How to boost flavour in my bolognese?

[JonSnowKnowsNowt]

I have been making bland bolognese for years in order that the DC will eat it. It is nice, healthy, but a bit ... bland. They're getting more adventurous in their tastes now, so I think I can have a go at boosting flavour. What should I add?

I make it with

• good quality mince (lamb or beef)
• onions/leeks & garlic
• mushrooms
• red peppers
• carrots
• a small amount of pasta
• a small amount of stock (with a stock cube or homemade if I happen to have it)
• black pepper (not salt)

What should I add?

Tabasco sauce.
Worcester Sauce
Red wine
Pancetta
Garlic
Onions
Mushrooms
Diced carrot
Lean mince
Canned Tomatoes
Tomato puree.
Bay leaves
Salt
Pepper
Oregano or mixed herbs.
Olive oil
Home made stock

Cook for ages.

Can't beat a good old fashioned spag bol. Concur with PP that secret to best flavour is patience and slower cooking. I do also think it's best to keep the ingredients simple:

• Fry finely chopped onion, carrot, celery and garlic on a medium heat till soft
• Add mince, whack the heat up and fry till brown. Hack away with a wooden spoon till nicely broken up.
• Once browned, chuck in a tin of chopped toms, fill empty tin with hot water and chuck that in too, a third (at least ) of a bottle of red wine (preferably Italian), a beef stock cube (I use those knorr stock pots), and a good 2 tbs of tomato paste. now is the time to chuck in some Italian herbs and a bay leaf if around, but not essential.

-Turn heat right down, and leave uncovered on top of hob to reduce until thick and shiny and delicious looking (at least 30 minutes). Add more water if drying out.

Season to taste.

Serve with black pepper, parmesan, and lots of .

I always add mushrooms, chopped black olives and a little glug of balsamic vinegar to my tomato sauces. Also LOTS of cracked black pepper (I'm talking about 4 or 5 teaspoons) and a beef stock cube to give it some meaty depth.

A proper authentic ragu Bolognese has a mix of minced beef and minced pork, or some chopped pancetta, sometimes a couple of minced chicken livers. Then it's onions, garlic, celery, carrot, tomatoes,(tinned or fresh, passata, puree, whatever you prefer) a good rich beef stock, (and you could supplement this with a splash of mushroom ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Bovril or Marmite if you want to give it some added oomph) some wine - either red or dry white, and believe it or not the magic ingredient is milk, which tenderises the meat.

It doesn't have masses of herbs in it traditionally but if you wanted to you could add a bay leaf and maybe a little bit of oregano or basil to complement the tomato.

I think the trick to getting depth of flavour is cooking it long and slow.

I recently discovered the trick to really tasty Bolognese sauce, and that is to brown the meat well, all over, before adding any liquid. It makes a huge difference to the flavour. You don't need stock cubes if you brown it well.

I also add a splash of red wine and a few bacon or pancetta cubes, onion or garlic (but never both, don't ask me why!), use passata rather than tinned tomatoes, and try and leave it to sit for a while before (heating and) serving. Overnight is best, but even half an hour helps.

Add ketchup.

Works really well, probably the sugar or something!

A proper authentic ragu would always be served with tagliatelle or lasagne, never with spaghetti.

I use Delia's ragu recipe, it's so fabulous, trust me. I can tell you if you can't find it online!

I think the trick to getting depth of flavour is cooking it long and slow.

Yep.

That's why it's a thing I make in massive batches and then freeze. A bolognese that's knocked up in half an hour will always be a bit bland.

Now OP you have over a hundred different recipes for the same dish.

I find if I miss pancetta out of mine it's not as flavoursome.

You should add herbs too, makes a big difference.

I add milk to mine too, to the mince/pancetta and onion/garlic mix though it needs to be reduced down before adding the chopped tomatoes.

As for tomatoes they get bitter after about 15 mins of cooking, the bitterness then takes a while to cook off, so if you are cooking tomatoes for longer than 15 mins then you'll need to simmer for 45 min or more.

I do onions/carrots/celery chopped really finely and fried.
Add in mincemeat and brown.
Good amount of salt and pepper
Add in tomato puree, worcester sauce, garlic
Add in dried herbs - oregano/basil/rosemary etc
Add in chopped up pepper and mushrooms
Add in 3-4 tins of tomatoes
cook for about an hour on a low simmer.
Its delish and even better the next day or when its been frozen and reheated.

Red wine and fresh Basil

This has massive quantities, but you can scale it down, obviously:

Lovely beef/pork ragu with butternut squash, rosemary etc., really delicious.

I fry the onions in good olive oil, then fry the beef mince but leave a bit red as it will take a lot more cooking later, add chopped and peeled tomatoes plus a bit of sugar to take away the acidity, salt, pepper, parsley, oregano not and leave to simmer for as long as possible.

Celery is very important as is a high quality bacon (even better get pancetta).

I add coffee to chilli con carne to give a burnt flavour - not to bolognese ever!

Annie, I've never tried butter in place of milk but I do use a small amount at the start to gently cook the soffrito. I still need to add the milk so don't think it does have the same effect.

Tomato puree and low slow cooking are the keys.

anything with tomato is greatly improved by a splash of good balsamico. Good one, mind, not the sour bland pretend-balsamico.

I never, ever brown the mince first. I make Bolognese in the slow cooker.
Mince
Passata
Garlic
Mushrooms
Onions
Roasted peppers
Cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper
And extra oregano (because I was a teenager in the 90s and loved Heathers!)
I chuck it all in raw (except the peppers pre roasted) and cook it for about 8 hours on low.

Roast your mince in the oven until very brown and almost crunchy before adding it to your sauce...gets more brown loveliness involved and removes excess water which is then replaced by your tasty sauce flavours.

Tom Kerridge - that boy really knows his shit.

Salt! Of course it is bland if you don't put any salt in.

RubyReins recipe sounds about right. It also needs to be cooked for ever. A spoonful of couble cream at the end can help "carry" the flavour

1.5 pounds of mince (750g beef, 750g pork, ideally)
2 large onions
Green pepper
Red Pepper
Celery
4 cloves of garlic
6 slices of streaky bacon, chopped

Cook all that lot together until the mince is browned, season with salt and pepper, then add:

Two tins chopped tomatoes
1 glass red wine
Two tablespoons tomato puree
Dried Oregano
Dried Basil
250g chopped mushrooms
Lots of Worcestershire Sauce
Two teaspoons sugar
Two Bay Leaves
200ml rich beef stock

Bring to the boil, and simmer for two hours. Then leave overnight in the fridge if possible.

There is also a recipe which includes mashed chicken livers, which I've always wanted to try.

Also interested in some posters saying to add chocolate or cream - I would have done that with a chilli but not with a bolognese (I would also put treacle and whisky into a chilli :)

This thread has converted me to buying tomato puree Sodder as I've remembered my DM uses it in hers and I think it is an improvement
I also use quite a bit of olive oil which helps I think - especially if you're slightly cheating with a tomato sauce from a jar - have a feeling they're quite stingy with their quantity and quality of oil.
And any tasty sauce will need some good oil to fry both veg and mince