Recipe Giuseppe's Bolognese Copycat

CraigC

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Giuseppe's Bolognese
Latest version
Ingredients
2-1/2 pounds g. beef
1 lb g. turkey
1-1/2 pounds Italian sausage, mixed hot and mild, either bulk or removed from casing
1/2 lb bacon, chopped
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 large red onion, diced
20 garlic cloves, minced
6 oz tomato paste
8 oz tomato puree
3 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp dried thyme
2 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
1 Tbsp dry basil
2 cups ruby cabernet
2 cups water (or stock, I mixed beef and chicken) plus more liquid as needed during cooking to keep moist
Parmigiano bone (rind)
1-1/2 lbs b/s chicken thighs
1 lb chicken livers, cleaned, minced finely or ground
salt and pepper
Directions
1) Brown g. beef, g. turkey, sausage, S and P in large pot.
2) Add wine and water/stock and bring to a simmer.
3) Cook bacon in a large skillet, remove.
4) Add carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper, add a bit of olive oil to bacon grease and saute until almost soft.
5) Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
6) Add tomato paste and cook in.
7) Add herbs and cook in.
8) Add skillet contents to meat mixture and add the tomato puree.
9) Add parm bone.
10) Reduce to a low simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
11) Add chicken and chicken livers, simmer for another 1-1/2 hours, adding liquid as needed, skimming excess fat as it rises.
12) Remove chicken, shred and return to pot.
13) Add enough extra stock or water to raise the liquid level 1” above meat mixture.
14) Cool and refrigerate overnight.
15) Remove fat layer.
16) Heat to a simmer and reduce to a very thick sauce.

Serve with fresh tagliatelle.
 
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Beef, turkey, chicken sausages, chicken liver all in a Bolognese - blimey!

Like I wrote earlier, it's a weekend only special at the restaurant and is served over fresh made taglietelli. Obviously, it's very meaty and the chicken livers give it an umami, what is that extra depth of flavor taste because they disappear into the sauce. The meat sauce, and that's a loose interpretation as it's so thick, makes an outstanding ravioli filling with a medium red sauce for the finished ravioli.
 
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Steal away, wasn't mine to begin with. I had first heard about a sauce like this in Bon Appetit a good while back, also using livers, but had never gotten around to making it. Then, we were watching Diner's, Drive-ins, and Dives, and Guy went crazy over this sauce. If you watch enough, you get to where you can tell when he's faking it and when he really likes something. So, I figured it was worth figuring it out and making. The restaurant owner used to play in an orchestra in Italy and got the idea for this sauce from an Italian lady who'd been making her sauce that way for years, so obviously it's been around for a while.

Obviously this makes a lot. We divide it in portions and freeze. We do a couple of small bags for ravioli too. We usually end up with at least 5-7 dinner meals out of this, besides leftovers for 1 or 2 lunch servings. It's nice being able to pull out a bag, and defrost, and either using fresh pasta from the store or making up a quick batch of pasta for a quick meal, because it is definitely worth having fresh pasta.

We liked this last version the most, not sure I'll try and make any more changes. We really liked the addition of that little bit of pureed tomato, though not sure I'd want much more tomato flavor in there. This is a sauce starring the meat for sure.

If you can't find a ruby cab (and they are hard to find, the restaurant makes theirs), just use a fruity merlot or chianti, nothing expensive, just drinkable because that's all a ruby cab really is, just a cheap, usually homemade or small batch, wine that's nice to have on the table.
 
Last edited:
Giuseppe's Bolognese
Latest version
Ingredients
2-1/2 pounds g. beef
1 lb g. turkey
1-1/2 pounds Italian sausage, mixed hot and mild, either bulk or removed from casing
1/2 lb bacon, chopped
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 large red onion, diced
20 garlic cloves, minced
6 oz tomato paste
8 oz tomato puree
3 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp dried thyme
2 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
1 Tbsp dry basil
2 cups ruby cabernet
2 cups water (or stock, I mixed beef and chicken) plus more liquid as needed during cooking to keep moist
Parmigiano bone (rind)
1-1/2 lbs b/s chicken thighs
1 lb chicken livers, cleaned, minced finely or ground
salt and pepper
Directions
1) Brown g. beef, g. turkey, sausage, S and P in large pot.
2) Add wine and water/stock and bring to a simmer.
3) Cook bacon in a large skillet, remove.
4) Add carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper, add a bit of olive oil to bacon grease and saute until almost soft.
5) Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
6) Add tomato paste and cook in.
7) Add herbs and cook in.
8) Add skillet contents to meat mixture and add the tomato puree.
9) Add parm bone.
10) Reduce to a low simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
11) Add chicken and chicken livers, simmer for another 1-1/2 hours, adding liquid as needed, skimming excess fat as it rises.
12) Remove chicken, shred and return to pot.
13) Add enough extra stock or water to raise the liquid level 1” above meat mixture.
14) Cool and refrigerate overnight.
15) Remove fat layer.
16) Heat to a simmer and reduce to a very thick sauce.

Serve with fresh tagliatelle.

What is the difference between tomato paste and tomato puree? I thought it was the same thing.....
 
I have been using American bacon, but will use pancetta next time I make this, and also the baking soda trick with the ground meats.
2018-05-16-18-00-40-jpg.jpg
 
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