A budget cut of beef, simple pantry ingredients, a bit of patience and pappardelle pasta. This Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce with Pappardelle may be the king of all pastas. It is hands down one of my all time favourite pastas ever!
Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce
There’s this annoying thing that’s been a thorn in my backside all my working life. This thing called pride.
I’m not a professional food photographer, or food stylist, videographer or a chef for that matter. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is being proud of everything that I have on my website, knowing that even if there are people out there who can take better photos and make better videos, that I’ve done the best I can do and I’m proud of what I’m sharing.
3 years into blogging with over 500 recipes, I still get butterflies when I hit Publish on a new or updated recipe.
And having rewritten, rephotographed and made a video for this Shredded Beef Ragu which I first shared over 2 years ago, yes I’m going to have butterflies when I hit Publish on this (again!) because it’s one of my all time personal favourites. 🙂
I have a weakness for all things slow cooked, but hands down this shredded beef ragu is one of my all time favourites. I’d dare say I love it even more than traditional Ragu Alla Bolognese. It’s the shredded beef that seals the deal for me. The way it soaks up the sauce and clings to the pasta. It’s an absolute ripper!
I’m pretty sure I first learned how to make Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce with Pappardelle from Lidia Bastianich. Years ago, her show “Lidia’s Italy” was one of the few cooking shows on free-to-air TV and I used to watch them over and over again. Almost everything I know about Italian cooking (including the reason why I was hunting down Kale a decade before it became “cool”) is because of Lidia Bastianich. Old school, real deal Italian. 🙂
Best Pasta to serve with Ragu
The question of what type of pasta to serve with different pasta sauces is a question that I get asked quite regularly. Generally, most pasta sauces will pair perfectly well with most common pasta types, like spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine, penne / ziti, macaroni, shells etc.
And while this Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce will be great with any type of pasta, the best pasta for a rich sauce like this ragu is pappardelle. This wide, flat pasta is especially great for this recipe because the shredded beef clings to the wide strands.
For pappardelle, I am quite particular about which brand I use because I’ve had problems in the past with uneven cooking. I use San Remo which is a well known trusted brand here in Australia. The pappardelle is bundled into nests so they are fully submerged when dropped into boiling water, and the nests are loose enough so the bubbling water separates the strands and the pappardelle cooks evenly.
You’ll find San Remo pappardelle at all the major supermarkets as well as fresh produce stores and delis. And here’s a photo for size context – giant pasta in my Baby Hands…..
Oh – and the other reason San Remo Pappardelle is my pasta of choice for ragu is because it’s an egg pasta. The addition of egg makes the pappardelle stronger so it doesn’t break when tossed in the thick, rich sauce.
If you’ve just invested hours of patience, slow cooking the sauce to tender perfection, you’ll make me cry if you just dump cooked pasta in a bowl and spoon over the sauce. And the entire nation of Italy will cry with me. 😉 Please promise me you will toss the ragu with the pasta before serving! It is worth it, I promise. Look how every strand of the pappardelle is beautifully coated in that luscious ragu!! – Nagi xx
Watch How To Make It
Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce with Pappardelle recipe video!
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Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Pasta
Ingredients
Ragu
- 1.2kg / 2.5 lb chuck beef or other slow cooking beef cut, cut into equal 4 pieces (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp salt
- Black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 onion , diced
- 1 cup carrots , diced (Note 2)
- 1 cup celery , diced (Note 2)
- 800g / 28oz crushed canned tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 beef bouillon cubes , crumbled (Note 3)
- 1 cup / 250ml red wine , full bodied (like merlot, cabernet sauvignon), or sub with beef broth/stock
- 1 1/2 cups / 375 ml water (Note 3)
- 3/4 tsp dried thyme or 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 dried bay leaves
To Serve (Not all Sauce is used)
- 1 lb /500g dried pappardelle , or other pasta of choice (Note 4)
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese or parmigiano reggiano
- Fresh parsley , finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Pat beef dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Sear Beef: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over high heat in a heavy based pot. Add beef and sear each piece aggressively on all sides until very browned (3 – 5 minutes in total), then remove onto a plate.
- Turn stove down to medium low and add remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil.
- Soffrito: Add garlic and onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Then add the carrots and celery and sauté slowly for 5 minutes.
- Add remaining Ragu ingredients and return the beef to the pot (including pooled juices). Turn the stove up and bring it to a simmer, then turn it down to low so it’s bubbling very very gently. (Note 7)
- Slow cook: Cover the pot and let it cook for 2 hours or until beef is tender enough to shred. (Note 5 for slow cooker and pressure cooker).
- Shred: Remove beef then coarsely shred with 2 forks. Return beef to the pot. Simmer for 30 minutes until sauce is reduced and thickened – beef will soften slightly more during this step.
- Final season: Do a taste test and adjust the seasoning to your taste with salt and pepper. ALSO, add 1/2 tsp sugar if sauce is a bit sour for your taste (Note 6). Place the lid on and set aside until ready to serve (it’s even better the next day and freezes well for months!).
To Serve (Note 4):
- Bring a very large pot of water with 1 tbsp of salt to the boil.
- Add pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time as per the packet instructions.
- Meanwhile, place 5 cups of the Ragu in a very large fry pan, dutch oven or use 2 normal size fry pans. Heat over high heat while the pasta is cooking.
- When the pasta is ready, transfer it directly from the pot into the fry pan using tongs.
- Add 3/4 cup of pasta water into the fry pan.
- Gently toss the pasta (I use 2 wooden spoons) for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce water evaporates and leaves you with a thick Ragu sauce that coats the pasta.
- Yell for your family to sit down at the dinner table because you need to serve it immediately!
- Serve with plenty of freshly grated parmesan, or even better, with parmigiano reggiano.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Today’s recipe is brought to you with thanks to San Remo. When they asked if I would consider showcasing one of their products in a recipe, it seemed meant-to-be because I wanted to republish this Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu and in fact, I had made the video using San Remo pappardelle pasta before they approached me! I figured it was a sign. ❤️ San Remo is Australia’s most well known pasta brand and is available at supermarkets all around Australia, including the pappardelle I recommend using for this recipe.
Life Of Dozer
Pappardelle pup. (Try saying that 10 times real fast after a few glasses of wine.)
Simple AMAZING! Just made this today and It was so good! I followed the recipe to the letter. It was so easy to make with your detailed instructions. Thanks a million for sharing
Another five star review from me Nagi. This was really delicious. I cooked mine for 2 hours, shredded then cooked another hour to reduce the sauce also. It was a huge hit with our dinner guests and easily the best ragu I’ve ever made. Great recipe.
Love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times now and keep craving it. Last time I made it with pork instead of beef, on accident I bought pork. I have loved everything I’ve ever made of Recipe Tin Eats. This dish is great over polenta too.
Nagi,
I just finished eating this, and rushed here to right this review. That’s how good it is :D!
I come from a long line of Italians, and this was my first time making ragu. I was nervous to say the least, but oh man.. This will now be a staple dish on many Sunday sauce days to come!
Thank you !
I’ve accidentally added the cup and a half of water but am cooking in slow cooker… is there something I can do to correct this?
Have added the stock as well- no wine
Hi Hayley, you may need to transfer the sauce at the end to a pot and simmer to reduce and cook off some of the water 🙂 N x
I just did the same thing! Thanks for the tip
Nagi, I made this for the first time tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I was also surprised by how easy and achievable this recipe is. Another winner and keeper.
Hi, I’m about to make this recipe. If I want to cut it in half would I also reduce the cooking time by half ?
Hi Al, if the pieces of beef are the same size as the recipe they will still need the full time to cook – you could reduce the cook time by cutting the beef smaller. N x
Hi Nagi!!!
I’m so pleased with my beef ragù. It came out so good even if I did not have any red wine or beef stock as I’m a college student in a tight budget.
All the love and support from the UK.
P.S I can’t wait to try out your new recipes. See ya!!!
That’s so great to hear Patrick! N x
Hi Nagi – can I use gnocchi instead of pasta?
Thank you!
Hi CJ, you sure can! This ragu would be fabulous over anything to be honest!! N x
Easy recipe with a delicious outcome. Makes plenty for leftovers and my family loves it. Thank you for sharing
This was great! I like it the next day better. Seemed like the flavor deepened.
Thank you for the recipe.
Hands down the best recipe ever. Super easy and super delicious! I hate cooking but this was so fun to make and even my husband (who does 95% off the cooking in this house) loved it and was impressed. Thank you
One of the 2 or 3 best things I have ever made. Thanks so very much for a fantastic recipe
Great recipe! I cooked it 2 hours 45 minutes, then cooled, shredded, and refrigerated overnight. The next day, I heated it for about 30 minutes. It was too flat and one note tomato-y, so I added some chicken bouillon (a spoon of the “better than bouillon” gel), a few swirls of Maggi seasoning sauce, a dash of red wine vinegar, a tiny bit of sugar, salt, pepper, and basil. Then when I took it off the heat, I added 1/4 cup of heavy cream. It was delicious! My family asked for second servings.
As an Italian, this offended me greatly. First of all – it’s a Ragu. If you didn’t want “one-note tomato-y”, then you’re not after a Ragu (which, by its definition, is a rich Italian, slow cooked sauce) or any other rich Italian sauce. Maybe this wasn’t for you to begin with.
Secondly, Maggi seasoning? Red wine vinegar? And then CREAM? In a Ragu? Really? Thanks for butchering my culture.
I’m not even Italian and I thought ‘whhhhyyyy?’ hahaha
100% agree with you Maria! When I read Ally’s comment my stomach literally churned as if I was hit with the malocchio, and I though why would you do that to an amazing classic ragu.
This is my favorite recipe of all time! Its my go to for comfort food and is a crowd pleaser. I unknowingly made it with canned tomatoes with green chilies and it took it to the next level with the subtle spice. Thank you for your amazing recipe!
With this recipe do you end up tasting the wine? I made a short rib recipe that called for red wine it was just too strong. I prefer having wine in my glass!
Can I use cognac or beer instead?
Maybe I need to cook off the alcohol first. Sorry not much of a cook here. I want to make this my go to recipe for fall and winter.
Any thoughts?
Hi Lisa, the wine cooks out and isn’t overpowering – can I ask what wine you’re using in your cooking? N x
This looks so good but my boyfriend absolutely HATES chunks (so marinara sauce i have to blend the sauce before simmering) can I blend all the ingredients (excluding the beef) at step 4 then simmer?
Love this recipe, easily tweaked for my picky eater. Also I have to say Cooking with Lydia and Painting with Bob Ross are great memories from my childhood.
Nagi! Made this recipe last night for myself and it was glorious!!! I added a touch of cream in the end for extra creaminess, and also learned the importance of emulsifying. It made ALL the difference. Thank you!!! My pasta will never be the same.
Love both you and Dozer!!
Wahoo, that’s awesome to hear Lucas!!! N x
My family loved this, thank you.