Shredded Beef Ragu
This is comfort food at its finest - chuck roast that falls apart after slow simmering in tomato sauce with a proper soffritto base. The meat becomes so tender it shreds with a fork, and the sauce develops incredible depth after 3 hours of cooking.
Ingredients
Ingredients (~6 servings)
- 2 lbs beef chuck roast, cut into 4 equal pieces
- Kosher salt and pepper for seasoning
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3/4 cup celery, diced
- 1 Tbsp garlic, ~4-5 cloves, minced
- 1 can tomato paste, 6 oz
- 3/4 cup beef broth, or red wine
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs sage
- ~8 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 can crushed tomatoes, 15 oz
- 1 1/2 cups low sodium beef broth
- 1 lb pappardelle pasta
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan
Instructions
- Pat beef dry and season with salt and pepper.
- Sear beef pieces in Dutch oven until deeply browned, about 3-4 minutes per side.
- Remove beef and sauté carrots, onion, and celery until deeply browned, about 15 minutes.
- Add garlic and tomato paste, cooking until fragrant.
- Deglaze pan with beef broth, scraping up browned bits.
- Add herb bundle, bay leaves, crushed tomatoes, and beef back to pot.
- Simmer covered for 2.5-3 hours until beef shreds easily.
- Remove herbs, shred beef, and return to sauce.
- Boil pasta in salted water until al dente.
- Stir cream and parmesan into ragu.
- Toss pasta with ragu, adding pasta water if needed.
- Serve with extra parmesan.
Notes
Use reserved pasta water to adjust sauce consistency.