Am I Reacting to the BEST BOLOGNESE SAUCE EVER
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- Опубліковано 11 лют 2025
- Get ready for a culinary explosion! Join me as I react to the WORLD'S BEST Bolognese Sauce recipe and find out if it lives up to the hype! From the sizzling onions to the rich, meaty flavor, I'm diving into the world of Italian cuisine to bring you the most epic reaction video ever! Can this Bolognese sauce recipe truly be the best in the world? Watch till the end to find out!
💯 Follow this link to watch the Best Bolognese Recipe Ever: • How to Make AUTHENTIC ...
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@Vincenzo's Plate ... you want the soffritto to caramelize, but you deny the meat the Maillard reaction, which adds another layer of flavor?
You brown the meat, which adds some nice aromas to the meat and to the pan, you get the meat out, along the "stock' and use the acid of the onions to dissolve the "browning residue" into the suffritto. Like the red wine later on dissolves the caramalization residue.
The "beef stock" adds another layer of taste as it is different from the "vegetable stock" of the soffritto.
Moreover toasting the paste is ok, as it also camaralizes and than the wine also dissolves the toasting flavors into the stock.
But adding the milk that early on, you are right...
Exactly!! Browning the meat really well, is essential to the final result! Otherwise you might as well just throw it into the tomato sauce and boil it. Vincenzo, you as a professional chef should know this!
I hate any meat that isn't browned enough. I despise grey meat. This also happens when you put a big batch at once, it will boil the meat in its own juices, instead of browning it. I don't understand why Vicenzo doesn't recognise this.
Browning everything is everything! Vincenzo is great but I don't agree with his hate for browning.
@@ffrostengrenVincenzo isn’t a professional chef.
Italian here, and, most important, I live 15 km from Bologna (guess what bolognese sauce means... or even better bolognese ragu, this is the appropriate word for it)
Browning meat?!? never heard of it, it's a MISTAKE, a big no no no, call whatever you want. The process of browning the meat is a delicate and important process in this recipe, and it has to be done properly and at the right time, absolutely NOT before everything.
First things first.
Everything begins with the soffritto!!
Don't do other crazy stuff before. Soffritto is the starter, it's like "at the beginning was the soffritto". Nothing has to be done before it, and the soffritto is SIMPLE as everything in the Italian cuisine.
Carrots, onion and celery, and some fat (mostly olive oil), and that’s it.
AFTER the soffritto is done (AFTER!!!) you put the meat at LOW heat and you brown the meat WITH the soffritto at low heat stirring the meat to AVOID the roasting flavor.
You stir at low heat until the meat is grey.
Roasted meat flavor IS NOT part of the recipe. If you like it, do it, but call it “roast meat sauce” or something else, don’t call it Bolognese ragu, please.
The meat has not to be roasted at all, it has to be gently cooked, and this is one of the KEY FACTORS of this recipe.
After the meat has lost the red color, raise the heat and put red wine… I mean A LOT of red wine, not a little glass, you need the flavor of the wine.
The wine is not something you put in to perform sone chemical action, it is a flavor you definitely want, so don’t be cheap with it.
AFTER the wine has evaporated, lower the heat and add the tomatoes, and let it cook… like forever!
A couple of hours are not enough!
Personally, I don’t eat a ragu that has not cooked for at least eight hours. (EIGHT!!!)
Can you tell me that you can cook American barbecue in a couple of hours?
If you can do it, alright, then you can do Bolognese in the same amount of time.
Bolognese needs TIME, and it’s another KEY FACTOR.
My grandma used to teach me to NEVER stir the ragu while it was cooking, and this means that the heat must be so low that it doesn’t burn or stick without ever stirring, and the cooking time so long that the flavors are perfectly blended.
Rushing the ragu has the same sense of rushing the barbecue: you will end up with a different recipe!
AT THE END, if you like it, or if you feel that the flavors are not perfectly blended you CAN add a tiny, tiny quantity of milk to correct some mistake, and let it go for some minute, but keep in mind, it’s a correction, not a requirement.
Any other ingredients like herbs, cheese, garlic or roasted meat turn this wonderful recipe into something else, and if you do it, you should find another name for it.
Few things are key for this recipe
Soffritto first
Brown meat gently to AVOID roasting it
A lot of red wine
Slow and long cooking
These are the only key factors. No other crazy stuff.
And you will end up with a wonderful sauce without big meat or vegetables chunks, just a wonderful, silky, tasteful ragu that is perfect for your tagliatelle (good job Vincenzo, no spaghetti with Bolognese), better if they are handmade.
THIS is what Bolognese ragu is about.
Nothing against reinventing things and taking the Bolognese recipe as a base to make something new, I bet you can cook something that you like even more than the good old Bolognese ragu, but this is the point.
Bolognese ragu is made with the key principles I listed above, any difference creates a new recipe, and, please, be respectful of our traditions and give it a different name!
Nothing wrong if you have a different taste and like your made-up sauce better than Bolognese, but simply be respectful, don’t call it Bolognese.
If I cook meat in half an hour with added flavors, I am respectful enough not to call it American barbecue.
Please, be respectful and don’t call other recipes “Bolognese”
At the end, I’m only a foodie guy that has eaten Bolognese made in bologna for the past 52 years…
What can I possibly know about Bolognese?
Think about it before roasting me… (and before roasting the meat!)
I also brown my meat first and then remove it and add it back afterwards. The reason for this is that it's the only way to truly brown the meat and get the Maillard reaction that makes the meat more flavourful. When you put in the meat raw after your sofrito, it never really browns - it just stews.
Try it without - you'll find a very different sauce where you can taste the carrots and the celery that's otherwise lost
@@ApathyBM I don't understand. I still do the full sofrito, so I don't lose the taste of the carrots and celery. I used to put my meat in and cook it right after the sofrito, but I find that browning the meat separately has more flavor.
@@bringer666 It has "more" flavor but a different flavor. You don't always have to stack flavor on top of flavor, which is why bolognese doesn't use garlic or herbs either since they will all overpower the more subtle flavors from the base ingredients.
But really the main reason is textural, not browning the meat keeps it soft and ultimately the sauce is originally meant for lasagna
@@ApathyBM OK, I understand what you are saying but for me I'd rather have the better meat flavor than the softness of the meat. 😀
Browning mince is a basic food skill.
I made a lasagna bolognese using your recipes for Christmas dinner. The family said they had never tasted anything so good! Thanks for helping me bring traditional Italian flavor to a small town in Minnesota!
And thank you my friend for following along and trusting in my recipes! Cheers to more delicious dishes in 2025 🥂
@@vincenzosplate the father no one asked for but we got
With spinach pasta sheets?
My first and definately not last Vincenzo's video in 2025.
Truth! 😂❤
Aw thank you so much for your support my friend! Cheers to a beautiful new year! 🥂
Happy New H5N1 -year to everybody.
You know we're in for more of the same-old same-old shite, right?
As my doctor told me last time:
Eat healthy, homemade, food from fresh produce, and make certain you get enough Vitamin D..
I concur!
@@vincenzosplate when will you react to Sam the cooking guys bolognese??? :D
I was working on house, painting it, a few decades ago, I worked late and the lady who employed me, an Australian woman invited me to eat a spaghetti Bolognese she was cooking. That was 53 years ago and it was the most amazing taste I ever experienced. I have never experienced anything like it ever since, the memory is in the taste.
Have you tried following my recipe for the authentic Bolognese? Maybe it will come close to that taste 😊
Did you give her your bolognese afterwards?
@@realpoetics hahahaha I was waiting for a comment like that!😄😄
I was 20 and she was in her 40s, so I didn't think about it but I remembered her daughter was to die for.
kids, remember, hunger is the best spice
and boy oh boy do you get hungry when you do some good old fashioned physical labour
We - an European-American family - had a 4+ hour Bolognese on the last day of the year. Not only the kids loved it.
I kept to the basic authentic recipe. More or less just as David and you did. Why change a winning team. Simple and always works out. No garlic, sofritto first, pork/beef/veal, wine, pasatta, tomato paste, peeled tomatoes, season in moderation during cooking, water over the 4 hours, some milk at the very end. Papardelle.
American and British chefs often over-complicate things but sell it well. I love to learn the selling part...
Happy New Year and thank you for your teaching! Helped a lot in bringing delicious dishes on our table. Not just recipes but understanding the concept.
Messages like yours are my biggest motivation to keep doing what I do! Happy New Year my friend, and stay tined for more delicious recipes in 2025 🥂
British chefs? If you mean Ramsay et al, they're either using complex French techniques or just trying something gimmicky (as you said...)
Contemporary British cooking is much more similar to the Italian approach: use the best quality ingredients, prepare them with great care, but always keep things simple
Note: British cuisine is absolutely first class these days. The bad-old-days are largely behind us
@@granitesevan6243 Indeed. I meant Ramsay&friends and referred to TV and show cooks - they were trained the French way and add the British touch (peas in Carbonara...).
Britain has however become a real food country over the last decades.
@@Eunegin23 Thanks for recognising it. So many people still lean into the lazy stereotypes about British food. The austerity of the war years during the early 20th century cast a long shadow on our food culture (every calorie counted and the pleasure of food always came second). Since then, our population has grown and diversified, which has brought new influences and impetus. We also began to look outwards more at our neighbours and dared to think that if they can celebrate their food heritage, then so can we.
Not wanting to be negative, but French food has really taken a turn for the worse in the last 20 years. It's still very decent, but relies on the mythology surrounding it too much. They've also allowed American fast food influence to creep in - something they resisted so well for so long.
Italy is still about the best place for food. That boot is a perfect little ecosystem. Just isolated enough to preserve its culture, but also open enough to retain its flexibility, which is the reason the food became so great in the first place.
Anyway, I'm rambling now... 😂 Cheers!
@@granitesevan6243 100% on your page. We also don't have the best food-reputation here but it's often about stereotypes as you said. Some might be true but often they aren't (anymore).
Viele Grüße aus Berlin.
I like the guy from "not another cooking show" approach to Bolognese: He cooks the minced sofritto first low and slow for 15-20 mins (to evaporate the liquid and intensify the flavour), and then "caramelize" the meat, then caramelize the tomate paste, and then deglaze the whole thing with red wine and reduce. By using those steps you create several layers of maillard reaction/browning and building up layers of flavours. He doesn't use tomatoes, but personally I like to throw in boxed tomatoes after those steps and cook for min 4 hours before adding a little whole milk or heavy cream at the end.
This is the way.
"He doesn't use tomatoes" he is insane.
@@dylanefg Instead of tomates, he fills in water after the wine reduction and let it simmer for some hours and puts in heavy cream at the end. I see some people do that, they only use tomato paste in the Bolognese sauce and skip the tomatoes, and substitute it with some stock or water instead. Then you get a more "meaty" sauce instead of tomato based sauce, it's a matter of different preference of taste I guess. I like both versions.
browning the meat definetly gives a lot of flavour..
And drives off moisture.
@@Mike_Regan It's going to simmer for 4 hours anyways. whatever moisture is lost during browning won't make much of a difference.
@@Mike_Regan You add moisture with tomato paste, wine etc.
@damienx0x You shouldn't have to ADD moisture. If you cook the meat right, it will keep it's own moisture. And I want my meat to taste like meat. Not tomato paste or wine.
@@Mike_Regan then just eat the meat ,make it to some kind of patty, don't make bolognese
Browning the meat caramelizes the meat surface bringing out complex sugar molecules that adds flavor to the sauce. Which otherwise would not happen if you boiled it from 1 to 500 hours in tomato sauce. Plus you can remove the meat, drain out the excess fat that comes out of the meat.
I’m not sure you understand what he said about that. All he said was the soffritto should go in and cook first, then the meat should be added to it to brown. He didn’t say you should cook the meat from raw in the tomato.
100% facts
I agree. I practically fry the meat, keeping it low, draining the fat, and finally deglaze the fond with the wine. Then, the tomatoes are added.
@@hazridge I have seen all of his bolognese recipe videos and he does not “brown” the meat. He cooks it until it’s brown technically but he’s not browning it in the sense the original comment is stating(actually searing it). If you were to do that with the sofrito in the pan it would burn the onions. Not saying it’s right or wrong, seems a lot of bolognese recipes don’t go for that true browning
@@hazridge I am pretty sure I understood what he was saying.
This review is so detailed and insightful! It's great to see the traditional techniques of making Bolognese being highlighted while also appreciating the creativity behind the interpretation. Loved how the video breaks down each step with a mix of constructive feedback and passion for authentic cooking. It really shows the importance of respecting the roots of a classic dish.
You're still wrong about browning the meat beforehand. It's not about making sure the meat cooks through, it's about the Maillard reaction on the meat, adding that lovely dark flavor both to the meat itself and in creating a fond on the bottom of the pot. It's the same reason I roast my sofrito vegetables before I put them in the pot, with a goal of getting some browning and a little bit of char.
yes, exactly, aka caramelization.
It makes a lot of difference. I had a mate that never browned the meat. To me it made it havexa grainy texture and no where near the flavour. Same as browning the tomato paste. It adds more flavour
Exactly!
I agree. Vincenzo says it doesn't affect taste. That says something about him, not the food.
Totally on point. The Mailard reaction adds significant flavor of both the meat and the soffritto. Adding the meat into the sauce without browning first is simply boiled meat. It's fine, but not the best option.
4:05 I agree with Vincenzo. Sofrito is designed to be cooked above 120C. Frying it is great, brazing or pressure cooking is also great. Adding it to overcrowded pen will destroy more than it brings.
Vincenzo being the chef to take the controversial stance of "we should season with less salt" was not on my 2025 bingo card but here we are.
😂😂😂
I take the stance that most chefs (at least on line) use far too much salt. Vincenzo is a breath of fresh air.
not a chef
You can always add salt at any time if you need it, but you can't take it out if you've overdone it.
@@maxkelleriiwhat she meant is you need to salt it to layer the flavor, not to completely done with it from the get go
By browning the meat you cause it to undergo the Maillard reaction which doesnt occur if you just slow cook the meat. You may not be able to tell the difference, but there is a difference to browning vs. just stewing the meat.
I'm lazy, I just brown the meat and take it out then brown the veggies on low and add the meat back with the tomatoes, paste, wine and let it ride for hours. 🤤 Might make some this weekend.
Yes waiting 4 the best Bolognese!!!
Happy New Year Vincenzo ! 🍝
Happy New Year my friend 😂
Are you suggesting to caramelize the sofrito? I sauté it until the onions are clear, and then move on to the next step.
I must say, doesn’t seem like enough tomato in this recipe. Anyway, happy new year everyone and let’s see where Vincenzo takes us this year!
I think you are rignt.
I believe the logic of searing the beef first is to
1. Build up fond on the pot
2. harness some additional flavor from the Meyard reaction
Unfortunately, the way she crammed the pot prevents a good fond or sear from forming... Generally, I see it done in smaller batches when trying to brown the meat first.
Garlic in bolognesse.
Is it traditional? No.
Tastes good? Yes.
Americans put garlic in EVERY Italian dish. Then you have the same flavor undertone in each and every dish as it's rather dominant.
Is it necessary? No 😂
@@Eunegin23 its only dominant if you use too much. If you use it as a balance it doesnt overpower the dish, it enhances it. Korean and Chinese cooking almost always uses garlic and the its definitely not the same flavor undertone in every dish
@@realpoetics Italian is Italian and not Asian. Ask around in Italy when garlic is used and when it isn't.
This doesn't mean that you are not free to put into your food whatever makes you happy.
Does it change the flavor of the recipe and make it inaccurate? Absolutely.
I really don't understand this all-American mania of throwing garlic into every Italian recipe.
me and my friends have been making Bolognese regularly since i saw your recipe and we love it each and every time :)
Glad you enjoy it!
Browning the meat causes the maillard reaction to occur which is essentially the caramelization of protein, it creates an immense amount of flavor. Browning meat before hand will improve ANY recipe. It has nothing to do with making sure the meat is fully cooked.
This is true! Wise to brown meat first, remove then do sofritto as normal. Scientifically provides the most amount of flavor due to the amount of flavor molecules created by Maillard.
100% and then add wine for the fond on bottom!!
Browning absolutley adds flavor
I'm curious if you would be able to pick out the browned vs non-browned in the context of a proper double-blind experiment. In other words, I would bet a lot of money that no, you wouldn't.
The Maillard reaction is referenced a lot, because it is one of the few things we actually understand about cooking. There are a million other variables and chemical processes going on. We are nowhere near to understand and model what happens in the humble kitchen. It's all essentially trial and error.
Regarding the Maillard reaction, it can also happen in lower temperatures, e.g. a simmering pot, not just when you fry things. It just happens to be slower at lower temperatures -- hence the long cooking time.
@@anyadatzaklatszjutuba bit of a ridiculous claim… if I gave you a steak that was properly seared(browned) and then one that was boiled, you don’t think you would notice a flavor difference in a blind taste test????
I brown mince in order to allow me time to break the mince up into fine pieces, I don't like clumps as the sauce can't get to the centre of them. Also, It DOES add flavour if you allow the fat etc to stick and brown on the pan...not to burn. You scrape it off and it adds to flavour.
She did not tell she is cooking best traditional bolognese. But just best bolognese in 2024 😂
Pretty sure a few million people cooked a better bolognese in 2024.
Either way that's not the best Bolognese😂
If you brown the meat - I mean, actually brown it, so the surface of the meat starts to caramelise, like a steak in a pan - then you definitely do add to the flavour.
I was taught that the browning of the meat is important for Bolognese.
It does bring more flavors to the dish 😊
Without commenting on whether it improves the dish or not, if one wants to brown the meat and is using typical US-sourced meat, it needs to be done before the sofrito. There is a lot of water in much of US-sourced meat and you need to steam that off before the sofrito or you won't saute the sofrito, you'll steam it. Pasta Grammar has mentioned this more than once.
I should watch the whole thing before commenting. Parmesan rind doesn't melt away completely unless you cut it up into rather small pieces. I learned about rind-in-ragu from Kenji and anything more than probably .5cm dice is still present at the end. I'm usually using 2x2x1cm chunks and they're there at the end of even 6 hours. It is well worth it as the braised rind is AMAZING [bold, underline].
If you make a big batch I found this to be true, but with 1kg or less meat you don't need to do it before.
I’ve started cooking bolognese based on one of your videos three years back and now I am at the point where I can point out her mistakes just as quickly as you do. Watched enough Vincenzo videos 😅 thank you for the great content
We all love Vincenzo’s videos. Every time I learn something new. Grazie🙏
Thanks for following
Another great reaction video Vincenzo. I think she should have seared off the meat, set it aside then make the Saffrito, the add the meat back in to add more flavour to the meat. I also liked when she added the cheese rind to the sauce to give it a smoother texture. All In all l thought it was a good sauce. Again great video Vincenzo. Have yourself a Happy New Year Vincenzo 🍾🥂🎊🎉
This video is why I watch your videos. I learn so much. Thank you from me and my family.
This message makes me so happy! Happy New Year my friend, may it be filled with lots of delicious recipes🥂🎄
Seeing this not long after I had a delicious Bolognese at Pasta di Pulcinella in Atlanta, I now want to try making it myself, even though I am no cook. Grazie!
I struggled with bland bolognese until I added salt, which brought out all the other flavours. I hadn't been using any to try and be healthier. Plus I soften my sofrito in a separate pan, because I have more than one pan(!), with a little chopped rosemary from the garden. I caramelise my beef/pork mince but might experiment just cooking in the sauce.
Seasoning with salt is important to bring out the flavors, however we should be carefull with the amount we use 😊
You could also use soy, worcestershire sauce, fish sauce or just add anchovies or a combination. They all add a good amount of umami + seasoning. I usually reach for the fish sauce in the ragu, works brilliantly.
I agree with Vincenzo very much for around 4:10
I have tried it out several times myself when I make dishes where I fry up some veggies first and then cook some meat in the same pot/pan; and not just for pasta dishes, I cook that way very often. When frying the veggies FIRST and only AFTERWARDS adding the meat, I find it's really always much better. I have attempted with several types of meat (indeed ground beef, but also for example sausages that I cut into small pieces to fry) and also with just onion as a veggie or indeed the onion + celery + carrot mix (which is such an AWESOME, lovely combination, not just for pasta sauce, but for so many other things) and yeah, cooking it at the same time leads to worse results. It still works of course, it's still edible and fine, but I feel like it takes away something that it otherwise has... It's a bit tricky to say.
But yeah, anyway, agreed, and very nice video! :D
Saying maillard reaction doesn’t add taste is kinda strange, not the mention the fond one can create with browning.
dont belive anything youtubers say try yourselft, i myselft say browning the meat taste better for me, this guy are these people (like vincenso here) things they know best for all the people of the world palate taste, and act like a judge what a joke the people of today
Yeah it’s kinda strange she didn’t use it to make correct sofrito. Instead she overcooked the meat and had unbrowned veg in the sauce
@@jamesjoyce5962 is not extrange i did like her and it was best bolognese ever i did like vincenso and others do and i still prefer her way
Try putting it in a 250 degree oven with the lid cracked. You'll get the browning.
You can't overcook mince for bolognese , especially when you are going to cook it for another 4-8 hours after browning it. It doesn't change the texture at all as any texture changed while browning the meat will get broken down by the long cooking process. It's does add lots of flavour though.@@jamesjoyce5962
Soffritto is good of base we started using it in beef stroganoff and many other dishes. We use it like salt, pepper, garlic. The flavor is undeniable.
She's American. Of course she need the garlic. Be glad she did not put half a pound of cheese in the dish.
Vincenzo? Are you saying that browning the meat doesn't add any flavor to the dish? how can you deny the millard reaction adding flavor? Do you boil your steaks? 😂
Big difference between steak and ground meat. Namely liquid content.
Are you BBQ your sauce?
@@maxkelleriiso you like boiled burgers?
@@blackhawk8975 this isn't a burger recipe. You could totally make a kick ass Bolognese out of a batch of properly cooked burger patties though. That's how you get malliard on ground meat. Small seared batches.
Source “trust me I tried”
You want to brown the ground beef and get a milliard reaction. Wine is added for flavor and to deglaze the pan. There should be a pork/beef meat base. Pancetra should start the whole process along with the soffrito.
WTF is Kosher salt? Is it salt that's been killed without being stunned first?
I don't understand the reasoning beyond the push for kosher salt. If it's dissolved, why?
@@JM800Because they control UA-cam.
kosher salt is less dense and doesn't have any additives. it's recommended because you're less likely to oversalt your food due to that density, and it's only called 'kosher' salt because it used to be more widely used by jews than other demographics.
@@hrfnsI am lollling at your answer. Additives? To salt? Rofl. I mean how can you add additives to a natural food preservative. Table salt and any type of salt is just NaCl.
And what are you talking about density? You sound like you are repeating stuff without understanding them.
@@hrfns I'd really like to see Sodium Chloride with 'additives' - Is it an American thing that you can't even have salt without some mega-corporation watering it down with, erm, what? Sand, maybe? Sawdust? Ooh - heroin - that'd be a good one. "Pure table salt - Now with added diacetylmorphine - Helps you sleep soundly., Might be a bit side-effecty."
I tried about 10 different bolognese recipes. The best was Vincenzo’s one with his friend David from Bologna. Truly it is the best. No need to bother with anything else, but I will try this new one you are creating!
I’m glad you loved David’s recipe! You can’t go wrong with him, he’s the best!
Totally agree, first sofrito then the meat, and no garlic, then wine and then the tomatoes plus paste but when she added the milk I though Vincenzo would get a heart attack hehehehe.
Nice date for Gordon so they can ruin Italian dishes together
You know what the real deal is my friend! Enjoy your delicious Bolognese! 🍝
Happy new year to all!
@Vincenzo: I really like your reactions. Have you thought about not only reacting to recipes, but cooking and therefore tasting them yourself as well? I think this way you could give even better insights.
The idea sounds interesting my friend, let's see what I can do, but some of these recipes are really bad and I don't want to put myself in pain 😛
He was not suggesting you don't brown the meet at all; he was saying you don't have to brown, remove, soffritto, add the meat back in and brown again ...... which she did not end up doing, she just browned the meet first which is also incorrect.
@skmsw no, it's not incorrect, and it's meat, not meet. If you're going to be a basic pedant, at least try and act the part
@joesteel7837 i think the pedants are the ones who think they need to tell Vincenzo that browning meat matters. And maybe the ones who feel a need to point out typos.
@skmsw touchè on the second point. But with regards to the first, it matters a lot. It makes a big difference to the flavour and finish of the product. A brown chicken stock compared to a white one is vastly different in both appearance and flavour. I respect Vincenzo, I'm not a first-time viewer, I've been a subscriber for some time and for all I may have some disagreements, they're not fundamentally enough for me to lose the aforementioned respect.
Thanks for clarifying! I’m always open to learning new techniques 😊
@vincenzosplate Yeah, i could have been better getting that across up-front, but i appreciate what you're doing, and I'm here for it!
Dear Vincenzo, browning the meat in a bolognese is definitely adding flavour, from the Maillard reaction, also if using the meat later on in the sauce. What you’re saying is incorrect. It’s like saying you don’t need to brown the pancetta beforehand, because it’s going in the sauce anyway. It’s simply incorrect and not a proper way to cook ground meat. Browning meat will always add flavour no matter what happens later on in the cooking process.
Maillard reaction haven't reached Italy yet
😂😅
I learned to make this sauce from a native of the Emilia-Romagna region.
First cooking the vegetables, then adding the meat, then a little wine.
And then cooking it VERY slowly (covered) for hours, and finally adding just enough passata to hold it together.
That seems to be the basic outline for a proper ragù.
Let's be honest. If you went to 10 different households in Bologna and watched 10 different nonne cook bolognese, I'm willing to bet you will see 10 slightly different methods of preparation. No need to be so dogmatic.
And what do you know about how ragù is prepared in Italy? What do you know about how it is prepared and about the fact that the recipe was made official and registered in Bologna?
It is necessary to be dogmatic, because you cannot barbarise and distort everything. Do you want to put broth, garlic and a liter of milk in your sauce? Fine, but don't call your sauce ragù alla bolognese.
It's not difficult, not even for people like you.
@ oh I’m so glad you brought up the officially registered bolognese recipe. If you actually are familiar with it, then you would know that neither Vincenzo or even his previous guest, David from Bologna, follow the officially registered recipe exactly. In fact, Vincenzo uses a food processor for his sofritto, which the official recipe strictly forbids.
Thank you for reinforcing my original point. 🤣
Yea but cmon putting the milk before the wine is criminal I doubt anyone in Italy does that it makes no sense
@@Iivingroomforest
Absolutely right
I love Liz! (fellow Wisconsinite!) I agree, this sauce looks incredible. I wouldn't call it Bolognese. I'm clicking on now to your Bolognese video to learn the difference. Thank you for reviewing Liz. She is so cool!
Liz is definitely a great chef and I’m happy you’re enjoying her video!
You say that caramelizing the meat does nothing because it's cooked for 4 hours. Isn't that principle the same for the soffritto? How come it's different for the soffritto? I personally like to caramelize both meat and soffritto. Also, she forgot the pork. I use to do it with beef only until I tried it with the pork. Now beef and pork is a must for me. Occasionally, I would also add veil or lamb.
Vincenzo is a bit mentally constrained when is comes to somethings, as much as I love him. My grandma would always go for the Maillard reaction and she was very traditional in cooking, passing down recipes from hear grandparents. Adding the tomatoe paste before to caramelise it in the meat fat does not doing anything to the wine added later and the Bolognese in general except increase those umami-rich flavours. It is a bit like his dislike for adding salt to the soffrito, where does not seem to grasp the osmotic acceleration of the cooking. Cheers to you my exquisite-tasted friend.
Happy new Year to you too my friend! Which Italian recipe is your absolute favorite?
Yes please. I’ve been at ‘war’ with a couple of Nonnas about Bolognese, quoting Davide’s technique as the only true Bolognese.
I made my last Bolognese strictly according to Davide and it was out of this world!!
So if you’re telling me there’s a better one out there- I WANT IT!!
Love your channel, live your live of Italian cuisine. Keep it going my friend!! 👍🍷👏👏👏👏
You’re welcome! And thank you for the support!
Try this in a blind taste test. One, you cook as you usually do. The other just put all the ingredients in - brown nothing! Slow simmer the whole time until basically all the water is gone and then it will go from grey to brown as it simmers in the beef fat and the bit of olive oil you added at the start. Then add the milk once the sauce looks like hers did.
I’ll bet you can’t taste the difference - I’m in Sydney. Let’s do this together Vincenzo!
Strongly disagree with you.
But it's ok. Just cook the food you enjoy 🙂👍
If you like it, it's ok 👍
@ yep. Thanks. But seriously, give it a try. Instead of getting the Maillard reaction at the start, you get it at the end. Give it a go - I only found it because I didn’t want to stand around for an hour browning everything so I risked it and then I was really surprised. I’m sure your usual way is already good. Worst comes to worst, you were right!
@@PhysioDetective How do you get Maillard reaction at the end, you can't. Put the mince beef/pork/veal in the oven on medium, come back in thirty minutes and break it up then another thirty or so and it should all be nicely browned and therefore tastier. ;)
Excellent idea my friend! Let me see what I can do 😊
@ if the water is evaporated and the fat and oil is still there, wouldn’t it be a Maillard reaction? The simmering changes sound from the usual bubbling to a bit of sizzling. You’ve got to try it. I then add 1/2 to 1 cup of milk per 500g of raw mince and then readjust the seasoning as needed.
This video is funny when I just watched your video with a chef from Bologna who critiqued your bolognese
Add milk to remove acidity, then adds wine for acidity?!
😂😅
You are eating a sandwich… 😂 You must be very hungry.
Thank you very much, Vincenzo, for sharing your reaction video with us.
Pfff!...you didn’t watch the video: it was pizza! A soft one and not crunchy in the same time.
@ - Hello Troll!
You don’t miss any details do you 😅
I look forward to your taste test! Someone will cook bolognese your way and her way. You and 50 of your traditional bolognese lovers will taste both without knowing which is which. And see which one tastes more traditional and which one tastes better! My bet: a small majority will prefer hers slightly. Let's try it and see!
Challenge accepted, stay tuned!
I bet you will be right, as the crazy amount of milk in her _interpretation_ of Bolognese will probably be silkier and creamier than the traditional one.
I think I could tell the difference between this interpretation and the correct version just by looking at it...
Penso che saprei riconoscere la differenza tra questa interpretazione e la versione corretta anche solo dall'aspetto...
@@s1lv3rrthat’s why it’s called “blind” taste test
@@pipedown7969
😂
love the channel and love the video. I do love how "rules" don't have to follow any kind of logic. Sofrito needs to be cooked and browned but the meat does not. The Mallard reaction is not important for the meat but appears to be important for vegetables, if veggies can react that way (I don't actually know if it applies to all foods or just meat).
Nella bolognese metti il vino BIANCO!!!
Perche non il rosso?
Yes, always thoroughly brown your meats if you value flavor and richness in a red win meat sauce 2:20 food science has spoken already
Yes, the miard reaction gives the meat a great flavor and the fond builds a good flavor base for the sofrito to pick up.
Thanks for sharing how you prefer to cook the meat, but I invite you to give a try to my recipe as well.
@@vincenzosplate Browning meat does add flavor , however in the case of Bolognese it is just not done. Traditional methods for certain classic dishes should be followed. The same with the addition of the milk. Only at the end of cooking.
@@thomaskresler7657 Gatekeeping and using old techniques just because they're old is kinda cringe. As we learn more about cooking and how to improve things, we should also be updating our recipes/techniques imo.
@@MrEcted I strongly disagree! Classic recipes are classic for a reason. You want to experiment, be my guest but classics are classics for a reason. If I changed the procedure for Bolognese or any other dish when I was in school in Italy I would have had my head handed to me. Call it a meat sauce but not Bolognese. The recipe has been around for a long time and is to be preserved.
Ciao Vincenzo!
I’ve been trying to master the bolognese for a few years now. So from my side, no milk at all. As you said, wine and tomatoes coming in too late and sulfrito should be the starting point for the foundation of the dish. I also let it slow cook for around 4/6 hours and then it goes into the fridge the next day. I think eventually it tastes better, specially for lasagna, after at least 2 days. Question for you: I always do my slow cook with lid open and as you said it will eventually require more mixing and liquid. Seen people using the cartouche technique instead of lid or full open. What would you think about the cartouche?
I am Italian and I have no idea what this lady is making but is not anything I know where is the wine? In the wrong order. I use white wine but red is ok. The milk you can add Last and not so much also if you make a lasagne you can add in some béchamel to the sauce at the end. Not the way i was taught.
Ah this is convenient, I was gonna cook a very different "bolognese" tonight but I think I'll save it for tomorrow and make a day of it now, get it right.
Happy New Year Vincenzo! By rendering the fat from the beef, doesn't that render fat give the sofrito a better taste? It would be nice to do a blind taste of the other of what to put in first. You mentioned red wine will tenderize the beef, but I think the acidity from the tomatoes paste will do the same, no?
Vincenzo - I am a long time fan of yours and my family loves my Bologenese. I love authenic Italian cusine. I respect the traditions and love the flavors of the Italian kitchen. I make it very close to how you do it. But I have a confession... I still add some chicken stock to my sauce (the step after the passata). I believe the chicken stock adds some nice flavor. Please share your thoughts. (I am a home cook). I believe you will not like what I say, but I am still interested if you have tried a traditional Bologenese with and without chicken stock and what is your opinion. Thank you in advance for your comments.
I brown the meat in the oven in layer in pan on 475 F in oven while cooking sofreto in the dutch oven (got id3a from josh lungrsrum [bad spelling]) it does add good flavors
Oh how funny I knew the minute she poured the milk and you were going to have heart failure! 😂😂😂😂😂
Browning meat 100% add's flavour, it's called maillard reaction
I Usually agree with you 100% but the browning crates a Maillard reaction which creates fond in the plan which helps favor the veg and the sauce overall. It absolutely adds flavor IF you correctly brown it and start getting those brown bits.
Instead of what she did I would take the meat out after browning then add the veg to cook into that fat and fond.
You’re absolutely right about the Maillard reaction, it’s a crucial step for depth of flavor in any sauce.
I'm following exactly the recipe you made with David, and that's an absolute delight... if you have a better recipe that than (is it possible?), please share! 😋😋😋
I was wondering if I should keep the bolognese ragu a bit dry at the end so I can add some pasta water while mixing, and make it perfect... what do you think?
Last week, it was my birthday on Christmas Day (December 25th), today is New Year in 2025, I hope you enjoy this New Year. Greetings from Indonesia.
Greetings fron Australia my friend! And a happy late birthday! 😊
I was waiting for Your reaction!! Thanks I knew you would say that about soffritto... But wait until she puts in the wine LOL
She made several mistakes 😅
The hand on the mouth with the jug of milk on the meat 😂 I almost chocked 😂😂
Because I’m Cajun, and we always brown meat first, and then remove and sautee the veggies in the fat, it’s what I do for bolognese, too. Also, you crisp up the meat this way.
After four hours of cooking your crispy meat is no more. Thus you do not have to bake the meat through and through.
Thanks for sharing how you prefer to cook Bolognese!
@@theblackhand6485 I know . I should have been more clear. Wasn’t talking about cropping the bolognese meat. Just in generally in my cuisine, that’s why we brown it.
Browning the meat matters. Mostly though, you need to do more browning than most people do. I'm currently in Germany and in general, Europe doesn't even brown a burger. Everyone is happy to serve a gray mass on a bun. But you can find a few smash burger places here and there. Miles of difference in flavor. So many other recipes rely on deglazing the brown bits from the bottom of a pan for essential flavor in gravies. There's flavor potential if you develop it.
Can I ask a question Vincenzo? I have an allergy to Celery. While I follow most recipes to classic rules what would you suggest as a replacement to balance out the sofrito base for sauces?
Great question. I am sorry to hear you are allergic. To be honest I would just remove the celery and only use carrots and onion. It will be good
Try using fennel fronds like you would thyme. Be super careful though. You can go very quickly from a hint of something to savoury liquorice lol
Please review the Chef Jean Pierre Bolognese. I made that one and it was great. I will make yours next. Grazie and Happy New Year.
Was I the only one who was incredulous that both the chef and Vincenzo thought that once the milk cook off stage looked gross
I don't understand what you're trying to say😅
I still use the recipe and instruction from the video you did with David from Bologna and cook it all day - perfection with a parpadelle
Thank you.🤩
A cast iron pan is also perfect for making carbonara and similar pastas. Cook the guanicale and then take it from the heat. The residual heat from the pan is the perfect gentle heat for cooking the cream.
Thanks for sharing how you cook your carbonara, but here she's cooking a Bolognese my friend
@vincenzosplate Yes. I was Reacting to you saying that an iron pan is not good for all kinds of sauce
I only cook the Bolognese according to David. In my opinion, cooking the veggies first brings out the natural flavors which forms a good base. Salt goes in when you done cooking, the very end. As well as the milk. And if you use a good, quality Passata, you don't really have an acid issue. I'm sticking with David's recipe.
Smart choice my friend! Always do the sofrito first and then add the meat
@vincenzosplate Absolutely..
I have tried this recipe (don't knock it 'till you tried it), I left out the parmesan rind (didn't have that much parmesan lying around) and I skipped on the bay leaf. Used a mix of pork and beef, not just beef. Other than that, pretty much to the T (a bit of a caveat here, there are very few measures given on the recipe and I definitively did't use this much salt). Result: A good pasta sauce. My family's reaction: It's a bit sweeter than usual (probably the milk).
I know you do not like the garlic. To me, the garlic is an optional thing - I really like adding garlic from time to time to my meat and tomato sauce (let's for simplicity's sake call them "bolgonese adjacent"), but it's something I do only about 30 % of the time. It might not be traditional, but sometimes a couple of cloves of garlic will pull it in good direction to change things up a little bit. We can agree to disagree on this one, though. :)
Browning the meat is a must ! Definitely adds flavor .
So when do you add the sofrito then?
Separately, then bring them together.
@@vincenzosplatePersonally I first caramelise the sofrito, put it aside but I keep the oil it was cooked in. Then I brown the meat in that oil, add the sofrito back in, deglaze with wine, cook until it's evaporated and then I continue with your recipe. The only other thing I change is I cook it in a slow cooker for 12 hours.
is a must in your opinion, but it is not a procedure foreseen for this preparation.
Just because something is not made to YOUR taste or YOUR experience, it doesn't mean it's wrong.
I like to do the browning of every ingredients for the maillard reaction as well so I understand why she wanted to do it with the meat. But I agree, the sofrito needs to caramelise too, loose water, and it takes at least 10 minutes for them while the meat only requires 5 minutes top so it doesnt dry out. So either I would do it the classic way with the sofrito first then adding the meat, or quickly color the meat, remove it, cook the sofrito and then add the meat and the wine not long after. I guess the liter of milk was more used to rehydrate the meat rather than balance the acidity, first time I see this use of milk reduced in a recipe of bolognese. On a side note, usualy the wine takes very few minutes to loose the alcohol especialy if you use a lighter to flame it up, why do it for 20 minutes?
Anyway she seems to have the good spirit for pasta recipes, just some techniques I dont understand sometimes, would still love to try her pastas.
PLEASE, PLEASE .. share your ultimate recipe with us !!!
It's coming soon my friend, stay tuned
Hi folks,
As an addition and explation to @Vincenzo's Plate, I would like to clarify the basic meanings and techniques of the word "Ragout/Ragù".
This is a fundamental technique, along with braising. It may seem similar, but there are a few major differenes.
A Ragout, or in this case a Ragù, starts with gently caramalizing the root vegetables, so they release juices and do not brown, but instead become glassy. You THEN add the cold uncooked meat to the prepared mirepoix/sofrito on a lower heat to DEGLACE the fond of the gently caramalized vegetables, and, again, repeat the process without browning the meat, but actually create a fond of both on the bottom without browning.
THEN you add the wine to deglace the fond again and carefully reduce. Once it is fonded, you, in this case, add a little bit of tomato paste and TOMATOIZE the mixture. At the end you add liquid, here tomatoes, in others different stocks, such as in Ragout Fin to deglace the pan a last time before the gentle braising process beginns and you cook the dish for a long time.
The result is very different from regular braised, firstly fried recipes and much more delicate and homogene.
He is very right. If you'd have two different spoons to compare, you'd understand the difference. Silky and smooth without the grainy texture of fried/braised Bolognese.
I greatly appreciate your guidance, Vincenzo, as I never had the opportunity from my Nonna
Time for the best Bolognese ragu, Vincenzo! Surely there should have been some pancetta, veal, pork???
Yes!
A good Bolognese should also have minced pork and veil.
Since this is the basis of real Danish "Frikadeller", it is readily available everywhere here, often at a reduced price.
As for the minced beef, don't use the lean, low-fat version.
Brown the meat in the fat from the Panceta and Guanciale.
And you absolutely CAN put 1 or 2 cloves of Garlic in Bolognese:
It won't taste "garlicky", but adds some "depth".
However: Milk???
@@hansemannluchter643 I put garlic in ragu because I like to maximise my consumption of garlic, which is exceptionally beneficial, but for no other reason.
@@RicktheRecorder I totally agree,
Garlic is good for your health.
But, it does add "depth" to the flavour of Bolognese, or any other ragout for that matter, even when you can't taste, or smell, it.
An italian sayinh “do not add garlic” now I have officially seen it all 😨😂😂
Why is it news to you? In Italy we don't use garlic in everything we cook
"As it is written in the Bible: 'One will never find two chefs who make Ragu alla Bolognese the same way'."
😂😂😂
Yes please Vincenzo, do the Ultimate Bolognese 😍😍
Thank you for the unexpected video. Didn't know, that dinosaur teeth on knives are a thing
"Pre-cooking the meat enhances the roasted flavor, and it really makes a difference-believe me."
I like your videos, always an opportunity to learn something new, and your passion's clearly visible. Little question about bolognese: I found a very old recipe of around 1891- Maccheroni alla Bolognese by Pellegrino Artusi. It's ... very different from what we know today as bolognese, it's ... even something else than your ancient one. i am quite intrigued by it. Do you know it, and did you try it?
I have not tried it
The best bolognese recipe is by your Italian mate David - I loved the recipe he did on your channel 👌
I always make it that way now 😋
He would not be impressed with this recipe 😂
David is the best! I'm happy to hear that you've tried and loved his recipe
all these people hating here have such a limited mindset, we all know that these techniques of roast aroma bla bla bla have a lot of merit but if you think that’s the only technique, you just haven’t learned others. and if you think that this american bolognese tastes better than the authentic italian one which conquered the culinary world, you’re a lunatic.
and by all means and fairness, this little lady obviously knows how to cook, but her looks and americanness give a big red flag, great job but it’s a modern cuisine interpretation of a traditional recipe and nothing more than that.
Great vid as usual Vincenzo, ciao
Happy New Year! You should react to Sophia on Golden Girls cooking Italian haha.
Happy New Year! I will have a look at the video😃
As a barista, when she said that the milk has to be tragically evaporated, a part of me just died.
hahahaha sorry about that
Where's the printable recipe link?
In my website www.vincenzosplate.com
@@vincenzosplate I'm sorry, but when I search for Bolognese on your website, almost half a dozen recipes come up and nothing new in the last 5 months. Is this the recipe entitled Ancient Bolognese Sauce? Thank you!
I‘d like to know Vincenzo‘s opinion on the olive oil vs butter discussion. I’ve read that, traditionally, in Bologna - being in the North of Italy - butter would have been more likely to be used.
That's true actually, in the North of Italy butter is usually used
@ thanks, buddy 🙂
I’m in the US and brown my meat so I can drain it before I consume it unless I use a lean meat
I don't know why you guys do this, we never do it in Europe