Red Sauce (Ragu all'Italiana)

Ingredients

• 1/3 lb salt pork
• 2 lb chuck roast
• 3 cloves garlic
• crushed hot red pepper
• sweet onion
• 1 large carrot
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 12 oz tomato paste
• 29 oz diced tomatoes
• 29 oz tomato purée

Method

This is a braising sauce built on two non-negotiable moves: render the salt pork first to build your fat base, then browning the beef hard enough to pull flavour from the Maillard reaction. Mince the garlic, halve the onion (leave the skin on), and keep the carrot whole. Cut the salt pork into 5mm dice and the chuck into rough 3cm chunks — uneven sizes mean some pieces will break down into the sauce whilst others hold their structure, which gives you body without a mush texture.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium. Add the salt pork and render it for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fat runs clear and the meat crisps. You'll see the rendered fat turn golden; that's your umami base. Add the beef in batches — do not crowd the pan — and let each batch sit without moving for 2–3 minutes per side until a dark brown crust forms. This takes patience; rushing it means greyed meat that steams instead of caramelises. Once all the beef is browned, add the minced garlic, stir through for 30 seconds until fragrant, then pour in the tomato paste. Stir constantly for 2 minutes. This concentrates the paste and deepens its colour to brick-red — a crucial step that multiplies the sauce's flavour depth.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomato purée, whole carrot, halved onion, crumbled bay leaves, and a pinch of crushed hot red pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then lower to the gentlest bubble — barely a tremor on the surface — and cover partially. The slow heat allows collagen in the meat to convert to gelatine, thickening the sauce naturally whilst the flavours marry. After 2 hours, taste. At 3 hours, the meat should shred under a wooden spoon; at 4 hours, it should dissolve. Stir every 20–30 minutes to prevent sticking. If the sauce clings to the bottom, add water in small splashes — 100ml at a time — rather than letting it catch and burn. The finished ragu should coat the back of a spoon with a glossy film.

Remove the carrot and onion halves — they've given everything they have. Taste and season with salt and crushed black pepper. If you find the tomato sharp, add a small pinch of caster sugar to balance the acid. This sauce is best rested overnight, chilled, so the flavours settle and the fat can be lifted from the surface the next day.