When Pellegrino Artusi published his Bolognese sauce recipe in his 1891 cookbook, he probably had no idea how his recipe would change over the years. Originally including veal, pancetta, butter, sofrito and broth, his recipe took only 20 minutes to make and included no tomatoes! Fast forward 135 years and Bolognese sauce has often evolved into a ragu with multiple ingredients requiring 5-6 hours of slow cooking!
My recipe here is adapted from Evan Funke’s Bolognese recipe. Evan is the well-known chef owner of Funke restaurant in L.A. who adds bone marrow to his ragu, along with ground beef, pancetta, red wine, tomato passata, and chicken stock. Bone marrow is a soft, spongy tissue inside the center of bones that makes blood cells and stores fat. After slow-cooking for 5 hours, his stew takes on a deep, meaty flavor with a super-charged umami.
The recipe below requires bone marrow bones which you can buy from your butcher or perhaps supermarket. Evan also uses a food grinder to mince all of his meats; as an alternative you could ask your butcher to grind it for you, or shred the meat in your food processor.
I find that this recipe requires little or no salt, due to the addition of the pancetta and prosciutto. You could also add a little Italian seasoning (Artusi used nutmeg), but I feel that any additional seasoning is not required due to the strong flavors present.
Exception: I added a little orange zest to provide some tartness and balance-out the strong meaty flavor of the recipe.
Let’s get started!
Place the bone marrow bones on a parchment-lined tray with the ‘channel-side’ facing up. Roast for 25 minutes at 410 F. The bone marrow will soften and fat will seep from the bones. Remove bones from oven and using a small spoon, scrape the marrow into a bowl, along with all the fat. You will use this fat (‘liquid gold’) to initially cook the chopped vegetables and to add flavor to your ragu.
Using a food grinder attachment, grind the beef (chuck roast or brisket) into a bowl, along with the pancetta and prosciutto. If you don’t have a food grinder, ask the butcher to grind it for you, or use standard ground beef with 20% fat content (ground beef often contains chuck roast anyway, as well sirloin or round).
Roughly chop the onion, carrot, and celery and feed through the food grinder. An alternative to using a grinder is to finely chop the veggies and set aside in a bowl.
Grind up all meat and veggies in a food grinder Meat and veggies after grinding
Melt the fat from the bone marrow in a large pot or Dutch oven; add the chopped veggies and cook until soft and translucent. Gradually add the ground meat, red wine, tomato passata, chicken stock, and bone marrow bones and simmer on the stovetop for 4-5 hours. (After completing the above steps, I transferred the ragu to a slow cooker for 4-5 hours).
Serve with pasta, chopped parsley, and pecorino or parmesan cheese.
Mmmmmmm delicious!!!
Looks fabulous! I love the use of marrow bones — so rich and silky! The only thing missing for me is the milk/cream I was taught is used to finish a Bolognese. Have you ever added the milk/cream? Just curious.
Thanks for the comment, David! I know that the Italian Academy of Cuisine updated their recipe for a true ragù alla bolognese on 20 April 2023. They said it was ‘optional’ to use 1/2 cup of milk halfway through the cooking. But I haven’t ever added milk or cream to my recipe; it didn’t seem necessary to me. (BTW David, you’d be happy to know that the Academy said that it is “unacceptable’ to use garlic in the recipe! ha ha).
I definitely knew the Academy doesn’t condone garlic — one of the reasons I am always clear to eat Bolognese in Italy (but not in the US!). I learned my Bolognese in Bologna in the early 1990s from my cousin who lives in Bologna, so it makes sense that the recipe hadn’t been updated. I still like using the dairy for its texture. I do wonder what made them update a recipe? SO glad to know that. I will definitely be trying your version once the heat abates a bit.
What a fantastic Bolognese, Fran! I love the use of marrow bones and prosciutto – they must add such incredible depth of flavour.
Thank you Ben for your comment!
wow…I need to make this too. And I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE bone marrow like made :-))
Oh yes! Bone marrow is th ekey! Brava !
Thank you!
The addition of bone marrow sounds like genius to me, Fran. And I happen to have some marrow bones in the freezer!
Thanks Frank! Since you are an authentic Italian cook, that’s quite a complement coming from you!
I could dive into that Sauce!
This has to be delicious and a true labor of love.