Cabernet & Chaos Ragù alla Bolognese — Braised Beef, Red Wine, Zero Regrets

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Ragù alla Bolognese (Braised Beef Edition) — Cabernet & Chaos Sunday Sauce

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We are still on our quest to making the best Sunday Sauce. So if you came here looking for a polite weeknight marinara, I regret to inform you: this is RAGÙ alla BOLOGNESE my friends!

She isn’t light and doesn’t do “quick.”

This is the kind of slow-braised, red-wine-soaked, fall-apart-beef situation that makes your kitchen smell like you’ve got your life together… even if your laundry is aggressively unfolded and your to-do list is staring back at you in disdain with every task added and not one thing checked-the-fuck-off…

Phewww… I digress.

Traditional ragù alla bolognese leans ground meant and low simmer.

Our Cabernet & Chaos version goes for the drama: a big, beautiful hunk of beef until it collapses into silky shreds, then swirled into a sauce that clings to pasta like it pays rent.

It’s comfort food with ultimate flavor.

It’s make this for your man because… DAMNNNNNN it is WIFEY MATERIAL!!

It’s make this for yourself because you DESERVE IT.

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Why You’ll Love This Ragù

• Hands-off magic: your oven does the heavy lifting while you pretend you’re a person who meal preps.

• Restaurant-level flavor: braising + wine + time = sauce that tastes expensive.

• Better tomorrow: I promise I ate this for the next two days for multiple meals.

• Freezer friendly: future you will feel adored.

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Best Beef Cuts for Ragù

You want a cut that loves low and slow.

Use:

• Chuck roast (best all-around, shreds beautifully)

• Boneless short ribs (luxe, richer, dramatic)

• Brisket (works—just watch leanness)

This sauce thrives on marbling + collagen. That’s what turns into silk to which turns me on.

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Cabernet & Chaos Pasta Night Essentials

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Ragù alla Bolognese (Braised Beef Edition)

Ingredients

For the ragù

• 2 1/4 lb chuck roast (or short ribs)

• 2 1/4 lb chuck roast- lean, excesss fat removed- but leave some to render while searing

• 4 tbsp butter

• 2 tsp oil of choice (I used Olive)

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 large white onion, rough chunky chop

• 4 carrots (I used trader joes tricolor), rough chunky chop

• 4 cups of beef broth

• 1 cup CABERNET (I usted Josh Cab (Hearth Blend)

• 1 28 ounce can of tomato sauce

• 3 tbsp tomato paste

Spices & Herbs & Other Things

• Salt (I use Himalayan)

• Cracked Black Pepper

• Fresh Parsley

• Bay leaf

• Fresh Thyme

• Freshly Grated Parm

• Any Pasta ( I used cavatelli- what I had on hand. I think Pappardelle would’ve been superb)

• Dutch Oven- it makes the world of a difference.

• **WINE - Don’t forget it!- the disappointment I felt when I didn’t have enough to enjoy my own glass.

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.

• Heat olive oil and a tab of butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high.

• Cut chuck roast into chunks & fat beef dry.

  • Salt and pepper like you mean it.

• Add beed cubes into the HOT dutch over and Sear 3–4 minutes per side until deeply browned (remember to render the fat, we don’t want gristle in our meat sauce.

Seared and Juicy

🛑 Do not discard the juices from the resting meat- that is all flavor.

• Remove beef to a plate. Do not wipe the pot. Those browned bits are flavor. Respect them.

*This ragù lives and dies by a good Dutch oven—and mine was a gift from my son, Brandon, which means every time it’s bubbling away I’m equal parts cozy and emotionally attacked (in the best way).

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• Lower heat to medium and add another tab o’ butter

• Add onion, carrot- season with salt.

  • Cook 8–10 minutes until softened and lightly golden.

*Kitchen note: I prepped all of this with my new Martha Stewart knife block—Secret Santa understood the assignment- THANK YOU COCO 💋
*Shop my LTK: knives + prep tools I used for this ragù.

• Add garlic and cook another minute until fragrant

• Deglaze with 1 cup of Cabernet (Josh, Hearth Blend is magnificent and HG ensures I always have it on our counter.)

  • Scrape up all the browned bits. Simmer 3–5 minutes to reduce a little.

• Add: 1- 28oz can crushed tomatoes, 4 cups of beef broth, some tablespoons of fresh herbs or teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning

• Nestle beef back in.

Cover and braise in oven 3–3.5 hours, flipping once halfway, until it shreds easily.

Shred beef with forks, discard bay leaves + rind. Return shredded beef to sauce. Simmer uncovered 15–25 minutes until thick and glossy.

*If too thick: add a splash of broth.
*If too thin: keep simmering. (Do not panic.)

TOSS with pasta (don’t just spoon it)!!

Cook pasta al dente.

*Serve with herbs, parmesan, and unholy amounts of black pepper.

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Wine pairings (Cabernet & Chaos approved)

• Josh Hearth Collection Cabernet Sauvignon: bold with bold.

• Chianti Classico: bright acidity cuts richness.

• Barbera: juicy and food-friendly.

• Montepulciano d’Abruzzo: underrated, perfect with tomato + beef.

🛍️ Shop my LTK for my wine pairings + the glasses I’m obsessed with.

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Serving ideas (beyond pasta)

• Over creamy polenta

• Stuffed into garlic bread (sandwich behavior)

• With ricotta on top + lemon zest for a bright finish

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If you make this Ragù alla Bolognese (Braised Beef Edition), I need you to do two things:

1. Taste it straight from the pot like the feral little kitchen bitch you are, and

2. Come back and tell me what pasta you used—because choosing between pappardelle and rigatoni is basically a personality test.

This is the kind of sauce that turns a random night into a whole event. It’s slow, cozy, red-wine rich, and suspiciously healing. Make a batch, freeze half, and let Future You open the freezer like, who loved me enough to do this? (Spoiler: it was you.)

Download the free printable recipe card above, pour yourself something Cabernet & Chaos–approved, and if you post it, tag me so I can scream in your comments like a proud Italian auntie with Wi-Fi.

Until Next Time 🍷…

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