Fettuccini Bolognese Recipe
This is real bolognese, a project that requires a few hours of slow simmering until the meat practically melts into a rich, concentrated sauce. The process itself is simple, but patience is key. The layers of flavor are built by reducing each liquid completely before adding the next.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces pancetta, finely diced
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon for finishing
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2/3 cup chopped celery
- 2/3 cup chopped carrot
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/4 pound ground pork
- 1/4 pound ground veal
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 28-ounce can San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
- ~1 cup beef broth, as needed
- 1 1/4 pounds fettuccini or tagliatelle
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving
Build the Flavor Base
In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, cook the diced pancetta over medium heat until it has rendered most of its fat and is lightly crisped, ~5-7 minutes.
Add the 3 tablespoons of butter, the onion, celery, and carrot to the pot with the pancetta and its fat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and translucent, ~8-10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for one minute more until fragrant.
Brown the Meat and Reduce the Liquids
Add all the ground meat to the pot. Season with the kosher salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper. Break up the meat with a spoon and cook until it has lost all its raw, pink color. Do not drain the fat.
Pour in the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until the milk has completely evaporated. This tenderizes the meat. Grate the nutmeg directly into the pot.
Add the white wine, and again, bring to a simmer and cook until it has completely evaporated.
The Long Simmer
Crush the San Marzano tomatoes with your hands and add them, along with their juice, to the pot. Stir everything to combine.
Once the sauce begins to bubble, reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. You want the laziest simmer you can achieve, with just an occasional bubble breaking the surface.
Cook uncovered for at least 3 hours, stirring every 20-30 minutes. As the sauce cooks, the fat will begin to separate. When this happens, stir in 1/2 cup of beef broth. Continue this process, adding a splash of broth whenever the sauce looks dry, until the 3 hours are up.
By the end, the sauce should be thick, and the fat should have separated again. Taste and adjust for salt.
Finish and Serve
Cook the fettuccini in a large pot of heavily salted boiling water according to package directions until al dente.
Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and toss to coat. Add about half of the bolognese sauce and a generous handful of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Toss vigorously until the pasta is coated.
Serve immediately, with more sauce and cheese on top.
Fettuccini Bolognese
Ingredients
- 4 ounces pancetta finely diced
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter plus 1 tablespoon for finishing
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2/3 cup chopped celery
- 2/3 cup chopped carrot
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/4 pound ground pork
- 1/4 pound ground veal
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 28-ounce can San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
- ~1 cup beef broth as needed
- 1 1/4 pounds fettuccini or tagliatelle
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving
Method
- Cook pancetta in Dutch oven until crispy, 5-7 minutes.
- Add butter, onion, celery, carrot; cook until soft, 8-10 minutes.
- Add garlic, cook 1 minute.
- Add ground meats, salt, pepper; cook until no pink remains.
- Add milk, simmer until evaporated. Stir in nutmeg.
- Add wine, simmer until evaporated.
- Crush tomatoes by hand, add to pot with juice.
- Reduce heat to lowest setting; simmer 3 hours, stirring every 20-30 minutes.
- Add beef broth as needed when sauce looks dry.
- Cook pasta in salted water until al dente.
- Toss drained pasta with 1 tbsp butter and half the sauce.
- Serve with extra sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
