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.)
Made this tonight. Epic. Subscribed to your YouTube channel. Thanks Nagi. Im looking forward to trying your other recipes.
I’m so glad you loved it Tim!
I made this on Sunday and it was quite delicious. My only issue was that while it came apart wonderfully and was not mush, its consistency resembled ropa vieja. I did forget to cut it into four chunks and I wonder if that’s why. And during emulsion, the sauce didn’t quite thicken up the way it does in the photo. I could only find fresh pappardalle so the boil time was fairly short; perhaps not enough starch in the pasta water?
Hi Crystal, sounds like the meat just needed to cook a little longer to get to that fall-apart stage ❤️
I am putting mine in a slow cooker. I added 2 beef cubes but needed to know if I put the 1 1/2 cups of water in for the cubes. Thanks!
Hi Tracey, just as per the notes, follow the recipe exactly but omit the water, I hope you love it! – N x
I was also wondering this. I have just put in the slow cooker without water but was wondering if flavour will be to concentrated without water? Or is it because it can’t reduce in slow cooker had same end result?
Absolutely a winner. Would make it over and over! Makes a large batch.
Yes perfect to freeze too!
Made this Sunday night and it was honestly the best sauce ever! Will be a staple in the mix for sure! Thank you so much for uploading! x
Hi! I’m going to make this tonight and was wondering if I’m using fresh beef stock instead of cubes, how much stock do I use? Also, do I keep the same amount of red wine as the original recipe with cubes? Thanks so much!
Just about to make this for dinner tonight. If I’m using 2 saucepans at the emulsifying stage, do I add 3/4 cup pasta water to both pans or just add a little to each pan? It looked like you didn’t add all your water in the video. Thanks and wish me luck
Hi! I’d just add a little to each! Good luck and enjoy – N x
This is so fool proof and delicious. When I make it I have to hide half in the freezer or my husband will keep eating it until it’s all gone. Making your Singapore noodles tonight xx
I love that Shae!! 😂
I came looking for a single recipe (this one) and found a website I can’t wait to delve into deeper! I’m super impressed.
I am yet to try this recipe but I wanted to use lamb shoulder rather than beef. The question is Can this recipe be slow cooked in the oven rather than on stove top?
I was just about to ask the same thing.
I would love to make this but my husband is allergic to any type of tomato product. Any suggestions for substitutions? I have been using Banana Sauce on place of BBQ and Ketchup but the consistency is thin so not sure it would be right for this recipe. Please help!
Hi Carol, I don’t know what you could use in place here as this is a tomato based sauce – N x
Can I make this with Lamb? What cut and how much would I need?
Hi Rebecca, you could definitely use lamb if you prefer – I’d use shoulder it’s full of flavour! – N x
Thank you. X
Amazing dish! I added 100 grams of sundried tomatoes, a bit of pancetta, a parmezan rind, bit of dried pepper and
a bundle of fresh rosemary, thym and sage which we took out half way. I did take about 4-5 hours, but it was defenitely worth it. Served it with home made paperdelle.Everyone loved it!! Big hit. Thank you!
Woah that sounds great Fleur, I absolutely LOVE sun dried tomatoes!
How come I can’t Pinterest your recipe?
Got some gravy beef and wanted to make meat pies… Then after read your notes, I realised it is not the right cut, so quickly changed the dinner menu to ragu… Well, your recipes never dissppoint, everyone loved it so much that both my husband and our 3 year old wanted it for lunch tomorrow… Great they love it, sad thing is nothing will be left for me, lol… I shall definitely make more next time… Thank you Nagi for another winner recipe! Xx
I love this recipe! I’ve made it twice in a month. I already have a family recipe for meat sauce and tomato sauce but had never made either with chuck roast. It’s an awesome alternative. Question, why do you cover the pot when it’s on the stove? I usually cook my sauces/chili/etc with the top off but am I doing it wrong lol?
Hi Ali, I cover for 2 hours otherwise i find too much of the sauce simmers away. You can always reduce it with the lid off after if the sauce isn’t thick enough – N x
This recipe and website is amazing. My partner and I have just moved in together from living with our parents who did most of the cooking, so this website with notes, videos and substitutions is a so so helpful. My partner is only just learning the basic of cooking but I gave him this recipe to try, and you would think he has been cooking for years. Turned out so delicious!
Wahoo, thats great to hear Noreen!!
So I’ve been looking forward to making for weeks but I just realised i only have 800grams of meat. I would still like to make this but unsure what to decrease in the recipe be it the wine/tomotoes etc?
Hi Kat! Use the recipe slider on the recipe card and slide until the meat changes to 800g and all the other ingredients will change too! N x
Sorry to be a bother. Where is this feature on the recipe? I can’t seem to find the “slider” feature on the recipe.
This is the best ragu ever, it was the first recipe of yours I ever made, now I only use your recipes!
Thanks so much!
That’s so nice to hear Matt!!!
Very keen to try this! Our butcher didn’t have big chunks of meat only diced chuck steak, how would you adjust the recipe for this? I’m assuming it will just be harder to shred etc. thanks!
Hi Sam, it will just need to be cooked less. How big are the pieces you can get? – N x
This was absolutely amazing!! I popped mine in a oven with a lid at 180degrees for 2hrs once all the ingredients were in and it was perfect. Thank you!
Perfect Faye!!