Italian Beef Ragu
Italian beef ragu is a year round favourite, made with beef brisket which has a deep rich meaty flavour, also smoked pancetta and vegetables to flavour the sauce.
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Servings: 8 people
Calories: 326kcal
Equipment
- Cutting board
- knife
- Measuring jug
- measuring spoons
- Dutch oven or slow cooker if using
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 200 g pancetta (diced)
- 2 large onions (sliced)
- 2 carrots (sliced)
- 2 sticks celery (sliced)
- 2-3 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 5 chestnut mushrooms (sliced)
- 200 ml white wine
- large bunch flat leaf parsley (chopped)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 750 g beef brisket (cut into large chunks, or use similar cut for slow braising)
- 2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
- 200 ml beef stock
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 130C/140CFan/270F.
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large oven proof pan, over a medium heat. Add the diced pancetta and saute until the pancetta is crispy and the fat has rendered down.
- Add the onion, carrot and celery to the pan and sauté gently for 5 minutes to soften, but not colour the vegetables.
- Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pan and stir for a minute, before adding the white wine to deglaze the pan. Simmer the wine until it is well reduced.
- Now add in all the remaining ingredients to the casserole, season well with salt and pepper, stir well to combine and cover with a tight fitting lid.
- Place the pan in the preheated oven and cook for 4-5 hours. Stir the ragu throughout the cook to ensure it does not stick. The stew is cooked when the meat is tender and falling apart.
- Remove the chunks of beef from the pan and shred with two forks, before returning to the pan and stirring through the sauce.
- Serve the ragu with gnocchi, creamed polenta or pasta of choice.
Notes
I have used beef brisket which I cut into very large chunks to make it fit easier into my Dutch oven. You can swap brisket for other slow cook joints like boneless chuck roast or beef shoulder. I opt for these cuts as they have an intense beefy flavour and lots of rich marbling which only adds to the overall taste of the finished ragu.
If using diced stewing steak cut back on cooking time and only cook for 2-3 hours depending on the size of the diced steak.
SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS
This recipe is easily adapted to the slow cooker. Ignore the first instruction to preheat the oven and instead follow the instructions for sauteeing the vegetables, up to the end of step 4 in the recipe card. At this point transfer the sauteed vegetable and reduced wine mixture into a slow cooker.
Add the remaining ingredients to your slow cooker.
Slow cookers require less liquid than oven or stove top method. So to avoid a watery ragu I recommend reducing the liquid, swapping the beef stock for a beef stockpot or bouillon cube, and give everything a good stir to combine.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
Nutrition Facts
Italian Beef Ragu
Amount Per Serving
Calories 326
Calories from Fat 180
% Daily Value*
Fat 20g31%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 74mg25%
Sodium 304mg13%
Potassium 567mg16%
Carbohydrates 6g2%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 23g46%
Vitamin A 2555IU51%
Vitamin C 3.1mg4%
Calcium 26mg3%
Iron 2.2mg12%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •
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