Short Rib Meat Sauce (Sicilian Ragù Bolognese)

A ragù is a slow cooked meat-based sauce, and there as many variations as there are regions in Italy. Everyone makes theirs differently, and there's not one right way to make it. This is a Southern Italian Ragù recipe. Ragùs from the south are usually made by cooking large pieces of beef and/or pork in sauce for hours until tender. Then the sauce is spooned over pasta for the primo or first course in a meal, and the meat is served separately as the main course. You can put beef and pork ribs, sausage and even meatballs in the ragù.

Short Rib Ragù:
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
½ cup pancetta or bacon, chopped
2 lbs beef short ribs (1 kg)
½ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 cup red wine
½ cup white onion, chopped
½ cup carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic
2 cans peeled plum tomatoes, crushed (2x796 mL)
3 cups beef broth
½ Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. dried oregano
kosher or sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Pasta:
pappardelle pasta (700 g)
3 Tbsp. kosher or sea salt

Garnish:
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Make the Short Rib Ragù:
In a large pot on medium heat, heat 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil. Add pancetta and fry until pancetta is cooked and slightly crisp. Remove from the pot and drain on a paper towel.

Season flour with salt and pepper, and dredge short ribs in flour. Add short ribs to the same pot that the pancetta was cooking in. Cook the short ribs on each side until browned, about 7 minutes total. Remove from the pot.

At this point, deglaze the pot with ¼-½ cup of the red wine. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen up any bits that have stuck to the bottom. Add the remaining olive oil to the pot.

Add the onion and carrot to the pot, let them cook down. When they are halfway cooked, add the garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the onion, carrot and garlic are cooked, add the crushed tomatoes to the pot. Add the ribs and pancetta back in, as well as the beef stock, remaining red wine, rosemary, bay leaf and oregano. Season with salt and pepper.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer with the lid on for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Then take the lid off and continue cooking the sauce for another 1 hour and 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Make the Pasta:
When the sauce is almost done, bring a large pot of water to boil. Throw in the pappardelle when the water is boiling, and add salt to the pasta water.

Assembly:
Once pappardelle are cooked to al dente, drain, and add the sauce to the pappardelle. Leave the short ribs aside to use as a main dish. Alternatively, you can shred the short ribs up and mix them in with the pappardelle.

Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Cook's Notes:

• Use English-style short ribs, as opposed to flanken ribs. They are cut thicker and more suitable for the longer cook time that this ragu requires.
• This recipe calls for red wine, and any type of full-bodied red wine will work. I used a Negroamaro from Puglia.
• Pappardelle is recommended to use in this pasta dish, but tagliatelle or fettuccine would work very well too. However, if you want to use what you have on hand, even a short cut of pasta like rigatoni works too.
• There are a few options on serving this pasta:
  • Shred the short ribs once the sauce is done, and top the pasta with the shredded short ribs.
  • Remove the short ribs from the sauce once it's done cooking. Eat the pasta with the sauce first, then eat the short ribs separately as a main course.