Quick(ish) Meat Sauce

Meat sauces are usually long and slow affairs, but this version speeds things up with high heat and beef stock to mimic the flavor of a cooked-all-day sauce in a fraction of the time.

Take me to the sauce!

I love a great, long-simmered, deeply flavored, unctuous Bolognese more than almost anything. That falling apart meat with a hint of acidic tomatoes all clinging to some wide flat noodles with a sprinkle of salty, nutty parmesan? Swoon.

But realistically, we never have time to make one. Even during these quarantined weekends we need flexibility for when the children inevitably short circuit and need a change of scenery.

It’s hard to achieve that depth of flavor without the long, slow simmer, but I’ve tried! And I think succeeded! However, there’s a reason why I call this a “meat sauce” and not “Bolognese.” It’s not the original. But it is a delicious approximation in about an hour.

A couple of notes:

• Use the leanest beef you can find. If you can’t get 90/10 or 85/15, use half of the amount of pork listed or leave it out entirely

• This recipe is meant to be made mostly at high temperatures, but you’ll need to keep an eye on the sauce at every step to ensure that the liquids are evaporating fast enough, but that nothing is burning. We want the heat to caramelize and brown everything, but we don’t want anything to burn and turn bitter. You may have to do a significant amount of fiddling with the temperature throughout the cooking to speed things up or slow them down at intervals.

• I list a range of amount of the tomato paste. I like it less tomato-y, but my husband likes it with a little more. The largest amount (6 oz) is one small can of tomato paste.

Quick (ish) meat sauce 

2 Tbsp olive oil 
½ large onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup) 
1 large stalk celery, finely minced  (about ½ cup) 
1 small carrot, finely minced (about ½ cup) 
5 large garlic cloves, smashed 
1 lb ground beef (90/10 if you can find it) 
¼ lb ground pork or sausage, casings removed
1 tsp kosher salt 
4-6 oz tomato paste (5-6½ tbsp)
¼ cup red wine 
2 cups beef broth 
Pepper to taste

Time: about 1 hour for the sauce and the pasta, mostly active
Yield: 3-4 cups of sauce, or enough for 1 lb of pasta 

Heat a skillet over a medium flame. Add the oil and heat until the oil is shimmering and slips easily around the pan. Add the onion, celery, and carrots, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the veggies soften and begin to brown.

Add the garlic. Cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn. 

Add the meat and turn the heat back up to medium if you turned it down earlier. Stir and chop up the meat with your spatula breaking it into small pieces while cooking until no pink remains, about 5 minutes. 

Stop stirring and let the meat cook, undisturbed, until browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. You should hear it sizzling and bubbling. If not, turn up the flame.

Add the tomato paste and wine and stir well to combine and deglaze the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, until the wine has evaporated, about 2 minutes. 

Add 1½ cup of beef broth and cook, stirring often, until it has evaporated, about 8-10 minutes. If the liquid isn’t evaporating fast enough, turn up the flame.

Add the final ½ cup of broth, turn the heat all the way down, and cover. Let simmer on the lowest heat while you cook your pasta. 

Bring your water to a boil and cook the pasta according to its package directions. Stir the sauce every few minutes while the pasta cooks.

Combine and serve.