Ragu Meat Sauce

This recipe is a meat-based pasta sauce variation that I love to make. I use ground beef, ground pork and spicy sausage with red wine, chicken bone and skim milk. I learned a trick from an Italian friend (whose mother makes the absolute best lasagna ever!) - put some beef or pork bone right into the pan to simmer if you don't have stock on hand. The flavour of the bones seeps into the sauce to produce a richness to intensify the taste. Try it and let me know what you think!

Serves 8-10

Prep time 20 min
Cook time 3-4 hours

350 gr lean ground beef
350 gr extra lean ground pork
2 medium spicy or hot sausages
1/2 cup tomato paste
3.5 cups crushed or diced tomatoes, 1 large can
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup water
2 pieces of beef or pork bones OR 1 cup beef or chicken stock
1 cup of red wine
5-6 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, cut in half
3 medium onions, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 bay leaves
2 tsp sea salt
3 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tbsp of spices like oregano, thyme, rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil
Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)

Add ground pork, ground beef and sausage

Break up the sausage with a wooden spoon and mix all the meats together

Diced tomatoes and tomato paste

Let the bone simmer in the pan with the ingredients (bottom left)

In a large fry pan or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium temperature. Add the garlic and onions and cook for 8-10 min. Add the pork, beef and sausage and cook for 15 min breaking up the sausage and mixing the meats together. When the meat is 85% cooked, add the wine and turn the heat to medium-high, reducing it for 6-7 min. Throw in the carrots, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, celery, bay leaves, stock OR bones + water. Combine the spices you are using (total of 1/2 tbsp of spices) and add to the pan, along with the salt and pepper. Once the mixture is boiling, turn the heat down to low to simmer for 3 hrs, stirring occasionally.

Add the spices and bay leaf 

After cooking for 3 hrs, add the milk and simmer for another 20 min. Turn off the heat and remove the bay leaves, celery and bones (if using).

Serve the sauce over spaghetti or spaghettini pasta and shave some fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano on top for a creamy, salty finish!

The sauce can be frozen and stored for future use as well.

Sauce should look like this after simmering at low heat for 3 hrs