Our Attempt at Evan Funke’s Five-Hour, Bone Marrow Bolognese

Name: Our Attempt at Evan Funke's Ragu Bolognese
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 2 -1/2lbs. Beef Chuck; 2 -1/2lbs. Beef Bone Marrow (About 5 Bones Cut Into 2-Inch Pieces); 1 large Yellow Onion, Peeled And Diced Large; 3 Stalks of Celery, Diced Large; 1 large Carrot, Peeled And Diced Large; 3 Ounces Rendered Pork Fat; 2 -1/2ounces Pancetta; 4 ounces Prosciutto di Parma; Kosher Salt, to Taste; 1 teaspoon Black Pepper; 1 -1/2cups Sangiovese (Or Another Dry, Fruity Red Wine); 2 cups Tomato Passata (or “strained tomatoes”); 2 cups Chicken Stock

By Roberto Serrini

11:00 AM EDT on May 1, 2023

By far the most delicious and amazing Ragu I’ve had, Evan Funke's "Ragu Bolognese" from HBO’s Selena + Chef absolutely knocked our socks off.

Recently, we were invited to the media opening of Evan's new Beverly Hills location, Funke, but unfortunately couldn’t make the date. That said, it reminded us that we can recreate some of the magic Funke brings to the table at home.

We had some of our friends help out, like chef Olivier Rassinoux at the helm, and Allen Brother’s Prime Meats supplying the protein. It didn’t hurt that we had fresh pasta from Osteria della Buca, bread from Tartine, beautiful cast iron from Butter Pat industries, and a lovely selection of drinks from The Bruery and Hanson’s of Sonoma to wash it all down. Not saying it would be better than having the real thing down at Funke, but definitely worth trying yourself at home.

Our Attempt at Evan Funke's Ragu Bolognese

Recipe by Roberto Serrini

3.6 from 104 votes

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

2 2 -1/2lbs. Beef Chuck
2 2 -1/2lbs. Beef Bone Marrow (About 5 Bones Cut Into 2-Inch Pieces)
1 large 1 Yellow Onion, Peeled And Diced Large
3 3 Stalks of Celery, Diced Large
1 large 1 Carrot, Peeled And Diced Large
3 Ounces 3 Rendered Pork Fat
2 2 -1/2ounces Pancetta
4 ounces 4 Prosciutto di Parma
Kosher Salt, to Taste
1 teaspoon 1 Black Pepper
1 1 -1/2cups Sangiovese (Or Another Dry, Fruity Red Wine)
2 cups 2 Tomato Passata (or “strained tomatoes”)
2 cups 2 Chicken Stock

Directions

Set up a meat grinder attachment for a Kitchen Aid
Mixer (if you don’t have one, you can ask your local
butcher to grind your meats for you).
Begin ragu by grinding chuck into a bowl, set aside.
Grind remaining meats: pancetta and prosciutto into another bowl, set aside.
Grind all the vegetables in the meat grinder or pass them through a food processor, pulsing until fine.
Heat a large, heavy-bottom sauce pot (about 5-quart Dutch oven) over medium-high heat.
Melt pork fat, adding prosciutto and pancetta, cooking until rendered, about 4 minutes.
Add ground veggies and stir.
Cook the vegetables, stirring frequently until a sweet aroma forms, around 15 minutes.
Add the ground beef, season generously with sea salt and black pepper.
Mix the meat with the vegetables with a wooden spoon.
Cook for 4-6 minutes stirring occasionally.
Once the juices start to run, add red wine and stir to incorporate.
Upon a whisper of steam, add the tomato passata and stir to incorporate.
Reduce heat to low and gently add the stock.
Gently simmer sauce, a gentle bubble every minute.
Cook for 3-5 hours stirring occasionally every 15 minutes or so, until the beef and pork are tender and flavors are concentrated.
Taste sauce and re-season if necessary.
Remove from heat.
Serve absolutely fucking immediately (or keep in the fridge for up to one week or the freezer for up to six months).