Why is my bolognese sauce no good?

[Richard Cavell]

Hi, everyone.

I'm a complete novice at cooking. I'm trying to make bolognese sauce but it's not working. For simplicity I am using only minced beef and tomato paste until I get that part right.

I put a tablespoon of rapeseed oil into a saucepan, and then put 300g mince into a frypan on medium-high heat, and moosh it with my tongs and stir it occasionally until it turns brown (takes a few minutes). I then pour tomato paste in and stir it until the mince is coated in the tomato paste. I then put it onto the lowest heat setting and leave it covered for an hour. Here's a video and pic of what it looks like after half an hour. The meat has not broken up and it doesn't smell right. What am I missing?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Richard Cavell]

Here is a picture

Here is a picture.

 

[Kayelle]

Hi Richard, and welcome to Discuss Cooking. There's no way you'll ever get anything worth eating with a can of tomato paste and some minced meat. Are you opposed to following a simple recipe?

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I fusili, oh so sili. I fusili and nilly and gay!

Fusilli Bolognese​

Ingredients:

½ lb ground beef
¼ lb ground pork
¼ lb ground veal
¼ lb bacon, chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup celery, chopped
¼ cup carrot, grated
2 tsp garlic, minced
4 Tbs butter
3 Tbs light tasting olive oil
10½ oz can beef consommé
1 cup dry white wine
28 oz can crushed tomatoes in puree
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp rubbed sage
1 Tbs oregano
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup milk
1 lb fusilli
Parmigiano Reggiano for garnishing

Instructions:

In a Dutch oven, heat the butter over medium heat until it melts, then add the olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and bacon and sauté them until the onions are translucent, but not browned.
Drain off all but 2 Tbs of the fat and add the ground beef, pork, and veal. Sauté the meats until cooked through. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the wine and consommé, and allow the sauce to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, sage, and red pepper flakes, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let sauce simmer, partially covered for 2 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally. 5 minutes prior to serving, stir in the milk.

While the sauce simmers, cook the fusilli according to the package directions, drain, and return it to the pot. Fold the desired amount of sauce into the fusilli, transfer it to a serving bowl and garnish it with Parmigiano Reggiano curls.

 

[Kayelle]

Richard, in my opinion, this is a very good and easy way to make it. You'll also learn some helpful knife skills since you are a new cook. Good luck..you can do it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTT9w5nt-zI

 

[Dawgluver]

Easy sauce. Cut up an onion into small dice. Throw in a pan with some hamburger (mince) on medium heat, keep breaking it up and let brown, and keep smashing up the burger with a large fork, potato masher, or whatever will break it up best. I've never used tongs to do that, but whatever works for you. After the burger is browned, pour in a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce, like Ragu or Prego. Or you can use plain tomato sauce. If you like, add some Italian seasoning and garlic powder. I like a can of mushrooms with their liquid, just add the whole thing. Cook for awhile, keep tasting.

You can add more seasoning like fennel seed and pepper flakes.

Mince and plain tomato paste does not sound good. Not enough liquid. Start with a jarred sauce, you'll learn from there.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Don't fret too much about your first attempts. Cooking takes practice. You'll get better the more you do it.

I'll tell you the same thing I tell my daughter: Google and YouTube are your friends. I wish I'd had these kinds of resources when I was first learning. Do a little research and you'll find a recipe that works.

 

[CakePoet]

Well you are missing garlic, onion, crushed tomatoes and well most of the ingredients.
This is what I do.

Calssic Spag bol
1 tablespoon oil
250 gram of mince beef or pork both work
1 onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove finely chopped
2 tins of crushed tomatoes ( go for bit more expensive bran then Tesco everyday or tesco finest )
2 tablespoon of tomatopuree / paste
1 oxo cube beef / any stock cube you have.
½tablespoon soysauce
½ tablespoon of Worchestershiresauce
Dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the oil in deep frying pan or pot, add the onion and fry until soften, add the beef and fry until it get fried bits, not just grey but small brown bits on them, remember to stir. If need be pour of excess fat. Add the garlic saute until you smell sweet garlic smell, it takes minute. Now add the tomatoes and the recept, except the salt, pepper and oregano. Stir and cover and simmer on low heat for 1 hour. Yes, 1 hour. Stir from time to time. If it goes dry, add bit of water. Now taste and season with oregano, salt and pepper. Done.

Even simpler recipe:
250 gram mince
1 jar pasta sauce.

Fry mince, add sauce. Easy peasy.

 

[CraigC]

I'm a self taught cook. When I first made an Italian style meat sauce, it was pretty simple minced/ground beef, chopped onion, minced garlic, dried "Italian" seasoning, canned tomatoes, S&P. I played with those ingredients for several meals, then I discovered red wine (chianti in the straw wrapped bottle, its Italian right?). Then came tomato paste, which I learned was best "browned" with the beef, onions and garlic. Then came beef stock and longer cooking time at lower heat. My final addition/discovery were parmesan "bones" (rind from a piece of REAL parmesan), that go in after the tomatoes.

I still make this sauce, but have changed some of the ingredients out, such as fresh herbs for the dried, better quality and different wines and adding different meats along with the beef, such as pork and bulk sausage. The sauce has become the base for my version of Sunday gravy. Go play with your food! Remember, no matter how "bad" it is tastes, EAT IT! For me that was the incentive that made my cooking improve quickly!

 

[Suthseaxa]

Fry up some onions and garlic before adding the meat. Make sure to keep crushing the meat with a spoon as it fries and you must must must season with at least salt (preferably a little black pepper, too).

Today I learnt that some proteins are only soluble in brine, so that could explain why your meat does not break down into a sauce. Give it a go and let us know

 

[CharlieD]

Lots of good suggestions here, Richard. Try to incorporate them next time you make the sauce. You'll be surprised how good the sauce can be.