This Hearty Beef Ragu Makes the Best Winter Dinner

‼️NOTE‼️ I accidentally say in the video to preheat your oven to 350°F.  this is incorrect and you should preheat your oven to 325° and bake your beef Ragu on that temperature.

My beef ragu recipe cooks for hours until it is incredibly tender and flavorful. Serve it with pappardelle pasta for a hearty and impressive dinner!

Ingredients
3 lb chuck roast, patted dry and cut into fist-sized pieces (1.4kg)
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter (salted or unsalted)
2 carrots, chopped (about 1 heaping cup/154g)
2 celery stalks, chopped (about 1 cup/112g)
1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 ½ cup/185g)
1 ½ Tablespoons minced garlic (about 5-6 cloves)
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
⅓ cup red wine vinegar (may substitute a dry red wine) (78ml)
2 cups beef broth (may substitute chicken broth or chicken stock)
¼ cup water (60ml)
28 oz crushed tomatoes (794g)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional
2-3 fresh thyme springs (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
2 dried bay leaves
For Serving
12oz-1 lb Pappardelle or preferred pasta, for serving (375-500g)
Parmesan cheese, for serving

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Instructions
00:00 Introduction
00:16 Arrange rack to center of oven and preheat oven to 325F (165C).
00:21 Season beef on all sides with salt and pepper.
00:52 Heat oil in a large enameled Dutch oven over medium/high heat. Once oil is shimmering, add beef and sear on all sides until deep brown in color (once you place the beef in the pot, let it sit for about 2-3 minutes before touching/turning it so you get a nice sear). After searing, remove to a plate and set aside. There should be lots of browned bits on the bottom of the pot – leave those, they’re great for flavor.
02:33 Reduce heat to medium. Add butter to the pot and, once melted, add carrot, celery, and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 3-5 minutes).
03:12 Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
03:27 Add tomato paste and stir until well-incorporated with veggies.
03:35 Deglaze the pan by slowly pouring in red wine vinegar and scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any brown bits. Cook until the vinegar is reduced by about 50% and the steam from the pot no longer has a pungent vinegar odor.
04:17 Add beef broth, water, crushed tomatoes, and crushed red pepper (if using). Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
05:13 Return beef to the pot and add bay leaves and thyme (make sure they are submerged), cover with lid, and transfer to the oven.
05:49 Cook for 3 hours or until beef is extremely tender and may be easily shredded with a fork (but don’t shred it yet).
06:23 Remove beef from the pot. Use a potato masher to break up the vegetables in the pot (for a smoother sauce, use an immersion blender, but I like mine a bit heartier). Shred the beef and return to the pot. Taste-test and add additional salt/pepper as needed.
Serving
08:00 Serve as desired, I like to serve mine over pappardelle. If you’d like to toss the noodles with the bolognese sauce, reserve a bit of the pasta water (about ½ cup) and add it into the sauce with the noodles and simmer over low heat for several minutes until thickened and clinging to the noodles before serving. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Notes
Slow Cooker
For best flavor in a slow cooker, I recommend first following steps 1-7 then transferring everything (beef, veggies/vinegar in pot and remaining ingredients) to the slow cooker and cooking for 7-8 hours on low or 5 hours on high. Don’t skip the steps or the sauce will be thin and vinegary tasting.
Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for several months.

[serenaburgdorf]

Omg. I made this today. It was good. The mouthfeel. The chew of the pasta. It was amazing. I used a chuck roast with bones but other than that, no substitutions. My family thanks you for this excellent recipe!

[Mia-qtth]

Looks delicious Sam I love that you're doing more main course recipies, more of these please!

[allisonkline]

As my daughter says, "I'm excited to eat!" Love your style & your recipes!

[robertcarter]

I am Italian and have NEVER seen beef ragu like THIS!!! This looks INSANELY GOOD!!! I can't wait to make this for a Sunday dinner!!!!

[nadinecolbath]

Those cast iron pots are WELL WORTH the money!!!! They are so versatile!!! I LOVE mine!!!! I use it all the time for soups and stews. I can't wait to try this recipe!!!! Thanks for sharing it. It looks easy!!! I know it's 2 weeks later, but it just came up in my feed. I saved it.

[crystaldawn]

Here on our farm we do a Thursday night potluck dinner and so far everything I have made with your guidance HAS BEEN A HIT!🎉🎉🎉🎉 THAAAANK YOU❤

[danniemcdonald]

This looks so good! Definitely on my "to do" list.

[joannemitchell]

I made this yesterday, it looked so yummy in your video. I was concerned about cooking it for 3 hours at 350 degrees. That’s a pretty moderate oven. I would’ve thought to cook at 300 or 325 degrees for a slow tenderizing bake. But when doing a new to me recipe I follow it without changes. My instincts were right. After 3 hours virtually all the liquid had cooked out and the meat was burnt on the top. I added 2 more cups beef broth and 2 ladles of pasta water and that seemed to help. But of course, the flavor was bitter because of the overcooking. But, my husband and I decided that we will try it again one day but making a few changes. I’ll add 4 cups of broth instead of 2, and cook it at 300 degrees instead of 350. I use a convection oven and my Dutch oven is larger than yours so, those could be the reasons for my results. Which leads me to believe these changes should do the trick. Wish me luck. 🤞🏻🤗

[candycec]

This recipe looks like yet another home run! I am so eager to prepare this. Thanks for sharing.

[maria_d]

Looks Delicious!! Can't wait to try this! Thanks for sharing!👍

[mmakomanyatja]

Amazing Sam thank you so much bless to you nd family

[derekroper]

I finally made this, used short ribs and high quality, slow dried pappardelle. it was amazing! My wife loved it. Great recipe 😊

[silviastefan]

Can't wait to make this! Thank you.

[angelawood]

Looks yummy-I will definitely fix this! Thank you😊

[Juezma]

It looks absolutely delish. Can’t wait to try it.

[ElectricAngel]

This dish looks absolutely delicious 😋. I cannot wait to try this 😋

[babounous]

I made this just a couple days after the video posted, using a 6-quart stainless steel Dutch I had to make some adjustments to the recipe and cook it still came out FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC. My sister bought me an enameled cast iron Dutch oven for my B-Day last week, and I'm really looking forward to making this recipe again, using the proper equipment!

[altonchapman]

Making this Tonight, thanks for the recipe 👊🏽

[Sylvia]

Wow this was a great recipe! My husband and I loved it!

[karamireles]

❤❤Great taste, I made it for the first time and I'm glad I chose this recipe to use! 😊