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Hello, this is Chef John from foodwishes.com, and today we're making Bolognese, Better Than Beef. That's right, we use turkey and pork to make a meat sauce that's cheaper, presumably less fatty, but just as rich, filling, and delicious as the traditional version, which is why I'm saying this Bolognese is better than beef. We can argue about this later, but for now let's get started: add the olive oil and butter to a cast iron skillet or other thick-walled pan that we've placed over medium heat. When the butter melts and starts to sizzle, we will add the diced onion, celery, and carrot along with salt. We're going to start sautéing what's known in the Bolognese business as sofrito.
We will cook this, stirring over medium heat for 7-8 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and the onions are translucent. Oh, let me give you one piece of advice off the record. If you don't like working with a knife, you can chop these vegetables in a food processor until fine crumbs and use them. Sure, it works, but then you have to wash the food processor. That's why I prefer a knife. But anyway, when the vegetables look something like this, we'll add the ground turkey and pork. Then increase the heat to maximum. And mix the meat with our sofrito. As always, we need to break the meat into very small pieces, which can be done with a wooden spoon or spatula. But another tool that is great for this is a potato masher, it's the fastest method.
Regardless of the tool chosen, we want to grind the meat well. It is worth noting that I like a very meaty sauce, so I take 2 pounds (about 900 g) of meat. But know that you can take a pound and a half or even one and still get a great sauce. Just keep that in mind. When we've been frying the meat and vegetables for a few minutes, we'll stop and add a very important ingredient-1 cup of whole milk. We will cook this stirring occasionally, for about 6-7 minutes, or until the milk has evaporated by about 75%. Milk is so important not only for the richness of flavor: the lactic acid and calcium tenderize the meat and give the finished sauce that
wonderful velvety texture we strive for. And once we feel like our milk has evaporated enough, like I have now, we'll add some freshly ground black pepper, as well as freshly grated nutmeg, which is 100 times better than store-bought ground. Oh, and if you can, try to get most of it into the sauce and not on the sides of the pan. And then we'll add the white wine and pour it in, while trying to whisk that nutmeg into the sauce. Then, just like with the milk, we'll cook this, stirring occasionally, until the wine has almost, but not quite, completely evaporated. Wine is also a key ingredient here, as we need that acidity and a subtle hint of fermented sweetness. But if you don't use or can't use wine, you can achieve a
similar effect by adding a little white wine vinegar. However, if you have the opportunity, wine is the best option. And it doesn't have to be expensive wine, but it has to be drinkable. And when the wine has evaporated and the bottom of the pan is visible when stirring, we'll add our final set of ingredients, which includes a couple tablespoons of tomato paste, plus a little cayenne pepper that I forgot to add earlier. And then we'll add some grated or mashed San Marzano tomatoes. And try to find real ones that actually come from Italy. And we'll also add a little broth or water, which I use to rinse the measuring cup that contained the tomatoes. We pour this in and mix everything together. And of course, if we
were making a regular tomato sauce with meat, we would probably use twice as many tomatoes. But this is not tomato sauce. Okay, I'm not even sure if this is even a sauce. Because I think of it more as a meat dish with a little tomato added to it. We will wait for the mixture to boil, then stir it, reduce the heat to low, and cook, simmering very slowly for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. This is what it looked like for me after an hour of cooking. I think if you were really hungry and had to, you could serve the dish right now. But I wouldn't.
I would simmer for another hour to further concentrate the flavor and achieve maximum tenderness, after which it would look something like this. And since my pork mixture was only 15% fat and the turkey was only 7%. We shouldn't have a lot of fat floating to the surface. So sorry to those who are used to removing fat. That's all. At this point, our sauce is almost ready. Unless, of course, we have to taste it and check the seasonings. You may want to add a pinch of salt, which I did. And then we'll taste it again to check. And if everything went according to plan, the meat should be very tender and literally melt in your mouth. That's all. We are ready to serve it with the pasta of our choice. But under no circumstances will we just pour the sauce
over the finished pasta. Oh no. We'll add some sauce to the pan instead. Okay, let's say one large ladle per serving. Then add a couple of spoons of water, in which our pasta is cooked nearby. We mix it all together and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Because the best way to finish cooking pasta is to undercook it for about a minute, then add it to the sauce and finish cooking it right in the pan. This way the pasta absorbs much more flavor, and you get something much better than if you just poured sauce over the finished pasta. I use pappardelle, but of course rigatoni or spaghetti are also classic choices. That's all. In about a minute, our pasta should be perfect. After that, we'll
turn off the heat and add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Yes, of course, the real one, Parmigiano Reggiano. In addition, we will add a pinch of salt. By the way, for a spicier taste, you can also use pecorino. But anyway, once we mix it up, we'll serve the dish in a deep plate, as is customary. And we'll make sure that we generously sprinkle meat on top. And then I'll finish the dish with a little Parmesan and a pinch of fresh chopped Italian parsley. That's all. What I claim is better than beef bolognese is ready to eat. And this, my friends, was truly incredible, and tasted virtually identical to the beef version. And while the dish is a bit lighter in color, if you didn't tell someone it was turkey with pork, I really do n't think
most people would guess. Oh, and if you've ever had beef and veal bolognese, it tasted almost identical to me. So I was extremely pleased with the result. And because it's so rich and flavorful, a small amount of sauce is enough. Is n't that right? We only need enough to cover the noodles, because the main thing here is the pasta itself, which is more in line with the Italian cooking philosophy. But I'm American, and a lot of sauce wouldn't hurt either. So I'll pour a little more and do it Jersey style. But, as always, portion size is up to you. Ultimately, you are the one in charge here, and it is up to you to decide how much to put in. Anyway, if you love Bolognese and are ready to try an alternative version that can save
you some money without sacrificing flavor and texture, I really hope you give it a try soon. Please follow the links below for printable recipe, and lots of other information, as always. And, as always, delicious.
