The Butcher's Ragu

LET them sweat about 7 to 8 minutes, until the onions become translucent but are not taking on color. Add about ¾ cup water and the tablespoon of tomato concentrate and let cook down briskly until the liquid is almost completely evaporated.

ADD the ground meat, breaking it up continuously and moving it about so that no lumps or balls form and all the meat gets broken down into its individual strands. Once the meat is all broken down and just cooked, add the can of San Marzano tomatoes and cook, simmering gently, stirring occasionally on the lowest heat you can go. The longer and slower this cooks, the better the ragu. We're talking 3 or 4 hours. You will know it's done when all the fat has cooked out of the meat and floats lazily on top of the sauce, colored orange from the tomato. At this point, the ragu can be eaten immediately or refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months.

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves

1 small Spanish onion, peeled and chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped

½ bunch flat-leaf Italian parsley

2 sprigs rosemary, sage, thyme, or a combination

3 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

4 to 4 ½ lbs mixed ground meat such as 2 lbs beef, 1 lb pork, and 1 lb veal

1 tbsp Italian double concentrate tomato paste

1 35-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes

Salt and pepper

WINE PAIRING

Montepulciano

Instructions

CHOP the garlic, onions, carrots, celery, herbs, and parsley finely in a food processor.

SWEAT the vegetables out over low heat in the olive oil with a pinch of salt in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven-type pan.

LET them sweat about 7 to 8 minutes, until the onions become translucent but are not taking on color. Add about ¾ cup water and the tablespoon of tomato concentrate and let cook down briskly until the liquid is almost completely evaporated.

ADD the ground meat, breaking it up continuously and moving it about so that no lumps or balls form and all the meat gets broken down into its individual strands. Once the meat is all broken down and just cooked, add the can of San Marzano tomatoes and cook, simmering gently, stirring occasionally on the lowest heat you can go. The longer and slower this cooks, the better the ragu. We're talking 3 or 4 hours. You will know it's done when all the fat has cooked out of the meat and floats lazily on top of the sauce, colored orange from the tomato. At this point, the ragu can be eaten immediately or refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months.

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