Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Pasta
Recipe video above. Ragu is one of those recipes that really showcases the beauty of Italian cooking - everyday ingredients, fast prep, leave it to cook long and slow and you end up with a luscious dish that tastes like a million bucks. This recipe makes enough sauce to serve 8 and freezes great.Pasta per serving - Allow 80g / 2.8oz pasta per person for normal appetites (3/4 cup heaped ragu pp), 100g / 3.5oz for hearty appetites (1 cup ragu pp).
Servings: 5 - 6 people
Calories: 678cal
Ingredients
Ragu
- 1.25kg / 2.5 lb chuck beef or other slow cooking beef cut, cut into equal 4 pieces (Note 1)
- 2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (1 1/2 tsp table salt, 3 tsp flakes)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 onion , diced
- 1 cup carrots , diced (Note 2)
- 1 cup celery , diced (Note 2)
- 800g / 28oz crushed canned tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 beef bouillon cubes , crumbled (Note 3)
- 1 cup red wine , full bodied (like merlot, cabernet sauvignon), or sub with beef broth/stock
- 1 1/2 cups water (Note 3)
- 3/4 tsp dried thyme or 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 bay leaves , dried or fresh
To Serve (Not all Sauce is used)
- 1 lb /500g dried pappardelle , or other pasta of choice (Note 4)
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese or parmigiano reggiano
- Fresh parsley , finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
- Season beef, sear to brown, remove. Cook the soffrito, then add all ragu ingredients and browned beef. Slow cook 2 - 2 1/2 hrs, shred beef, simmer in sauce 30 min. Toss with al dente pappardelle with 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, serve with parmesan.
FULL RECIPE:
- Season beef - Pat beef dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Sear beef - Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over high heat in a heavy based pot. Add beef and sear each piece aggressively on all sides until very browned (3 - 5 minutes in total), then remove onto a plate.
- Soffrito - Turn stove down to medium low and add remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add garlic and onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Then add the carrots and celery and sauté slowly for 5 minutes (they will sweeten).
- Add remaining Ragu ingredients and return the beef to the pot (including pooled juices). Turn the stove up and bring it to a simmer, then turn it down to low so it's bubbling very very gently. (Note 7)
- Slow cook 2 - 2 1/2 hrs - Cover the pot and let it cook for 2 - 2 1/2 hours or until beef is tender enough to shred, checking first at 2 hours. Well marbled meat will cook faster than tough leaner parts. (Note 5 for slow cooker and pressure cooker).
- Shred - Remove beef then coarsely shred with 2 forks. Return beef to the pot. Simmer on low for 30 minutes with lid off until sauce is reduced and thickened - beef will soften slightly more during this step.
- Final season - Do a taste test and adjust the seasoning to your taste with salt and pepper. ALSO, add 1/2 tsp sugar if sauce is a bit sour for your taste (Note 6). Place the lid on and set aside until ready to serve (it's even better the next day and freezes well for months!).
To Serve (Note 4):
- Al dente pasta - Bring a very large pot of water with 1 tbsp of salt to the boil. Add pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time as per the packet instructions.
- Warm ragu - Meanwhile, if the ragu is warm, place 5 cups of the Ragu in a very large fry pan or pot. Heat over medium high heat while the pasta is cooking. (If your ragu is already warm, you can skip this step and do the pasta and sauce toss in the used pasta cooking pot)
- Toss - When the pasta is ready, SCOOP OUT a mugful of pasta cooking water before draining. Drain pasta then add into the ragu, add ~1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Gently toss the pasta (I use 2 wooden spoons) for 1 to 2 minutes on medium high until the sauce water evaporates and leaves you with a thick Ragu sauce that coats the pasta. (If it gets too thick, loosen with more pasta cooking water).
- Serve - Yell for your family to sit down at the dinner table because you need to serve it immediately! Serve with plenty of freshly grated parmesan, or even better, with parmigiano reggiano.
Notes
1. Beef - Chuck is my favourite cut of beef for this pasta, though you could use beef cheek which is even richer. Beef osso buck would also work great, though it doesn't shred into strands as well, it sort of crumbles. Boneless beef short rib will also work but it's quite fatty, I would trim off excess fat. Cuts I personally don't use - brisket (too lean and stringy), gravy beef (not very beefy, and crumbles rather than shreds).
Cut the beef into 4 pieces that are around the size of a baseball. The cook time of this recipe assumes you do this. If you want to reduce slow-cook time by about 20 - 30 min, cut into 8 pieces, but you'll need to brown in 2 batches.
2. Celery and carrots sautéed with the onions and garlic is called "soffritto" in Italian cooking. It is a very traditional base for many Italian dishes. Cooking them slowly over low heat releases their flavour and sweetness, and adds an extra dimension to this dish. But it's not a deal killer if you skip these ingredients.
3. Beef stock - You could use liquid beef stock instead of water + stock cubes, but I prefer cubes because it gives a more concentrated beef flavour. Also, if you use liquid stock instead you'll need to add more salt at the end.
4. Pappardelle pasta is the thick wide pasta and is ideal for this recipe because the shreds of beef cling to the thick pasta strands. If you can't find it, just use the widest pasta you can find eg tagliatelle, fettuccine.
Don't skip the step of tossing pasta with the sauce! This is called "emulsifying" and it is a KEY secret to awesome pastas because it makes the sauce cling to the pasta. Italian Nonna's will roll over in their graves if you don't do this! I can't stress enough what a difference emulsifying makes to pastas!
5. Slow Cooker & Pressure Cooker/Instant Pot - follow recipe to the end of Step 4 on the stove (or sauté function on your appliance). Turn heat up to high, add wine, stir and simmer for 3 minutes. Then transfer it all to the slow cooker or pressure cooker/IP, and add all remaining ingredients but DO NOT add water and extra salt & pepper.
Slow cook on low for 8 hours. Or pressure cook on high for 40 minutes. Shred beef then follow recipe.
Oven - 2 1/2 hours at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced) for the slow cooking part, then after shredding do the 30 minute simmer on the stove.
6. Sugar - The sweetness of canned tomatoes differs depending on brand (typically more expensive = sweeter). So adjust the sweetness of your sauce to your taste by using sugar - 1/2 tsp at a time.
7. Low and slow - Turn the heat of the stove down to a level where it is bubbling very, very gently - a few bubbles here and there. This usually LOW on Gas Stoves but might be medium low on electric stoves. If it is too high - i.e. simmering rapidly (lots of bubbles appearing rapidly) - then you run the risk of the bottom burning. If it is too low, it will take longer to cook.
8. Recipe source: This recipe is based on classic slow cooked ragu recipes from Italian greats including Lidia Bastianich, Stafano Manfredi. It is not an exact replica of any, but is similar to many!
Storage - sauce keeps for 5 days in the fridge, or months in the freezer.
Beef Ragu nutrition assuming sauce serves 8. Nutrition includes 80g / 2.7oz dried pasta per serving (standard quantity). Note: recipe as written uses 500g/1 lb pack of pasta which will serve 5 - 6 people.
Nutrition
Calories: 678cal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 170mg | Sodium: 1451mg | Potassium: 1155mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 3105IU | Vitamin C: 13.2mg | Calcium: 107mg | Iron: 6.4mg