Bolognese Sauce Help

You don’t mention your soffritto, which is the basis and a bit time-consuming. I’m guessing lots of people don’t have the patience to really cook down the soffritto, so they don’t get a good result.

You can add all the herbs and spices and garlic powder you like, but it won’t replace the soffritto.

What recipe are you using? Use wine, not brandy. It needs to cook slowly for hours.

I've never heard of soffrito, R1.

That's probably where I'm going wrong.

Is there a fast way to make it?

I usually make my bolognese when I'm in a hurry and have to make a quick dinner.

The Godmother of Italian cookery, Marcella Hazan, answers everything for you, OP.

[quote]I usually make my bolognese when I'm in a hurry and have to make a quick dinner.

That's your problem. Real bolognese is not fast. It needs to simmer for hours as does any good, homemade sauce.

OP, the soffritto isn’t that time-consuming, actually. Just look it up. It’s finely-chopped onion, carrot, and celery. The finer you chop it, the quicker and better, I’m guessing. The carrot should help with the sourness.

Milk is the key. If you find it's still too acidic (which it shouldn't be), add a tiny pinch of baking soda. Sugar does nothing to reduce acidity.

A tiny bit of brewed coffee will balance out the acidity,

Baking soda!

That's the thing I was thinking of, R7.

Someone on a cooking show mentioned once that it helps balance out the sourness of tomato soup, and makes a world of difference.

I add a little vermouth to mine.

Why don't you post the recipe you're using? The amount of tomato in bolognese should not be making your sauce acidic. It's not a marinara. You need to use broth.

Yeah, it makes a huge difference without adding any sweetness, R9. It's easy to overdo it, so it's best to add it incrementally and taste after every addition.

Bolognese isn't supposed to be too tomatoey, so it shouldn't be very acidic in the first place if you're using the right recipe.

Lose the olives.

Simple recipe:

Just chop an onion as fine as you can get it, saute that in a couple table spoons of olive oil or whatever oil you have, add like a pound of ground beef to it, toss it around while breaking it up with the spoon until it's no longer pink, take out some excess fat with paper towels if you want, then add a can of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce or a bottle of passata and a can of tomato paste, add some black pepper, some oregano if you want and then let it cook on low eat barely bubbling for like 2-3 hrs then add salt to taste. That's sort of like the way my mom who was def not Italian did it but it's very easy. The way I do it is more traditional. You can mince a garlic clove and add with the beef if you want or if you're a garlic powder person add that. Very little. And if you have acid reflux you add a teaspoon of dry mustard to cut the acid so it's safer for you to eat.

And you want to use beef or 2:1 beef:pork but not just pork. Pork is much sweeter than beef.

I’d offer my help, but only if you thank me in person & via text.

And if you aren't sure about the salt just start with a teaspoon and just add more until it tastes good then let it sit or simmer for at least 30 min to balance it out. Generally going to take two tsp.

Already prepared for the hate but you wanted a simple recipe so...

What's your number, Harry/R15.

Will you give me a "private lesson?"

I only use a couple of teaspoons of salt at first because as the sauce reduces, the salt taste will be stronger. When the sauce is almost done, add more salt to taste. If you like a spicy sauce, add a pinch or two of cayenne.

Also, I like to use Italian sweet sausage in place of the pork. I would never use "Italian seasonings." Instead I use oregano, basil, fennel seeds, thyme and bay leaf.

For the tomatoes I use at least half a small can of tomato paste, a large can of whole tomatoes (San Marzano if you can get them), a can of tomato sauce and about one tomato can's worth of water. The sauce will thicken as it cooks down, which takes at least a couple of hours. Bring it just to a simmer, keep the heat on low and stir occasionally. You don't want the sauce to burn.

Add an anchovy or two and finish with a pat of butter.

Do not add fennel seeds.

Add a table spoon of dijon mustard.

Thank me later.

Definitely use red wine. Cabernet, Pinot Noir, or Chianti.

As stated, Bolognese doesn’t contain a ton of tomatoes.

R24 one regular sized can of diced tomatoes is not "a ton" of tomatoes.

THe kind of tomatoes you use is very important. I use Cento. I also use Muir Glen (Martha Stewart's favorite. And I add fresh tomatoes, like Compari or the sweet cherry tomatoes, cut in two. They add sweetness.

I didn't think garlic was part of a Bolognese sauce. I know you all will correct me if I'm wrong. Also, you mix lean ground beef and ground pork for Bolognese.

Don't bother. I wasted a day making Marcella Hazen's recipe, which was regarded as the gold standard of bolognese sauces. It came out OK and that's it. Not much of it, certainly edible, but definitely not worth all the time and effort.

R27 I think that garlic is an essential part of all Italian food.

Especially a marinara or tomato based sauce.

This is my favorite.

What ever you do OP, DO. NOT. RINSE. YOUR. PASTA! The people here will have a canary!

I know garlic is important, and I use it all the time with my Italian recipes, but one of the things that struck me about the authentic Bolognese was no garlic. Now maybe it was just that recipe, but I was told by an experienced cook that no, you don't put it in Bolognese. Bolognese is a totally different process than most sauces. Personally I don't like the addition of milk or cream. But it is a key part of the Bolognese.

In my recent thread on delicious gnocchi (that had to be deleted because there were so many false and stupid comments, in particular by some goon saying he enjoyed hurting me with his words!), someone had posted something about a Bolognese recipe that required a bit more work than other recipes. Does anyone know more about this? I am very curious whose recipe was being promoted.

I usually make Marcella’s and like it very much.

Thanks!

The comment was;

[quote] Here's her Bolognese recipe, somewhat more complicated than most.

Anyone remember this?

Please look at me know if you’d like my really easy and delicious gnocchi recipe. I provide a very thorough procedure to follow. The end result is magical!

Oh, dear!

That should have said,

[quote] Please let me know …

I think it may have been Barbara Lynch’s Bolognese recipe?

Try using a mix of pork, veal, and beef instead of just beef.

Marcella may have been. well, occasionally bitchy, but she never was wrong about cookery. Or just about anything else.

This is pretty much how most people in Italy make it. Definitely no olives, no garlic. It's not that complicated. I use bacon to create the grease at beginning and I use Italian sausage which adds some fennel flavoring. No idea if the sausages they use in Italy actually taste like that. Also I would advise not to brown the ground meat completely because they turn into little pebbles.

I love Marcella’s recipe and make it all the time. But I also love Barbara Lynch’s food and so am tempted to try her recipe. Is anyone familiar with both recipes? Just looking for comments from people who may know how they compare. Thanks!

Virtually every ingredient OP lists is not in real Bolognese sauce. Not tomatoes, not "Italian Seasoning" (whatever that is), not those abominations onion and garlic powder, not sugar, not dried parsley (another abomination) and not olives.

Love him or hate him, Mario Battali has the most authentic recipe for Bolognese that I know. It's on the internet, so you don't need to buy his cookbooks.

You better like animal "funk" if you use Lynch, because she calls for ground lamb AND chicken livers.

I would pass on her recipe.

I've made Marcella's Bolognese sauce twice and I found it a bit bland. Extra salt seems to help.

Chicken livers in a Bolognese provide a richness to the proceedings. I happen to love chicken livers, so that is not a deal breaker for me. And my mother and grandmother always put some lamb neck or shoulder in their Sunday sauce—which I like very much.

I use sweet tomatoes and I don't add any sugar and only use half a teaspoon of sea salt. I add onions, garlic, the German version of Soffritto (more root vegetables), artichoke hearts (kept in oil), sun-dried tomatoes (kept in oil). I put the sweet tomatoes, artichoke hearts and the sun-dried tomatoes in a blender. I start with putting the onions and garlic in the hot pan, add the root vegetables for a quick minute, then add the beef and pork mix, then add the mix from the blender and then add the salt, a bit of pepper, and the Herbs of Provence. Then I let it simmer for at least an hour. Around 20 minutes, before the sauce is ready, I start to heat up the pot to cook the pasta. I serve with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano on top.