Ragù Napoletano

Ingredients

• 6-10 lbs San Marzano plum tomatoes, fresh or canned peeled
• tomato paste
• 8 garlic cloves
• 1.5 white onions
• 6-8 oz red wine
• 8 fresh basil leaves
• dry oregano
• red pepper
• 1-2 lb pork tenderloin
• 1-2 lb sweet and/or spicy Italian sausage
• 1 lb cubed stewing beef (chuck, short rib, or oxtail)
• 1-2 lb ground beef chuck, veal, and pork
• 1.5 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1.5 cups breadcrumbs (baked stale bread, oregano, salt and pepper)
• 2-3 eggs
• 1 splash milk
• 1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 sprig fresh basil, chopped
• 0.5 onion, minced
• 4-8 garlic cloves, minced
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 pinch sugar

Method

Ragù Napoletano is a braising sauce built on three elements: a reduced tomato base, seared meat for depth, and a slow marriage of flavours over hours. Start with your tomato foundation. If using fresh San Marzanos, salt them heavily in a colander — this draws out water and concentrates flavour. Crush canned tomatoes by hand; the food processor bruises them into bitterness. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, then pass through a food mill to remove skins and seeds. You want a smooth sauce, not pulp. Set aside.

Make your meatballs while the sauce reduces. Mix the ground beef, veal, and pork by hand with the breadcrumb mixture, eggs, parsley, and minced garlic until just combined — overworking toughens them. Form into golf-ball-sized spheres. Bake at 200°C until the surface is coloured but the centre still yields to gentle pressure, roughly 15–20 minutes. This sets the exterior without drying the meat through; you'll finish cooking them in the braise.

Heat olive oil in a heavy Dutch oven and searing|sear each piece of meat — the pork tenderloin, sausages, and beef cubes — in separate batches. Build a fond on the bottom; this is flavour. Remove each once the surface browns but the inside stays raw; they braise later. Sweat the onion and garlic in the same pot until translucent, then deglaze with the red wine, scraping hard to lift every particle of caramelised meat and tomato solids. This deglazing step dissolves the umami-rich crust into your liquid.

Return all the meat and meatballs to the pot, add the tomato sauce, fresh basil, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes. Season cautiously — you'll adjust later. The pinch of sugar is insurance: tomato acidity varies wildly, and salt alone won't mask harshness. Cover partially (leave a gap so steam escapes) and cook on the lowest flame for 4–5 hours. Stir every 45 minutes and check the bottom isn't catching. The meat should shred under a wooden spoon, the sauce turn deep mahogany, and the fat rise to the surface in a glossy sheen.

Taste and season once more. Serve over cooked rigatoni or penne — the tube shape traps sauce and meat. Ragù freezes brilliantly in airtight containers for up to four months; thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently.