Ragu vs Bolognese: a Sausage Ragù
This Sausage Ragù recipe is comfort food at its best. Although it takes some time from start to finish, it cooks slowly and with little intervention. So you can make this Italian sausage pasta sauce on a lazy afternoon while you read a book, make a loaf of crusty semolina bread, and sip a glass of wine.
And know that the ragù vs Bolognese controversy is one that will stick with us for a while. Can a pasta sauce made with lentils be called a Bolognese? Is chocolate hummus really hummus? How do foods get their names?
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What’s the difference between ragù and Bolognese?
A ragù, according to Merriam-Webster, is a non-specific Italian sauce with meat and tomatoes. Bolognese, or rather ragù alla Bolognese, is a specific type of ragù. It’s a mixture of carrot, celery, and onion cooked in the fat from pancetta plus ground beef and pork, milk, and white wine. Tomatoes may be included but do not play a prominent role.
So the true ragù vs Bolognese Venn diagram is less controversial than the bonbon and chocolate truffle Venn diagram. Bolognese is a subset of ragù. And lentil Bolognese, while delicious, is a misnomer. Or an empty set, if you like Venn diagrams.
Ingredients
Ok, now that you’ve learned the difference between ragù vs Bolognese, you can see that this sausage ragù recipe is inspired by methods used to make Bolognese. But it’s not Bolognese.
This Italian sausage ragù omits the pancetta found in Bolognese. I’ve added garlic, subbed in ground sausage and red wine, and given the tomatoes a co-starring role.
- Whole canned tomatoes are best because only good quality tomatoes can be canned whole.
- For wine, a reasonable rule of thumb is to cook with wine you would drink, but you also don’t want to use a great wine. A red blend or table wine or a Sangiovese works well.
- Pasta – this sausage ragù is a thick sauce, so long or short pasta shapes work, but you’ll want one that’s sturdy like tagliatelle, rigatoni, or cascatelli.
Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations and substitutions
- Use whole sausages if you can’t find bulk Italian sausage. Slice open the casings of the sausage to get the meat, and discard the casings.
- Use ground beef or a combination for a beef and Italian sausage ragù.
Recipe tips and tricks
The panels below show the cooked vegetables added to the oil in the pan (Panel #1), the cooked ground sausage after milk has been added (Panel #2), and the level of dryness you should get before adding the wine (Panel #3). Using milk and cooking this Italian sausage ragù super slowly makes the meat super tender.
Tip from the wise quacker: pour at least a sip of wine before you add it to the pot to check if it is “corked.” Some people say that corking happens in up to 1 in 10 bottles of wine! Corked wine can taste sour or vinegary and is said to smell like wet cardboard or wet dog.
[Apologies for missing a step and the slightly off-color pics!]
Add the tomatoes and cook slowly for at least 30 minutes (Panel #5). You can see from that shimmering picture why you might want to skim the fat from the surface. Or, if you don’t want to use the sauce immediately, cool it overnight and then remove the fat once it has solidified.
Serving pasta
Bring a big pot of water to boil, add salt, and cook your pasta to al dente according to the package instructions. Adding salt to the pot after the water is boiling will prevent the salt from pitting the pot.
When you mix the sauce and al dente pasta in the pan and heat the combination together before serving, the pasta absorbs some of the sauce. It gives your pasta better flavor and texture. Please don’t skip this step, regardless of whether you’re making something like this hot sausage pasta or a cold orzo pesto pasta salad.
What to serve with a sausage ragù
- In addition to serving as a pasta sauce, this ragù would love to be in your next lasagna or baked penne pasta.
- Serve with a salad like this peach burrata Caprese or rainbow salad bowl.
- Steam or broil a green vegetable like broccoli or asparagus.
- A crusty bread on the side like this semolina bread or a garlic bread baguette.
- Serve with the same wine you used to make the sausage ragu. For a cocktail, try a dry martini or an Italian-inspired cocktail like an Aperol sour or Aperol Negroni.
Recipe FAQs
A ragout is a meat stew, not a pasta sauce.
Yes. The ragù freezes perfectly in a Tupperware-type container once cool and can be defrosted on the stove top or microwave.
While it’s a myth that alcohol burns off completely during cooking, the time spent cooking this ragu will burn off most of the alcohol, according to the USDA.
If your sausage ragù is thinner than you like, simmer it for a bit with the lid only partially covered so that the water evaporates. Also, some of the liquid will be absorbed when you finish cooking the pasta in the sauce, so please don’t skip this step!
Related pasta recipes
Check out other Ugly Duckling Bakery pasta and pasta sauce recipes like:
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Recipe
Sausage Ragù
Ingredients
- ½ cup onion
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 medium-sized carrot
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup red wine
- 28 ounces (1 large can) whole tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- Parmesan, grated for serving
Instructions
- Finely chop the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic.½ cup onion, 1 stalk celery, 1 medium-sized carrot, 1 clove garlic
- Add the olive oil to the pan and heat on medium low. Add the vegetables and cook until softened about 5 minutes.1 tablespoon olive oil
- Add the meat, breaking up into small pieces, and cook until no longer pink.1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
- Add the milk and cook at a low simmer, stirring occasionally, until the milk has been absorbed.1 cup milk
- Repeat with the wine (add and cook at a low simmer, stirring occasionally until absorbed).1 cup red wine
- Add the can of tomatoes (discard the basil, if your can has basil), salt, and nutmeg, and cover. Continue to cook at a low simmer for at least 30 minutes. Occasionally check on the pot to skim off any fat that rises to the surface and then stir to break up the tomatoes.28 ounces (1 large can) whole tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- If you are having this over pasta, boil a large pot of well-salted water and cook the pasta as directed to al dente.
- When the pasta has cooked, drain and return it to the pasta pot. Add as much sauce as desired to the cooked pasta and cook for an additional minute so the pasta absorbs some of the sauce.
- Serve immediately with the Parmesan alongside for topping.Parmesan, grated
Notes
Slowly cooking the sausage in milk and then wine helps keep the sausage tender. A reasonable rule of thumb is that you should cook with wine that you would drink, but you also don’t want to use a great wine. Pour at least a sip of wine before you add it to your sausage ragu to make sure it isn’t corked. Mix the sausage ragu and al dente pasta in the pan and heat the combination together. This makes the pasta absorb some of the sauce and will give your sausage pasta better flavor and texture. Please don’t skip this step.
Nutrition
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