Author: http://www.Mainely Eating.com

Ingredients:

1. 9lbs of meat (remember this will give you a lot of sauce!)
   Store bought: 6lbs ground beef chuck, 3lbs ground pork (can substitute up to 1lb with ground veal)
   Home ground: 6lbs of beef (I like an equal mix of beef chuck, boneless short ribs and sirloin tips for maximum beefiness), 2lbs pork, 1/2lb veal, 1/2lb prosciutto or pancetta
2. 10 large carrots, peeled and finely diced
3. Half a head of celery, washed and finely diced
4. 2 large onions, peeled and finely diced
5. 8 cloves of garlic, finely sliced or minced in a garlic press
6. Big glug of olive oil (~2tbsp)
7. Large knob of butter (~2 tbsp)
8. 2x6oz cans of tomato paste
9. 2 cups of while milk
10. 1 large 28oz can of diced tomatoes (Muir Glen are the best in my opinion)
11. 1 large 28oz can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes (also Muir Glen if you can find them)
12. 1 bottle of red wine (doesn’t have to be a stellar vintage but should be drinkable)
13. 2 tbsp soy sauce
14. 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
15. Small handful of dried mushrooms – porcini or chanterelle or European mix
16. 3 or 4 Parmesan cheese rinds
17. 8oz finely grated parmesan cheese (ideally imported Parmigiano Regiano) plus more to serve

Directions

1. In a 12qt large stockpot, melt the butter and add the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the diced carrots, onion, celery and sauté for ~10 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft but not colored. Season with a little salt and pepper.
2. Add the minced garlic to the vegetables and cook for another 3-5 minutes (your house should start to smell delicious right about now!)
3. Add the tomato paste to the vegetables, stir well to combine and lower the heat.
4. Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour over 1 cup of boiling water
5. In a separate large frying pan over a medium-high heat, start browning the meat (more umami boost!). The objective isn’t to cook the meat all the way through, just to brown so don’t crowd the meat or it will simply steam. If you’re using ground meat from the store then try to get rid of any clumps.
6. Add each batch of browned meat to the large stockpot containing the vegetable/garlic/tomato paste. Low heat until all of the meat has been added. Feel free to drain off excess meat fat but you don’t want completely dry meat so make sure you add some.
7. If your frying pan has browned/crispy bits, add a half cup of the red wine to deglaze and pick up this tasty fond and add to the stockpot.
8. Turn the heat up to medium-high and pour in the milk. Stir frequently to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. When the milk has bubbled away, add the two cans of diced tomatoes.
9. Add the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce
10. Remove the mushrooms from the water, slice them finely and add to the pot. Also add the mushroom soaking liquid (watch out for grit at the bottom of the bowl)
11. Pour in the bottle of red wine (cook’s privilege to enjoy a glass while cooking!) and lower the heat to a low simmer. You should see the occasional bubble come up to the surface
12. Add the parmesan rinds
13. Simmer the sauce for 3-5 hours, stirring it every time you pass by the stove. If it starts to look at all dry then add a cup of water. Towards the last 30 minutes, stir in the finely grated parmesan cheese.
14. Remove the parmesan rinds (they’ll pop up when you stir the sauce), taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

To freeze, let cool and ladle into quart size baggies (lay flat to freeze and then stack upright)
To serve, cook your favorite pasta (I’m fond of thin fettuccine egg noodles), drain (always reserve a mug full of the cooking water!) and add back to the pan with a little butter. Toss with the Bolognese sauce (add a little of the hot pasta water to loosen things up) and shower with grated parmesan.