my italian ragu

How To Make my italian ragu

• 1

  In a large pot saute onion in EVOO until translucent. Add meat and cook over medium heat 5 - 10 minutes stirring often until well browned on all sides. (Brown in batches if you need to)
• 2

  Pour in red wine. Add bay leaf and chopped garlic. Cook over medium heat until liquid is absorbed. Add both cans of tomatoes and bring sauce to a boil then lower to a simmer for at least an hour but more is better... (I simmer mine for about 3 to 5 hours depending on time) After an hour I make the meatballs (recipe follows below)
• 3

  Here is my meatball recipe for this sauce... People will say to fry them or bake them but really you can just add them to the sauce carefully so you don't splash the hot sauce all over the stove and all yourself... that hurts... 1 lbs chopmeat (90 is what I use) 1 egg 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs garlic 2 to 3 cloves minced handful of parsley about 3 or 4 good handfuls of grated cheese In a bowl combine egg parsley and garlic in a dish with breadcrumb. (you can add a splash of milk if you'd like) Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. You want the mixture to be fairly firm. Form meat mixture into 1 inch balls like the size of a golf ball (or a bit smaller is good) drop into sauce. Simmer that for at least an hour so they cook thru (longer is fine)
• 4

  Boil Pasta (again your choice but I tend to like Rigatoni or Penne with this) Add Sauce to Pasta and mix well plate add cheese and serve. This makes enough for leftovers which will freeze nicely.
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