This amazing meat sauce recipe hails from my father-in-law’s kitchen and is the best; it’s everyone’s favorite. The beef, veal, and pork, along with traditional seasonings that you can change as desired, give it a great flavor. It’s thick and hearty. Get a pot simmering on the stove this Sunday!.
My grandmother always made some kind of pasta for Sunday dinner. It could be lasagna, stuffed shells, rigatoni with sausage and peppers, or just spaghetti noodles with sauce.
To please people who didn’t like chunks in their sauce, she usually made a simple marinara sauce with spare ribs simmering in it for extra flavor. I loved her sauce, but I’ve always loved a meat sauce with a lot of chunks.
There was a time when I was dating my husband that I got to try his dad’s meat sauce after it had been cooking on the stove all Sunday afternoon. I fell madly in love with that sauce.
I’ve loved it for years, both when he makes it and when I make it! The second time I made it, my husband came into the kitchen just as I was starting to simmer it and said it smelled like his parents’ house on a Sunday.
For many home cooks, a simmering pot of rich, meaty pasta sauce is the ultimate comfort food. But when it comes to choosing the right ground meat for your sauce, should you use veal or lean beef? Or a combination of both?
As an enthusiastic home chef and lover of Italian food, I’ve experimented extensively with various meats in my pasta sauces. In this article I’ll compare the pros and cons of veal and lean beef and offer my tips on how to achieve maximum flavor. Read on for everything you need to know to pick the perfect protein for your next batch of pasta sauce!
A Look at Traditional Bolognese Sauce
To understand the roles of veal and beef in pasta sauce it helps to examine a traditional Bolognese recipe. This classic Italian meat sauce typically includes
- Ground veal
- Ground beef
- Ground pork
- Pancetta or bacon
- Aromatic veggies like onion, celery, and carrots
- Wine, milk, and tomatoes
The mix of veal, beef, and pork provides layers of flavor. The veal offers a delicate, subtle taste. The beef gives heartiness. And the pork lends sweetness and richness.
Ground Veal – The Pros
So why has ground veal been a traditional Bolognese ingredient? Here are some benefits it brings to the table:
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Delicate Flavor – Veal has a mild, slightly sweet taste compared to beef This allows other ingredients to shine.
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Smooth Texture – When cooked, veal turns lusciously tender with a fine, smooth consistency.
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Lean Yet Moist – Ground veal is lower in fat than beef, but still keeps pasta sauce moist.
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Authentic Taste – Using veal helps achieve the signature Bolognese flavor profile.
Potential Drawbacks of Veal
However, there are a few potential downsides to using ground veal:
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Difficult to Source – Veal can be hard to find in some grocery stores. You may need to visit a butcher shop.
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More Expensive – Due to limited availability, veal typically costs more per pound than beef.
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Mild Taste Gets Lost – Its delicate flavor can disappear among other bold ingredients.
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Ethical Concerns – Some avoid veal due to objections about how calves are raised.
Going Lean with Ground Beef
For home cooks wanting to skip the veal, lean ground beef is an accessible alternative:
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Easy to Find – Ground beef is stocked in every grocery store meat case.
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Budget-Friendly – Pound for pound, beef costs noticeably less than veal.
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Familiar Flavor – Most people know and enjoy the hearty taste of beef.
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Nutrient Rich – Beef offers high protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins.
Maximizing Flavor from Lean Beef
When using lean beef in pasta sauce, keep these tips in mind:
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Choose 80-90% Lean – Too lean and the beef can dry out. Go for 80% lean for best texture and moisture.
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Supplement with Pork – Add some ground pork to introduce tenderness and sweetness.
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Sear the Beef – Browning adds deeper, richer flavor through the Maillard reaction.
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Simmer Low and Slow – Long, gentle cooking tenderizes beef and melds flavors.
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Use Umami Boosters – Porcini mushrooms, tomato paste, anchovies, and Parmesan rinds pump up savory taste.
My Go-To: A Blend of Veal and Beef
For the best of both worlds, I recommend using a combo of ground veal and lean beef in your pasta sauces. Here are some advantages to this balanced approach:
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Merge Favors – Blending the meats marries the delicate veal with beefy heartiness.
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Ideal Texture – The velvety veal and moist beef together create perfect mouthfeel.
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Volume and Economy – Use less expensive beef to “stretch” the pricier veal.
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Nutrition Boost – The iron and zinc in beef perfectly complement veal’s vitamins and minerals.
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Easy Adapting – Scale the meat ratio up or down based on what you have on hand.
Recommended Veal to Beef Ratios
When combining veal and beef, here are some suggested ratios to try:
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50/50 – For a straightforward even blend.
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60/40 – Slightly highlights the veal flavor and texture.
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40/60 – Allows more beef flavor to come through.
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70/30 – Emphasizes the veal with beef taking a background role.
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30/70 – Mainly hearty beef with veal adding a delicate note.
Sample Veal and Beef Bolognese Recipe
To experience the magic of veal and beef together in pasta sauce, give this recipe a try:
Ingredients:
- 1⁄4 pound ground veal
- 1⁄4 pound 85% lean ground beef
- 1⁄4 pound ground pork
- 1⁄2 cup diced pancetta or bacon
- 1 diced onion
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup milk or cream
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions:
- In large pot, cook pancetta until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels.
- Add onions, celery, and carrot to pot. Cook 5 minutes until softened.
- Add veal, beef, pork, and salt. Cook until browned.
- Add wine and simmer until reduced by half.
- Stir in milk and tomatoes. Add oregano and bay leaf.
- Simmer sauce at least 1 hour until thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Remove bay leaf. Mix in cooked pancetta.
- Serve tossed with pasta and grated Parmesan.
The Takeaway – It’s About Balance
When making your own pasta sauce at home, think about balance. Veal and beef each bring their own strengths. Blending the two can create an ideal flavor, texture, nutrition, and economy. Experiment with different ratios to find your favorite combo. Just be sure to simmer the sauce low and slow – the long cook time is absolutely key to developing complex flavor. Now grab your pasta pot, break out your ground veal and beef, and get ready to enjoy the saucy fruits of your kitchen labor!
Meat Sauce vs Bolognese Sauce
It’s easy to mix up meat sauce and bolognese sauce because they are both chunky, meaty sauces, but there are some big differences between the two.
The meats are the same, but the aromatics are different. Carrots, celery, and onions make up the base of bolognese. In a traditional bolognese, there isn’t much tomato product used either. It’s meaty and thick, and it usually has beef broth and some kind of dairy, like milk or cream.
Here are a few extra tips on making this amazingly meaty homemade spaghetti sauce recipe:
- The Tomatoes: My husband’s dad swears by Tuttorosso tomato puree and crushed tomatoes. He said he likes it better because both of them are thick, which makes the sauce heartier. This brand is mostly sold in the eastern United States. S. , but sometimes you can find it on Amazon, Target, or Walmart. If you can’t find it, use your favorite or anything else that’s available. He did say that some brands of crushed tomatoes aren’t as thick as the Tuttorosso brand. If this is the case, you might want to add a small can of tomato paste to the sauce to make it thicker.
- Meatless: If you’d rather have a sauce without meat, just leave out the meat and follow the steps below. I’ve done that more than once when I’ve baked ziti, and it still tastes great.
- Extra Taste—As I already said, you can add more herbs or even a pinch or two of red pepper flakes to make it taste even better!
- Long and Low Simmer—Let the sauce simmer on the stove for at least two or three hours so that all the flavors blend and get stronger. This will make the sauce taste its best.
- How to Store It: Let the sauce cool to room temperature, then put it in a container that won’t let air in and put it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Instructions for Freezing: This sauce freezes very well. Put it in a container that won’t let air in and freeze for up to three months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge, and then heat it up in a saucepan over low heat.
I urge you to run, not walk, into the kitchen and get a pot of this started.
More Favorites Pasta and Sauce Recipes:
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How to cook ground beef for maximum flavor | I bet you didn’t know this!
FAQ
What is the best cut of beef for pasta?
Is lean ground beef better for pasta?
What is the best beef for Bolognese sauce?
How do you thicken a veal sauce?
To thicken a veal sauce, add veal/beef consommé or broth and white and red wine. Add tomato puree or crushed tomatoes. Add ground porcini, salt, pepper, nutmeg, sage, rosemary, and bay leaf. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours. The sauce will thicken further over the course of the two hours.
Can you use wine instead of ground beef?
Using different types of meats like pork or veal or ground Italian sausage add depth that ground beef by itself doesn’t have. Wine can be dry or not – these sauces can handle some sweetness (I’ve seen people add a little honey or sugar even), but just no cooking wine. Depending on what you are using it for, you can easily switch things.
Can spaghetti with veal meatballs be frozen?
Andrew Zimmern’s spaghetti with veal meatballs recipe allows for the sauce and meatballs to be refrigerated overnight. The meatballs and sauce can also be frozen in resealable freezer bags for up to 1 month. Spoon the sauce and meatballs over the pasta and serve.
How do you make a veal soup?
To make the Bolognese Sauce according to The Daring Gourmet, first add the milk, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Next, add the veal/beef consommé or broth and the white and red wine. Then, add the tomato puree or crushed tomatoes, ground porcini, salt, pepper, nutmeg, sage, rosemary, and bay leaf. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours.