Name: Ragù alla bolognese
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 170 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian (Emilia-Romagna)
Ingredients: 400 g beef, coarsely minced (collagen-rich cuts: shin, shoulder, chuck, belly or brisket — mixed cuts are fine); 150 g fresh (unsmoked) pork pancetta, sliced and finely chopped; ½ onion (about 60 g), finely chopped; 1 carrot (about 60 g), finely chopped; 1 celery stalk (about 60 g), finely chopped; 1 glass of red or white wine; 200 g tomato passata; 1 tbsp double-concentrated tomato paste; 1 glass of whole milk (optional); light meat or vegetable broth, hot (as needed — a good stock cube is allowed); extra virgin olive oil (a little); salt and black pepper (to taste, at the end)

La provenienza

Where this recipe comes from

Every family in Bologna has its own ragù, which is exactly why the Accademia Italiana della Cucina fixed a reference version. It first deposited the recipe with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce on 17 October 1982; on 20 April 2023, after work by a dedicated study committee, it deposited an updated text that replaces the 1982 one.

The 2023 recipe drops the requirement for ‘cartella’ (beef skirt), now hard to find, in favour of collagen-rich forequarter cuts, and accepts a good stock cube for the broth. It allows a few variants: about 60% beef with 40% pork (loin or coppa), meat chopped by knife, rolled pancetta instead of fresh, and a hint of nutmeg. It can also be enriched with chicken livers, hearts and gizzards, crumbled sausage, peas added at the end, or soaked dried porcini.

It is a meat sauce with a little tomato, not a tomato sauce with a little meat. By Bolognese tradition — not part of the deposited text — it is served with fresh egg tagliatelle.

Provenance: Deposited recipeAn official recipe filed with an Italian Chamber of Commerce or a notary by a recognised culinary body.
Defined by: Accademia Italiana della Cucina
Reference: Updated recipe deposited with the Chamber of Commerce of Bologna (replacing the 1982 text), 2023
Sources: Accademia Italiana della Cucina — updated recipe of the traditional ragù alla bolognese, deposited 20 April 2023 (PDF, Italian)
Camera di Commercio di Bologna — press release on the deposit, 20 April 2023 (PDF, Italian)

Bologna, Emilia-Romagna

Errori comuni

Common mistakes

Using veal, pork only, or smoked pancetta — the deposited recipe rules them out.
Adding garlic, rosemary, parsley or other herbs and spices (a hint of nutmeg is the only one allowed).
Using brandy instead of wine, or flour to thicken.
Making it tomato-heavy: the tomato seasons the meat, it is not the base.
Rushing it. Two hours on a gentle simmer is the minimum.

Fuori dall'Italia

Cooking it outside Italy

If you cannot find Italian pancetta, use unsmoked bacon — never smoked, which the recipe explicitly excludes.
‘Cartella’ is beef skirt (diaphragm). Outside Italy, ask your butcher for shin, chuck or brisket, or mix them.

Ragù alla bolognese

Where this recipe comes from

Ingredients

Method

Common mistakes

Cooking it outside Italy

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