The Underrated Cut Of Meat For Flavor-Packed Ragu

Ragu, the classic Italian pasta sauce, is actually an umbrella term for all slow-cooked meat-based pasta dishes, including Bolognese, Pugliese, and Napoletano sauces. Though it is often made with beef or pork, cooking a ragu sauce with goat meat is an underrated alternative, and given enough time to properly tenderize your meat, it can be just as rich and satisfying as a typically fattier cut.  

With all ragus, but especially when using goat meat, this is not a sauce you want to make on the fly.  At least three hours are needed to slow cook ground goat meat — or meat still on the bone — in a braising liquid to result in a flavorful homemade pasta sauce. When using goat meat for ragu, the meat should be marinated before cooking to enhance the flavor and the tenderness. This can be done by using something acidic to tenderize the meat such as red wine, vinegar, or lemon juice. Herbs that work well in marinades for goat meat ragu include rosemary, garlic, and bay leaves, but can be adjusted according to your taste. Make sure to marinate the meat for at least two hours, but ideally overnight to achieve maximum tenderness.

Cooking meat and vegetables separately is key to any great ragu. After your goat meat has been marinated, sear the goat meat until it is brown on all sides. This is a critical step before slow cooking a lean meat, as it adds depth of flavor and improves the texture. Remove the meat and then sauté your finely chopped carrots, onions, and celery (this combination is known as soffritto in Italian cooking). After this you can combine the meat and vegetables, along with other ingredients which of course includes tomatoes. 

A good ragu should be made with tomato puree rather than peeled or fresh tomatoes. This results in a more concentrated flavor and a consistent texture, which is favorable for ragu sauce. The prep work is actually quite minimal for ragu, and after you've got everything in your pot, it's simply a matter of patience. Let the sauce simmer for at least three hours. The longer you let goat meat simmer, the better: It's high in collagen, so the longer it sits at a slow and low heat, the more time it has for those fats to break down and result in wonderfully rich, tender meat.