AIBU to ask how you make your spag Bol?

[Aberforthsgoat]

I make my own sauce with chopped tomatoes, garlic etc cook the mince in it, make some
Pasta or courgetti and done.
Friend just told me I should cook the mince slowly for ages - hours - add red wine and a grating of dark chocolate. I’m not going to be doing that any time soon as I’m pregnant and have to work quick in the non queasy window but it’s got me wondering - is slow cooking for hours the norm?!
Have I been doing it wrong all this time?

My DC love my ragu so I've never really thought about cooking it a long time to bring out the flavor. But I did make one once that tasted so much better and now I think about it, I started at 6 am as we had people coming and cooked it on a very slow heat until 1pm. It really does make a difference, doesn't it?

Fatty mince. The mince needs to be fatty, not lean mince please.

Agree, I don't get why everyone says use lean mince. Fat is flavour.

Oh gosh over the years I have changed recipes quite a bit. One recipe had all sorts of stuff blended up to make a sauce and simmered for about an hour.
Now I am broke and thinking about making a version for the dcs using corned beef.

@mycatismeowican- I wouldn’t use corned beef. I would follow Jack Monroe and use tinned stewed steak.

Use the corned beef to make fritters.......

This is how I always make a classic ragu. Sweat the soffritto for about 20 mins (soffritto is finely chopped onion, carrot and celery). Add the mince (50/50 pork/beef is the norm). Brown it. Add milk. Cook uncovered until all liquid is absorbed. Add white wine and cook uncovered again until all liquid is absorbed. Add tomatoes and a bit of water, season with salt and pepper and nutmeg. Cook uncovered for hours.

Red wine, garlic and herbs have no place in a ragu.

But, frankly, you can make it however you want. Recipes aren't for following slavishly.

Brown mince and a few bacon lardons with celery, onion, garlic and carrot.

Add to slow cooker, add passata, tinned toms and some fresh toms, red wine or port. Small dash of balsamic vinegar, oxo cube and sometimes an anchovy, salt and pepper. Cook for ages on low.

I make a mirepoix in the food processor, add shedloads of crushed garlic and fry it in olive oil, then transfer to a cast iron casserole

brown the mice, then chuck it on top of the mirepoix

brown chicken livers and puree them, add to the mix

add chopped tomatoes, tom puree, celery salt, black pepper, mushroom ketchup, passata if I have some, red wine, concentrated beef stock (Waitrose demi glace is my favourite, but Knorr will do).

Then my secret magic ingredient: a shake of balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon or two of black treacle (sounds weird, but gives a wonderful richness and piquancy to anything beefy).

Reduce on the stove top till the excess liquid has gone, then either leave it covered on a low heat for a couple of hours or pop it in the oven (gas mark 3) for a couple of hours.

If it's made the day before it's even better, and it freezes well.

Use the corned beef to make fritters.......

Or hash, but make you sure you let it burn a bit so you get lots of lovely crispy bits!

bert you're probably right and I might regret it but she has a recipe for it in her newest book so I might give it a try

The key, whatever else you do, is the mix of beef and pork. And not over browning the beef. That’s what makes it soft- the meat is often really hard in English made ragu.

“bert you're probably right and I might regret it but she has a recipe for it in her newest book so I might give it a try”

What, with corned beef? That’s interesting- I would have thought she would say it was too expensive. I’ve made the black bean and peanut stew out of the tin can book- that was a massive hit.

Some of these recipes on here are hideous 🤢

I do a quick version if I need to get something on the table (fry mince, carrots & celery, use Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce and stir in a big handful of Parmesan)

Proper bolognese:

Finely diced onion, carrot, celery
Fry in butter
Add 1/2 beef 1/2 pork mince
Chicken livers, minced
Glass of dry white wine
Tinned San Marzarno tomatoes x2
Splash of chicken stock
Leave to cook for 3/4 hours
Season with salt/sugar to taste.

Shamelessly placemarking as my ragu has been a bit tart recently because I've been lazy af.

At the risk of calling the ire of my ancestors down on my head, a too sharp ragu can often be rescued by a squirt of tomato ketchup.......

This has all the makings of another cottage pie thread. Oh the drama ...

“This has all the makings of another cottage pie thread. Oh the drama ...“
Ah- but I can pull the race card on this one. Not just the proper cook card!

A lot of pps receipes just aren't Bolognese, DM and Nonna would turn in their graves. Keep it simple, but always add wine. Peppers, corn, mushrooms, worcester sauce (!!!!) etc etc, don't belong in a bolognese or a lasagna. Do agree though, the longer the cooking, the better.

Brown mince and onions together with a ridiculously large around of chopped garlic. Add a ton of chopped tomatoes and then fill the tin with water and add that. Squeeze in an inch or two of garlic paste and tomato paste and then leave it to simmer until it starts to thicken. If it's ready bit still too thin add a tiny bit of cornflour in water.

Ready in 20 mins and tastes perfect to me.

Yah Silent I make a proper Bolognese then

I make it with lentils - I like the Girl Called Jack recipe.

I haven't deviated from Delia's recipe in 25 years. It's amazing!

DH does the spag Bol in our house, he fries chopped onion and garlic in olive oil, adds steak mince and browns, adds tin tomatoes, oregano black pepper and sea salt, red wine, mushrooms and pepper and finally fresh basil. Simmers for half an hour, lovely.

Can’t imagine using chocolate in chilli but do use lots of paprika as well as chilli powder.

I've just come across a slow cooker recipe in a book that includes chutney. I think I'll give it a try.

I use Gino D'Campo as a guide, although he doesn't add garlic which I do. Onion, carrot, celery, garlic, pancetta, mince, red wine, beef stock, chopped toms, tomato puree, I also stick a couple of bay leaves in but I can't recall if that's in the recipe or I just do that! Seasoning too obviously. Cook for a couple of hours. I don't usually leave it that long as I find it's reduce sufficiently before that but I do leave it as long as possible.