Homemade Pappardelle Pasta with Meat Ragu | Tried and True Recipes (2024)

  • Beef
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by Kylie PerrottiPosted on November 25, 2019November 11, 2021

Homemade Pappardelle Pasta with Meat Ragu | Tried and True Recipes (1)

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This homemade pappardelle pasta with meat ragu is a labor of love. That makes it a wonderful project for a rainy Sunday.

For this recipe, we prepare a simple, homemade pappardelle recipe that is definitely less daunting than it seems. This entire recipe for homemade pappardelle pasta with meat ragu will probably take you all day, off and on.

Homemade Pappardelle Pasta with Meat Ragu | Tried and True Recipes (2)

If you’re like me, this will be the perfect recipe to make on a lazy Sunday. You can start the ragu in the morning and let it do its thing for a few hours. Later in the afternoon, you can putz over to the pasta and start that project.

There is something that is so utterly comforting about making pasta from scratch. Once you get into the swing of it, it’s really not too challenging. Frankly, my biggest challenge is the cleanup and how much flour gets everywhere! Once I was able to try the pasta and taste how delicious and fresh it was, it made the mess and cleanup that much more worth it!

You will be so thrilled once you try a meal with homemade past and perhaps, you’ll consider moving on to other options, like homemade ravioli!

It’s traditional to serve a nice, hearty ragu with pappardelle because the pasta is so wide and really holds up to the meaty ragu. We prepare a flavorful ragu using one of our favorite ingredients, garlic confit. If you’ve never made garlic confit, check out my recipe for it!

If you made this recipe, please rate the recipe below and leave a comment to tell me how you liked it! Take a picture of it? Tag me on Instagram so I can feature you in my feed!

Homemade Pappardelle Pasta with Meat Ragu | Tried and True Recipes (3)

This homemade pappardelle pasta with meat ragu is an excellent Sunday supper project!

4.08 from 25 votes

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Prep Time: 4 hours hours

Total Time: 4 hours hours

Servings: 5

Calories: 924kcal

Equipment

  • Food processor

  • Manual pasta machine

  • Sheet pan

Ingredients

Pappardelle Pasta:

  • cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 6 tablespoons water plus more if needed

Meat Ragu:

  • 3 pounds pork shoulder cut into 3 pieces
  • 2 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
  • Oil for frying
  • 1 yellow onion peeled and diced
  • 4 carrots peeled and small-diced
  • 4 stalks celery trimmed and small-diced
  • ¼ cup garlic confit or 1 head of garlic, peeled and minced
  • 8 ounces cremini mushrooms
  • 1 cup red wine or beef stock
  • 3-4 cups beef stock plus more as needed
  • 28 ounce can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
  • ½ teaspoon dry thyme
  • Salt pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste

Instructions

Start the Meat Ragu:

  • Pat all the meat dry and season liberally with salt and pepper. Heat a slick of oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the meat, in batches and without crowding the pan, and cook for 5-7 minutes per side until well-browned all over. Transfer to a plate and continue browning the rest of the meat.

Cook the Aromatics:

  • In a food processor, combine the mushrooms with the garlic confit and blend until finely chopped.

  • Drain off all but 1 tablespoon fat in the pot, reserving fond and return the heat to medium on the pot. Add the diced onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 6-7 minutes until beginning to soften.

  • Add the puréed mushroom mixture and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring often, for an additional 8-10 minutes until all the aromatics are well-browned and beginning to soften.

Cook the Ragu:

  • Pour in the red wine and scrape up the browned bits stuck to the bottom. Bring to a boil and add the beef stock and crushed tomatoes. Taste and season with salt, pepper, thyme, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil and then add the meat and any juices from the bowl to the pot.

  • Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more stock as necessary if the ragu reduces too much.

Finish the Ragu:

  • Remove the meat from the sauce and shred, discarding any large pieces of fat. Return the shredded meat to the pot and simmer, uncovered, for another 30 minutes. Taste and season to your preferences.

Prepare the Pappardelle Dough:

  • While the ragu is simmering, prepare the pappardelle pasta.

  • In a food processor, combine the flour and salt and pulse until blended.

  • In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, and water and whisk with a fork until fully combined.

  • As the food processor is running, pour the eggs into the flour and pulse until a sticky dough is formed. You may need to add more water, a splash at a time, if the dough is too dry and crumbly.

Knead the Dough:

  • Pour the dough onto a clean, floured surface and knead, adding more flour as necessary, for 8-10 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky.

  • Roll the dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Transfer to the refrigerator for 45 minutes to rest.

Roll the Pasta:

  • Set up the manual pasta machine at the widest setting. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and cut it into 4 equal pieces. Using your hands or a rolling pin, shape a piece of the dough into a rectangle and flatten it a bit.

  • Run the dough through the machine set to ‘0’. Flour the dough liberally on both sides and fold in half and run it through ‘0’ again. Unfold the dough and flour again, if it feels sticky. Turn the machine to ‘1’ or ‘2’ and run the dough through again.

  • Continue on, increasing the tightness of the roller, until you reach ‘6’ on the machine and the dough is about 26-30” long and you can see your fingers through it. You will make about 5-6 passes through the machine and you should flour the dough regularly to ensure that it doesn’t become sticky.

  • After the dough has been run through at ‘6’, lay it flat and cut into 1″ wide ribbons. You may wish to cut the ribbons in half if you’d like your pappardelle to be shorter.

  • Transfer the ribbons to a sheet pan to dry, flouring them as necessary to prevent them from sticking.

  • Continue on with the remaining 3 pieces of dough and allow all the dough to rest for 10-15 minutes on the sheet pan.

Cook the Pasta:

  • When you are ready to serve dinner, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pappardelle pasta until al dente, about 1-3 minutes. Reserve 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water before you drain the pasta.

  • Add the reserved pasta cooking water to the simmering ragu and toss the cooked pappardelle with the sauce. Turn off the heat.

To Serve:

  • Divide the pasta and ragu between bowls and garnish with parmesan cheese, if desired. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 924kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 76g | Fat: 32g | Sodium: 1259mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin C: 20mg

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Homemade Pappardelle Pasta with Meat Ragu | Tried and True Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the best cut of meat for ragu? ›

If you want to cut the meat yourself, get cuts like chuck or flank steak, as per the Bolognese tradition, or even a skirt steak (the diaphragm, practically impossible to find at the butchers). The same goes for pork: choose pieces like the thigh which are fatty and tasty.

What makes a ragu a ragu? ›

What is ragù? 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.

What pasta is best for ragu? ›

Pappardelle pasta is the thick wide pasta and is ideal for this recipe because the shreds of beef cling to the thick pasta strands. If you can't find it, just use the widest pasta you can find eg tagliatelle, fettuccine.

Why is pappardelle so good? ›

Pappardelle, which originated in Tuscany but is now eaten all over Italy, has a slightly rough surface, making it ideal for tossing with thick, hearty sauces that can stand up to its size. As with many pastas, it is available dried, and can also be purchased fresh or made at home.

How do you make ragu meat sauce taste better? ›

Tossing in strips of basil, a sprig of thyme or some oregano can take your sauce to the next level. Although fresh herbs might pop a bit more, dried herbs and spices can work just as well. Sprinkling in some red pepper flakes, a pinch of parsley and a dash of salt and pepper can liven up your jarred pasta sauce.

What makes ragu taste better? ›

Olive oil works especially well in a ragu because while it does have a slightly herbal taste when raw when it's cooked, it gives the meat sauce a relatively neutral base to work from.

What kind of meat is in ragù? ›

Beef: Chuck roast is perfect for the low and slow cooking we do in this recipe. It has great fat marbling that melts into the sauce to create a rich taste and texture. Other great cuts for ragu include beef brisket, beef shanks, or beef short ribs.

What's the difference between ragù and meat sauce? ›

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.

How long should ragù simmer? ›

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. It's, of course, perfect and traditional to serve with pasta; my favourite is tagliatelle.

Should you mix ragù with pasta? ›

The proper (read: pedantic, old fashioned) way to serve ragu alla bolognese is with tagliatelle. And, yes, traditionally, the pasta and sauce should come well-intermixed, ready to eat.

How does Gordon Ramsay make ragù? ›

For the ragu sauce:
  1. Blend the garlic, onions, carrots, celery and olive oil until smooth.
  2. Heat a sauce pan until it is hot, add the mince (no oil) and stir until it's brown.
  3. Add the vegetable puree to the mince and cook out for 10 minutes on a low heat.
  4. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, stock cubes and red wine.

What tomatoes are best for ragù? ›

Fresh tomatoes: Try to stick with plum tomatoes, like Roma, San Marzano, and cherry tomatoes. Be sure to peel the tomatoes (and remove the seeds, if you like, but it's not necessary). White sugar: The sugar will balance out the acidity and give the sauce a hint of sweetness.

What does pappardelle mean in Italian? ›

The word pappardelle comes from the verb pappare, meaning “to gobble up”. This is likely in reference to both the delicious nature of the pasta, as well as the less-than dignified manner in which it is consumed!

What pasta is most like pappardelle? ›

Tagliatelle and pappardelle are similar types of pasta with slight differences in size. Learn more about these popular types of Italian pasta.

Why does pappardelle taste different? ›

A: Different shapes of pasta, even though they might be made by the same brand with the same ingredients, will actually taste differently. Differences in texture will affect how we experience both the taste of the sauce and the pasta.

What kind of meat is in ragu? ›

Beef: Chuck roast is perfect for the low and slow cooking we do in this recipe. It has great fat marbling that melts into the sauce to create a rich taste and texture. Other great cuts for ragu include beef brisket, beef shanks, or beef short ribs.

What is the best cut of beef for pasta sauce? ›

Ribeye has the best balance of attributes for pasta, but there are cases to be made for some other cuts depending on your budget. Top sirloin is a great alternative choice if you want to stray away from pricier ribeye.

Which cut of beef is best for slow cooking? ›

Here are the very best beef cuts to keep on hand to slow cook:
  • Chuck steak.
  • Round steak.
  • Blade steak.
  • Topside.
  • Silverside.
  • Skirt steak.
  • Shin (gravy) beef.
  • Sausages.

What is the best cut of beef for Bolognese sauce? ›

Marcella Hazan wrote that any cook can achieve a great ragù by being careful about a few basic points. First, the meat should not be from too lean a cut; the more marbled it is, the richer the ragù it makes. The most desirable cut of beef is the neck portion of the chuck.

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