Negroni Bolognese
A recipe that was born from a bottle of pre-made negroni sitting in my cupboard, collecting dust. The idea of making a negroni bolognese came into my mind and I was so excited at the thought of it.
The result is an ultra rich, savoury meat sauce with a depth of flavour that is unique to any other I have tried. The negroni is used to deglaze the pan in the place of red wine — and the final flavor profile has a gentle essence of campari, gin and vermouth.
If you’ll be serving this negroni bolognese for dinner, I would suggest starting with my stracciatella with sizzling green sauce — it plays perfectly into the italian-maximalist theme.
Serves 4-6. Yields approx. 4 cups.
Ingredients:
125g pancetta, or bacon, diced
500g beef mince
100g carrot, or 1 large carrot, diced
100g celery, or 2 sticks, diced
1 white onion, 150g, diced
2 tsp fine cooking salt & cracked black pepper
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
2 cloves
1 tsp rosemary/thyme/italian herbs blend
1 cup negroni mix:
1/3 cup gin
1/3 cup red, sweet, italian-style vermouth, such as Cinzano Rosso or Cinzano 1757
1/3 cup campari
200g tomato puree
2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup whole milk
Optional: parmesan rind, waxy end removed
Just in case: 4 cups of water
Method:
Brown the meat: Add pancetta or bacon bits to a dutch oven or large pot before turning on the heat, no oil or butter required. Turn on the heat to medium and only stir occasionally, allowing the pancetta to release it’s fat and crisp. The base of the pot should have a golden fond, aka the caramelized bits left in the bottom of the pan after browning meat, though do not leave it too long since you don’t want it to burn. A golden brown is perfect. After 8-10 minutes, or once the pancetta is golden and crispy, transfer the pancetta from the pan into a bowl, leaving behind the fat/oil released from the pancetta in the pot.
Turn the heat to very high and add the beef mince. Using a wooden spoon, break the beef mince apart so there’s a few rough chunks and spread them apart so they have space to breathe and caramelize. Brown the meat on all sides by stirring only once you see the bottom has become dark brown. The fond should turn a dark brown color. Once the beef mince chunks have browned on all sides, transfer to the same bowl containing pancetta. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Have the diced vegetables ready to go.
Sweat the mirepoix: throw in the carrot, celery and onion into the pot and stir to coat the bottom of the pot and stop the fond from cooking any further. Add salt and pepper and stir to mix through. Saute the vegetables for 5-10 minutes, or until they are soft and have picked up the color from the fond.
Add seasonings: add in garlic, bay leaves, cloves, italian seasoning and stir to combine.
Deglaze with negroni: add the browned pancetta and beef back in and stir to combine. Add in the negroni mix and stir to coat the bottom of the pot. Allow to evaporate and reduce for 3-4 minutes. Once the booze aroma has disappeared, add in tomato puree and beef stock. Optional to add a parmesan rind at this point. Lower the heat to low, pop the lid on the pot and cook covered for 3 hours, checking on it every hour, adding more water if needed.
Note: after 1 hour, I added 4 cups of additional water, as I noticed the liquid was reducing quickly, even on low heat. This may vary from one kitchen to another. Check on the sauce after 1 hour of cooking covered. Add more water to prevent it from drying out and burning. After 3 hours, the liquid evaporated to the perfect sauciness after adding 4 extra cups of water.
The finale: After 3 hours, turn off the heat. Remove and discard the cloves and bay leaves. The parmesan rind should have completely dissolved. The sauce should be glossy and thick, yet spoon-able. The meat should have fallen apart into smaller pieces, but you can use a wooden spoon to break them apart if needed. Let cool slightly and taste for salt. Adjust with salt and pepper if needed. Add milk and stir through. Enjoy with pasta.
