Braised Beef Ragu

No ratings yet

This braised beef ragu uses meaty chuck roast and Samuel Adams Just the Haze IPA to bring an extra punch of flavor to your holiday feast.

Prep Time30

Cook Time4

Total Time4 30

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: people

Author: Derek Wolf

Ingredients

Beef:

1 Large Chuck Roast cut into 6 pieces
2 tbsp Kosher Salt
2 tbsp Black Pepper
1.5 tbsp Garlic Powder
Canola Oil as needed

Ragu Sauce:

28 oz Tomato Sauce
1 cup Water
12 oz Sam Adams Just the Haze IPA
5-6 Whole Carrots peeled & diced
5-6 Garlic Cloves minced
1 cup White Onion chopped
1 cup Celery chopped
2 tbsp Red Chili Flakes
2 tbsp Dried Oregano
1 Bay Leaf
Kosher Salt to taste

Pasta:

3 cups Favorite Pasta cooked
Chopped Parsley garnish
Shredded Parmesan garnish

Instructions

Preheat your grill to medium high temperature (around 375F).
Slather your beef with oil and liberally season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place the beef on the grill and sear off all sides until browned.
Pull the beef off and place down your dutch oven. Add some oil and add your sliced onions along with the oregano, chili flakes and salt to brown (2 minutes).
Next, add the celery, carrots and garlic to sweat for 2 minutes.
Add your beef ribs back to the dutch oven and fill with tomato sauce, bay leaf, water and Sam Adams Just the Haze IPA so that the beef is almost submerged.
Cover the Dutch oven and let simmer over medium high heat until the beef is fork tender (about 3.5-4.5 hours). Make sure to skim the top of the sauce of fat as needed.
Once the beef is tender, strain the bay leaves and anything else. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce topping with parsley and Parmesan. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Why We Use Beer or Wine in Beef Ragu

You might be asking, why even use beer or wine in our braised beef ragu? Why not beef broth or water? There are a few reasons behind this key ingredient, and why I used Just the Haze here.

The acidity in beer plays a big role in breaking down the connective tissue in the chuck roast during the long, slow cooking process, helping to tenderize the beef.
That same acidity brightens the rich meat sauce and cuts through the fattiness of the chuck roast.
The beer adds a depth of flavor that you can't get from just water or beef stock alone. Beer adds malty, slightly bitter undertones to the recipe. During the cooking process, these flavors concentrate and meld with the meat and tomatoes.

So, all in all, Just the Haze gives us that complex, rounded flavor we want in a braised beef ragu!

Nutrition