Lamb Pork Bolognese Recipes

SPICY LAMB BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat a medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the butter and oil and warm until the butter is melted. Add the carrots, celery, onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft but have no color, about 6 minutes. Add the beef and lamb and cook, breaking apart the meat with a wooden spoon, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir the tomato paste, chili paste, red pepper flakes and garlic into the meat mixture. Cook the tomato paste, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk is almost entirely evaporated, about 20 minutes.
• Add the wine, bay leaf, Parmesan rind, tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low to just maintain a gentle simmer. Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Skim the oil from the surface.
• Spoon the sauce over the Creamy Polenta with Spinach, reserving any extra to serve on the side. Serve with the Parmesan sprinkled over the top and a drizzle of olive oil.
• In a Dutch oven, bring the chicken broth, oil, garlic and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and whisk in the polenta. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan, mascarpone, pecorino and butter. Cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Fold in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes longer. Add 1/4 cup water if the mixture gets too thick.
• Pour the polenta onto a large board or platter. Serve with grated Parmesan over the top.

LAMB & PORK BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• 1. Place your medium to large cooking pot, over medium heat, and add the olive oil and butter.
• 2. Once the butter has melted, add the finely diced green pepper, garlic, carrots, celery & onion. Add in a couple generous pinches of kosher salt. Allow these ingredients to simmer in the butter & oil for 5 minutes, on med heat, stirring frequently.
• 3. Add diced pancetta and adjust heat to med-high. Stir frequently and allow pancetta to become golden in color, approx 10 minutes. The vegetables will continue to soften as well.
• 4. Increase heat to high and add, "1/3 @ a time, the ground lamb and Italian sausage. Break up the meat as well as possible and allow to cook, not boil, until done. Now add the second 1/3 and repeat. Now add the final 1/3 of both meats. (If you prefer some other meat, use what you wish cooking with the same method.)
• 5. After all the meat has browned and no meat lumps exist, set the timer to 15 minutes and continue to brown. It doesn't matter if some of the meat gets crispy (a little) and some may stick to the bottom of the pot as well, which is what you want at this point in the cooking process. This allows the meat to caramelize and allows the flavors to concentrate.
• 6. After you see some nice caramelizing of the meat, reduce the heat to medium so as not to burn the meat.
• 7. After the 15 minutes has passed, add 1 cup of dry white wine. Using a wooden spoon, stir mixture removing bits of meat that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot, a couple minutes should suffice.
• 8. Add the milk & beef stock/broth with heat on medium.
• 9. Add tomatoes and all the juice from can. I cubed my peeled tomatoes as I wanted the tomatoes to be slightly smaller pieces.
• 10. Add a "generous" grinding of black pepper. I used approx 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper in total for the recipe. Adjust to your taste...
• 11. Bring contents of cooking pot to a boil now, stirring frequently.
• 12. Now, reduce heat to as low as possible and simmer for 4 hours. Leave your pot half covered with the lid. Stir infrequently during the 4 hours, just keeping an eye on it. If you think your sauce is a bit to thick or if it's sticking to the bottom of the pot, add a bit more beef stock/broth. The sauce needs to be toward the thicker side, in my opinion.
• 13. Optional steps: Now you can serve of your choice of pasta or place the pot in the refrigerator over night, which I chose. I prefer to let the flavor concentrate overnight in the pot. Your choice.
• 14. If you chose to refrigerate overnight, you're ready to continue here. Place the pot back on "low" heat. I allowed my gravy/ragu/sauce (word of choice) to heat very slowly.
• 15. Once I noticed that the gravy was nice and hot, I added 2 tablespoons of room-temp butter and stirred that in.
• 16. Finally - it's ready! You can use any style of pasta you like. I used Basil Fettuccine. Lastly, I also used much, fresh grated, Parmigiano-Reggiano - - a must! Cheers and Bon Appetit...

THE BEST PORK BOLOGNESE RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat bacon grease or olive/grapeseed oil.
• Add in the onions, carrots and celery and saute for 5 minutes or until tender and just browning.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add in garlic and saute for 1 minute.
• Add in pork, break it up and allow it to brown.
• Add in tomato paste, stirring to combine it with the meat and vegetables.
• Add in wine, water and Thyme.
• Season with additional salt and pepper and if adding sugar do so here (see notes).
• Turn heat down to low and allow bolognese to simmer for 20-30 minutes, checking back often to stir and see if additional liquid (water or wine) needs to be added.
• If you happen to have a Parmesan cheese rind, add it or a piece of it to the sauce (not necessary, just a nice way to use it up). And if you really enjoy garlic, add in some additional garlic for a stronger garlic flavor (adding some in towards the end gives a stronger flavor).
• Add in a few shakes of red pepper flakes (more if you like heat) and maybe additional salt, taste and decide.
• If you have the time, allow the bolognese to sit off heat for 15-30 minutes before serving, reheating if necessary. This deepens the flavor in my opinion and its fantastic the next day as well.
• Serve over your favorite pasta ( I like it over rigatoni best), adding fresh shaved Parmesan if you enjoy it.

PORK BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, cook bacon over medium heat until fat is released, 5 minutes. Add onion, carrot, and celery; cook until soft, 6 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high; add pork and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, 7 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook until pork is coated, 4 minutes.
• Add wine; cook until reduced by three-fourths. Add 1 cup milk; cook until reduced by half. Add tomato sauce, broth, bay leaf, thyme, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour. Stir in 1/4 cup milk. Serve sauce over pasta, topped with cheese.

RIGATONI BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Make the soffrito. Finely chopped onion, carrot, and celery. Yes, you can do this in a food processor. No, we don't generally. We like the soffrito to have some texture, not turn into pulp.
• Sweat the veggies. Heat olive oil and butter in a large dutch oven over medium-low to medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes until translucent. Raise the heat to medium, then add the carrot and celery. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Brown the meat. Increase the heat to medium-high, then add the ground beef and ground pork. Season the meat immediately with 2 tsp Kosher salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Let this cook about 8-10 minutes, stirring often and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon or spatula.
• Deglaze the pan. Pour in red wine, allowing it to reduce and evaporate, about 3-4 minutes. Don't worry, all the flavor stays behind!
• Skim the fat. Once the wine reduces, you'll see excess fat float to the top of the pan. Use a spoon to skim the fat, then discard. This will yield about ¾ - 1 cup of fat. Removing this makes the bolognese sauce less greasy.
• Add remaining liquid. Pour in the whole milk and chicken stock. Next, crush the tomatoes with your hands directly into the pot. Add two bay leaves and -- the most important part of the recipe! -- ½ lb finely chopped chicken livers.
• Simmer low and slow. Allow the sauce to simmer over low heat for 3 hours, checking on it and stirring every 30 minutes or so. If the heat is at a proper simmer, you shouldn't need to add any additional liquid at all.
• Finish the sauce. Remove the bay leaves, then add freshly chopped rosemary and thyme. Taste and adjust seasoning, as needed.
• When ready to serve, cook pasta. Cook rigatoni or other pasta according to package directions for al dente, meaning just slightly undercooked by 1-2 minutes. This is important! Before draining, reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water. Drain pasta, do NOT rinse, and set aside.
• Cook with pasta in the sauce. Transfer as much bolognese as you want to a large skillet. Heat over medium high heat until bubbly. Add al dente rigatoni or other pasta shape directly to the pan. Cook, stirring or shaking the pan often, so that each piece of pasta is completely coated with sauce. The final step: add a couple tablespoons (more, if making a lot of pasta) of the reserved pasta cooking water to help bind the sauce together. The starch from cooking the pasta will thicken the sauce and bring it to life!
• To serve. Add a couple tablespoons (more, if making a lot of pasta) of the reserved pasta cooking water to help bind the sauce together. Divide pasta between bowls, then serve with grated lemon zest and freshly grated Parmesan!

SPRING PASTA BOLOGNESE WITH LAMB AND PEAS

Steps:

• In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium. Add onion and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add lamb, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Stir in broth, heavy cream and rosemary, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer, partly covered and stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened, about 30 minutes. (The sauce may look broken at first, but it will emulsify as it cooks.) Discard the rosemary sprig.
• As the sauce cooks, make the pasta: Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water and drain the pasta.
• Over medium heat, add the peas and spinach to the sauce and stir until spinach is wilted. Add the cooked pasta, butter and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water to the sauce. Toss vigorously until sauce is thickened and coats the pasta, about 2 minutes, adding more pasta water if a looser sauce is desired. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, cheese and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
• Divide pasta among bowls. Garnish with more cheese, parsley and black pepper.

EASY LAMB BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Put the olive oil in a wide, deep saucepan and add the chopped onion, carrots and celery. Cook with the lid on over a gentle heat for about 5 minutes, until softened but not coloured.
• Turn the heat up to medium/high and add the mince. Fry for 5-10 minutes until the mince has browned all over and is flecked with darker brown. (If using leftovers, simply add in the leftovers and skip the rest of this step.)
• Tip in the chopped tomatoes, stock and bay leaves, plus salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down low and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Serve with spaghetti (or any other shape of pasta you wish) and grated cheese.

LAMB RAGU

Steps:

• In a heavy pot or Dutch oven cook the bacon until done (don't drain the grease, it adds a ton of flavor) . Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes. Add the ground lamb and cook until no longer pink, breaking up any chunks. Add the red wine, bring to a full boil, and boil for about 3 minutes until it is mostly evaporated. Add all remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for a minimum 3 hours, preferably 4 hours for the best flavor. Discard the bay leaf Add salt and pepper to taste.Serve with hot pasta and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. SLOW COOKER VERSION: After boiling the red wine and adding in the remaining ingredients, transfer everything to the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 hours.

THE BEST SLOW-COOKED BOLOGNESE SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Place stock in a medium bowl or 1-quart liquid measure and sprinkle with gelatin. Set aside. Purée tomatoes in the can using an immersion blender or transfer to the bowl of a countertop blender and purée until smooth. Transfer chicken livers to a cup that just fits head of immersion blender and purée until smooth.
• Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add ground beef, pork, and lamb, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon or potato masher until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in puréed chicken livers.
• Meanwhile, heat butter and pancetta in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until fat has mostly rendered but butter and pancetta have not yet started to brown, about 8 minutes. Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, sage, and half of parsley and cook, stirring and tossing, until vegetables are completely softened but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add cooked vegetables to meat mixture.
• Return Dutch oven to high heat and cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated from the pan, about 10 minutes longer.
• Add wine and cook, stirring, until mostly evaporated. Add reserved stock, tomatoes, milk, and bay leaves. Season gently with salt and pepper.
• Bring sauce to a simmer, then transfer to oven, uncovered. Cook, stirring and scraping down sides of pot occasionally, until liquid has almost completely reduced and sauce is rich and thick underneath a heavy layer of fat, 3 to 4 hours. If sauce still looks liquid or fat has not separated and formed a thick layer after 4 hours, transfer to stovetop and finish cooking at a brisk simmer, stirring frequently.
• Carefully skim off most of the fat, leaving behind about 1 cup total. (For more precise measurement, skim completely, then add back 1 cup of fat.) Alternatively, let the sauce cool at this point and store in the fridge overnight to let the fat solidify and flavors meld. Then remove the solid fat, reserving a cup to add back in when the sauce is warmed.
• Stir in heavy cream, parmesan, fish sauce, and remaining parsley. Bring to a boil on stovetop, stirring constantly to emulsify. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bolognese can be cooled and stored in sealed containers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or frozen for later use.
• To Serve: Heat sauce in a large pot until just simmering. Set aside. Cook pasta in a large pot of well-salted water until just barely al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot and add just enough sauce to coat, along with some of the cooking liquid. Cook over high heat, tossing and stirring gently, until sauce is thick and pasta is coated, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately, passing parmesan at the table.