Ragù di manzo – Italian ragù with beef shoulder.
Ragù di manzo – a classic Italian slow-simmered ragù made with whole pieces of beef that are left to simmer for several hours, until the meat is melt-in-the-mouth tender and practically falls apart. A deep, rich and wonderfully flavoursome meat sauce with red wine, soffritto, tomato and herbs – and, naturally, served with pasta and plenty of parmesan. This is Italian comfort food at its very best.
I make my ragù di manzo with beef shoulder, but you can easily use other cuts, such as rump or thick flank. What they have in common is that they suit the long, slow cooking, where the meat gradually becomes tender and soaks up plenty of flavour from the sauce.
Beef shoulder is my choice for this recipe. It is a relatively lean cut compared with some of the more marbled ones, but it has plenty of flavour and becomes beautifully tender with long, slow cooking. Because the fat content and structure can vary from piece to piece, it is important not to go by time alone – feel the meat. It is done when it pulls apart effortlessly with two forks.
Rump can also be used and gives a slightly different ragù. Depending on the cut, you may get more fat and connective tissue, which gives a rich sauce and meat that, after a long simmer, becomes incredibly tender and easy to pull apart.
Thick flank works really well too. It is typically a relatively lean cut, so again it is a matter of giving the meat the time it needs over a low heat. The finished result may have a little more texture than with a more marbled cut, but it still tastes wonderful.
Whichever cut you choose, let the meat dictate the time. The roughly three hours in the recipe are a good guide, but both cut and size can vary. If the forks meet resistance, give the meat a little longer. A ragù like this certainly doesn’t mind extra time over a low heat.
I start by browning the meat thoroughly, so it develops a good crust and plenty of flavour. I then set it aside and make my soffritto of onion, carrot and celery – and in my version, garlic goes in too. The vegetables are fried well before I add the tomato purée and red wine. The wine is allowed to reduce right down so the flavour becomes concentrated, before the chopped tomatoes, beef stock, rosemary and bay leaves go into the pan.
After that, not much needs to happen for the next few hours. The meat goes back into the pan, the heat is turned right down, and the ragù is left to simmer gently for around three hours. It is one of those dishes where time really does the work.
Once the meat is completely tender, I pull it apart. You can do this directly in the pan or lift the meat onto a plate and use two forks – whichever you find easiest. The meat then goes back into the sauce along with a parmesan rind, if you have one to hand. It can easily be left out, but it gives the ragù a really lovely depth and extra umami.
I then let the ragù simmer on without the lid for about half an hour. This gives the sauce a chance to reduce and cling to the shredded meat, so you get exactly the right rich consistency.
Finally, I season with salt, freshly ground pepper, a touch of red wine vinegar and a little sugar. The acidity and sweetness shouldn’t dominate, but simply balance the long, deep flavour of tomato, wine and beef.
Cook the pasta al dente and toss it straight into the ragù. Add a little of the pasta water if needed, so the sauce and pasta come together properly, and serve with freshly grated parmesan on top. And a good glass of red wine on the side, while we’re at it.
Ragù di manzo is not quick food, but it is genuinely easy food. The pan more or less looks after itself, and the reward after a few hours of simmering is the most tender beef and a sauce with wonderful depth.
And do make a big batch. The ragù freezes very well and is one of the best things to pull out of the freezer on a day when dinner needs to be both easy and really good.
Ragù di manzo – Slow-cooked beef shoulder ragù
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef shoulder, chuck or similar braising beef
- 2 onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 sticks celery
- 200 g carrots
- 100 g tomato purée
- 300 ml red wine
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 400-500 ml beef stock
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 parmesan rind (optional)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Olive oil
- A little sugar and red wine vinegar, if needed
To serve
- 800 g pasta – ideally rigatoni
- Parmesan, for the top
Method
- Trim the meat of any larger sinews and gristle and cut it into large chunks.
- Heat a good splash of olive oil in a large pan and brown the meat well on all sides. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Meanwhile, blitz the onions, garlic, celery and carrots finely in a food processor – or chop them finely by hand.
- Once the meat is well browned, remove it from the pan and fry the vegetables well for about 10 minutes. Season these too with a little salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Stir in the tomato purée and cook it through for a couple of minutes, then return the meat to the pan.
- Pour in the red wine and let it reduce for 5-10 minutes, then pour in the chopped tomatoes and the stock.
- Add the rosemary and bay leaves, stir everything together and let the meat simmer over a low heat, with the lid on, for about 3 hours, or until it is so tender that it pulls apart easily.
- Remove the rosemary sprig and bay leaves and pull the meat apart. You can do this directly in the pan, or lift the meat onto a plate, pull it apart there and return it to the pan.
- Add the parmesan rind, stir it in with the meat and let the sauce simmer for a further 30 minutes or so, without the lid, so it can reduce and thicken.
- Remove the parmesan rind and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper – and a little red wine vinegar or sugar, if needed.
- Cook the pasta al dente, following the instructions on the packet. Reserve a little of the pasta water.
- Toss the pasta straight into the sauce and serve with parmesan on top.
Nutrition
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Det ser så lækkert ud☺️ hvilke okseboullion bruger du?
Hej Pernille
Tusind tak 🙂 Jeg har faktisk ikke en favorit – men ender oftest med Knorr’s f en eller anden årsag 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna