24-hour Bolognese

Ingredients for 25 servings:

• 2 ½ kg minced beef
• 12 m.-sized onion(s)
• 5 stalk(s) Celery
• 4 m.-sized carrot(s)
• 3 bulb(s) solo garlic, Chinese
• 200 g pancetta, thinly sliced ​​(Italian bacon)
• 100 g butter
• 20 g tomato paste
• 1 ¼ liters dry white wine (e.g. Pinot Grigio)
• 2 liters of meat broth, strong, best quality
• 250 ml red wine, dry
• 1 liter of milk
• possibly cream
• 100 g grated Parmesan or Grana Padano
• 1 tsp, heaped oregano
• 1 tsp, heaped basil
• 6 cans of chopped tomatoes (400 g each)
• Cinnamon powder
• Cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper
• Sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 5 hours; Total time approx. 17 hours 45 minutes

super delicious Bolognese sauce

Clean the celery and carrots. Remove any leaves and stringy parts from the celery. Finely dice the onions, carrots, celery, and pancetta, and press the garlic. Put the butter in a pan and fry the pancetta in it. The butter will start to develop the first roasted aromas. Add the vegetables and let them brown. They should start to brown slightly. Add the minced meat in batches. It should brown properly, take on some color, and stick to the pan. This will take a while, as the vegetables contain a lot of water. But at some point you will hear it no longer sizzling, but rather sizzling. Then it’s done. A nice browned crust should form on the bottom of the pan. Be careful not to burn it. Once the crust has formed and the minced meat has turned brown and crumbly, add 3/4 of the tomato paste. Let it brown again, then deglaze with white wine. First, add enough to dissolve the sediment, then let it evaporate until it sizzles again and a new layer has formed. Then deglaze with a little more wine. Do this a few times. The more often you do this, the more flavorful the sauce will be. When the wine is used up, add the remaining tomato paste again and then deglaze with the meat broth. The meat broth is an essential component of the sauce. Instant stock cubes aren’t ideal, as they usually contain MSG or other flavor enhancers and a lot of salt. Homemade, very strong broth is ideal. If you use instant stock, it should be free of MSG or other flavor enhancers, and you should also make it very strong. This is very important for the flavor of the Bolognese. When you taste the sauce for the first time, a wonderfully strong meat flavor should spread across your palate. The basic sauce is now ready, and you can choose between a red or white Bolognese. For a white Bolognese, I like to put a few ladles of Bolognese sauce into a small separate pot at this point, add a little cream and milk, and maybe some grated Parmesan cheese. The white Bolognese is ready. For a red Bolognese, reduce the basic sauce slightly and add the tomatoes. Depending on how much you used for the white Bolognese, you might need a little less. Season generously with pepper and salt. Be careful, the concentrated meat broth may already be too salty. Add the oregano and basil, and round it off with a pinch of sugar and a little cinnamon. If desired, add a touch of cayenne pepper. Now it needs to simmer gently for hours to allow the flavors to meld. At least 3-4 hours, preferably longer, uncovered. The sauce should reduce and simmer, not boil, and under no circumstances should it burn on the bottom. Simmering for a long time is very important, otherwise the tomatoes will remain too dominant and the flavor won’t be well-rounded. After about 2 hours, add the milk, red wine, and half of the Parmesan cheese to the sauce. Continue simmering. At the end of the cooking time, season again with a little salt, pepper, and possibly cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and sugar. Turn off the heat and let it cool overnight. If you’re cooking a huge pot, it really will take all night. For a smaller batch, simply refrigerate it overnight. The next day, trim off any excess fat, if necessary, then bring back to a boil, enjoy, and enjoy. For pasta, I recommend mafaldine, which goes wonderfully with this flavorful sauce. Note: I always cook a huge pot (hence these quantities) and then freeze it, as the recipe is a bit time-consuming. This ragu is also perfect for lasagna. I called the recipe 24-hour Bolognese because you really shouldn’t eat it until the next day.