Not to be confused with the Italian ragu, which is a meat-based pasta sauce, this hearty, slow-cooked French-style stew is great for freezer-friendly batch cooking
Lucy is an inventive freelance food stylist and food writer working in magazines, books and other projects. Former Deputy Food Editor of food magazine Delicious, Lucy now works for an array of clients including; Sainsburys, Good Food and Delicious.
See more of Lucy O'Reilly’s recipes
Lucy O'Reilly
Lucy is an inventive freelance food stylist and food writer working in magazines, books and other projects. Former Deputy Food Editor of food magazine Delicious, Lucy now works for an array of clients including; Sainsburys, Good Food and Delicious.
See more of Lucy O'Reilly’s recipes
Subscribe to Sainsbury’s magazine
Rate this recipe
Print
Ingredients
1.8kg (trimmed weight) beef braising steak, chopped into 3-4cm chunks, or 4 x 450g packs diced beef
3 tbsp olive oil
1 x 206g pack cubetti di pancetta, or 180g smoked cubetti di pancetta
2 large onions, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 large sticks of celery, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp tomato purée
2 bay leaves
200ml red wine
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
600ml fresh beef stock
Share:
Step by step
Get ahead
Keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days, or can be frozen. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then add a splash of water; reheat in a pan.
Preheat the oven to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3. Season the beef. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a large frying pan; brown the beef in batches over a medium-high heat. Using a draining spoon, transfer to a large casserole with a lid, leaving any oil in the pan. Continue to brown the remaining beef, adding a splash of oil to the pan between each batch, and transferring the beef to the casserole when done.
Add the pancetta to the frying pan and fry until the fat has rendered out, then add to the beef using a draining spoon. Add the onions, carrots and celery to the oil in the frying pan, stir, and cook over a low heat for 10-15 minutes until softened.
Increase the heat, add the garlic; cook for 2 minutes, then add the tomato purée and bay leaves and cook for 1 minute more. Add the wine; bubble to reduce by half.
Tip the vegetables into the casserole and add the tomatoes, stock and 150ml water. Season, stir, and bring to a simmer then cover with a lid; transfer to the middle of the oven. Cook for 3-3 1⁄2 hours, or until the meat is tender and the sauce slightly reduced.
Break up the meat with a couple of forks and stir into the sauce. Portion up as required.
Tip
Turn ragout into...
Chilli con carne Fry1 deseeded and diced green chilli, ½ tsp chilli flakes, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1 tsp dried oregano in 1tbsp oil. Stir in 900g beef ragout, add a tin of black beans and 150ml Mexican lager (such as Sol). Partially cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste, add a squeeze of lime juice and chopped coriander.
Moroccan tagine Fry 1 tbsp harissa paste, 1 tsp ground coriander and 1 tsp ground cumin in 1tbsp oil. Stir in 900g beef ragout, along with 200ml vegetable stock, 125g halved dried apricots, and 90g pitten green olives.Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes; check the seasoning. Serve with herby bulgur wheat, natural yoghurt and lemon wedges.
You might also like...
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
offerReceive three bottles of wine from the aficionados at Wine52 for just £9.95
offerReceive a craft beer case worth £27 from Beer52 for just £6.95!
winWin a set of The Lost Wife for your book club
winWin tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera, and a night at a four-star London hotel
The difference between ragu and ragout isn't really that much ragu is an Italian pasta sauce that is usually made with minced meat or vegetables and ragout is a French style stew that would normally be found on-top of a Paris style mash but the Italians would do this on-top of polenta.
This beef ragu is a flavor explosion of carefully-selected ingredients, including: Beef. Chuck roast is the best choice here. It shreds nicely and becomes super tender and flavorful after cooking for a few hours.
If the beef is still tough after 2.5 hours of cooking, it needs to cook for longer. Make sure the sauce is still bubbling very gently (you should be able to see bubbles appearing in the sauce; if not, the heat is too low and the beef will take a lot longer to cook).
A ragout is essentially the same as a stew, except that most recipes for ragout are originally French, and often the meat and vegetables are cut into smaller pieces than in a typical stew. Ragouts vary in flavor and ingredients — you can skip the meat and make a vegetarian ragout, for example.
Ragù is a meat-based sauce, typically served with pasta. Traditionally, pieces of meat (often beef, pork, game, or even horse), are cooked on a low heat in a braising liquid (this is usually tomato or wine-based) over a long period of time.
When it comes to slow-braised beef ragus, you can't really overcook the sauce. It's recommended that your cook your ragu for at least two hours. If you plan on cooking for longer, make sure there is enough liquid in the pot to keep the sauce properly hydrated so it doesn't burn.
Make sure the heat is on it's very lowest setting and that the area is cleared and safe. Stir occasionally but honestly, just leave it to do its thing. The end result should be a dark red sauce with very little residual liquid. After many tests, the optimal cooking time is between 4-5 hours for the best flavour.
“Beef may be tough in the slow cooker if you haven't added enough liquid, or haven't cooked it for long enough,” Kristen Carli, M.S., R.D., owner of Camelback Nutrition & Wellness, tells SELF. “For cuts of meat, the fattier cuts are often the ones that get juicy and tender.
Yes, you can overcook beef stew and other dishes. The recipe will indicate the preferred time, and while one can go over that, it shouldn't be by too much. One hour isn't likely to make a difference for beef stew. Three hours would.
The longer cooking time and the low heat complement each other perfectly. As a result, even though the meat is cooked for far longer, it doesn't dry out because the temperature is low. As a result, this is the best way to retain all the natural juices of the meat.
Ragout, on the other hand, is a slow-cooked French-style stew that can be made with meat or fish and vegetables — or even just vegetables. You can eat it on its own, or with a starch like polenta, couscous, or pasta.
It has a real "throw it in the pot" approach that prioritizes local tastes and ingredients. Unlike its French cousin, ragù is primarily a sauce used to top pasta and not a meal to be eaten by itself. Variations on ragù are not as disparate as ragoûts.
Ragout, on the other hand, is a slow-cooked French-style stew that can be made with meat or fish and vegetables — or even just vegetables. You can eat it on its own, or with a starch like polenta, couscous, or pasta.
One of the most popular and beloved recipes in Italy, ragù is a sauce made from tomatoes and ground or chopped meat, which is cooked for a long time. It is normally made with tomato sauce, celery, onions and carrots, ground beef and/or pork, some white wine and aromatic herbs like basil and bay leaf.
Even though both are considered meat sauces and are thusly chunky, ragù is more like a thick tomato sauce with recognizable bits of ground beef within it.Bolognese, though, is creamier and thicker because it is made with milk. It is not considered to be a tomato sauce.
Introduction: My name is Jeremiah Abshire, I am a outstanding, kind, clever, hilarious, curious, hilarious, outstanding person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
Prep time: 55 mins
