown with a golden circle of oil emerging at the top. But a simpler way to know is by dipping bread in it after about 6 hours and tasting it, adding further salt if needed.
  4. Use part of the sauce for your pasta, I do not put cheese on it but if you’d like to use some I would opt for a young pecorino, not Parmesan. Slide the meat in quarter-inch-thick-pieces and lay on a platter with sauce beneath it and on top.