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.)
My gas cooker, even on the lowest setting, has boiled the steak rather than simmer. After an hour I’ve moved it to the slow cooker. Can it be saved?
It will be fine Kylie! Just keeping cooking util the meat is fall apart 🙂 N x
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I’ve made it a few times and it’s a favorite! Making it again tonight to share with friends.
You’re so welcome Tori!
I made this for the family and it was a hit! The melt in your mouth beef was so flavoursome and it reheats well too!
Yes this recipe is perfect for left overs and even freezes well!
I’ve made this twice now and my family loved it!. It’s easy and so delicious..
Hello could you tell me where you got those bowls? We’ve made the recipe twice and it was amazing.
Hello Nagi! Made this for dinner last night with a side of prosciutto wrapped asparagus and garlic bread. We all loved it! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Yum Paula, that sounds fabulous!!!
Hi Nagi, I am searching for a short beef ribs recipe. Do you recommend using this recipe to make it ? Prefer a tomato based version. Any instruction or ingredients that I need to change ? I tried searching for a short beef ribs from your website…the only one is the fiery Mexican ones but we have guest who can’t take spicy at all. Thank yoh
Cooking with this recipe will mean they are too fall apart and may not hold up. You can always reduce the amount of adobo in the Mexican Beef Ribs recipe!
Hi Mary. Would you use this recipe to make sauce or would it be too thick?
How do you recommend defrosting after having it in the freezer? Do I need to add water?
Hi Mary! I defrost overnight in the fridge then reheat either in the microwave or on the stove. If on the stove, then yes you might need to add a touch of water to get the consistency right!
Hi Nagi,
I really enjoyed the Beef Ragu recipe, its full of flavour. The extra prep is worth the effort.
Love your recipes, they always work and I like how you discuss possible pitfalls in the recipe method.
Amanda
Can I double the recipe if I need 12 servings or should I make the sauce in 2 different pots?
Doubling in one pot is fine! Use the recipe scaler 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi
Can I make this ahead of time & leave simmer & then just cook the pasta closer to when my guests arrive later in into the evening ?
YES!!! See notes – it’s even better the next day!! 🙂 N x
Hello – if i am doing this in the slow cooker, you said i should add all remaining ingredients except for extra water and salt and pepper. does this mean the beef buiollion cubes go in just as they are?
Sorry please ignore this – just read the previous comments!
Hi Nagi!
What is the best way to re-heat this recipe, if made the night before? Thank you!
The sauce can be done on the stove or in a microwave! N x
Hi Nagi! This looks amazing.
I don’t have much experience cooking with beef, so this will be my first attempt aside from steak 🙈
Would a bottom sirloin or tri tip cut work ?
Hi Randee! Everyone has to start somewhere and don’t be worried, most of my recipes have video tutorials so you can watch how to make them step by step 🙂 For any slow cooked beef recipe where you shred the meat, the 2 best cuts are either chuck beef (which is what I use here) OR beef rib. These meats are ideal for slow cooking until they fall apart , have great flavour, are nice and juicy and they shred beautifully, like pictured in this recipe. Chuck beef is sold at supermarkets – it should be easy to find! Get big hunks of it if you can (per recipe directions) rather than small pre chopped pieces. Hope that helps! N x
This was sooooo delicious and rich! I followed the recipe exactly with the Instant Pot instructions and I didn’t need to season it at all afterwards! No salt, sugar, nothing. It was just that perfect! I have to say I was a bit worried when I first took the lid off because it was super watery, but I took the meat out to shred and in the meantime I put it on Sauté on low to boil down a bit and thicken up. By the time I turned around it was boiling liked crazy. It did burn a bit on the bottom but I was able to scoop pit those burnt pieces luckily. When I put the meat back in and stirred it around, it was like a thick gravy. Absolutely delicious over pasta (I used tagliatelle egg noodles) and topped with Parmesan or Asiago!
What Instant Pot instructions??
Hi Nancy!
I’m cooking with chuck cubes how long should it take in s slow cooker?
If you’re working with chuck cubes, how long should you cook in slow cooker?
Thanks!
Hi! If using a slow cooker, do you leave the water out entirely or does it go in at a later stage? Thanks!
Loved this sauce!
That’s terrific to hear Patricia! Glad you enjoyed this! N x
Hi Nagi your beef ragu looks sensational and I can’t wait to try it out. As I have an intolerance to dairy, is it really bad if I leave out the cheese? any substitute suggestions please? Thanks for your wonderful site.
Hi Belinda, it will be fine! No sub 🙂 N x