Ragù alla Albi, Big Sunday Batch

beef pork italian slow-cook batch freezer-friendly high-protein le-creuset anabolic
⏱ 4 hours ✋ 30 min active 🍽 13 portions × 200 g 🥗 omnivore 🌱 any (especially autumn/winter)

Italian tradition, Albi's method (Torino → Harringay)

Macros per serving (200 g)

Kcal Protein Fat Carbs Fibre
280 24 g 14 g 9 g 2 g

Ingredients

  • 1 kg minced lean beef (5%), or 1.5 kg of the cheaper mixed beef + pork
  • (alternative: 1 kg beef + 500 g pork minced, classic Bolognese base)
  • 3 large onions, finely diced
  • 3 celery stalks, finely diced
  • 3 large carrots, finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
  • 1.1 L Mutti tomato passata
  • 300–400 ml good red wine (don’t be shy, Montepulciano, Barbera, Chianti)
  • 1 stock cube (or 200 ml broth if you have it)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Fresh basil + thyme + oregano (small handful each, or 1 tsp dried each)
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon (the Piemontese signature)
  • 1 tsp pul biber (Aleppo chilli flakes)
  • 1 tsp pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)
  • ½ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional extra heat)
  • Salt + black pepper, generously
  • EVOO only if needed (the meat fat will do most of the work)

Method

Step 1, Render the meat fat (the foundation) Pat meat dry. Salt and season with pepper. Le Creuset on high heat. Add meat in batches, don’t crowd. Push down and let it cook on high until fat dissolves and meat is deeply browned. Maillard is non-negotiable. Remove meat with slotted spoon, leave the fat in the pot.

Step 2, Soffritto in the rendered fat (the Italian secret) In that beautiful meat fat: onions FIRST, alone, on medium heat for 8–10 mins until softened and starting to colour. Then add celery + carrots. Continue 12–15 mins until everything is golden and sweet. Add garlic last 3 mins.

Step 3, Spice layer Add pul biber + pimentón de la Vera + (optional chilli flakes). Stir 30 seconds to bloom in the fat.

Step 4, Deglaze with red wine (a lot) Pour in the wine, should sizzle aggressively. Scrape up all the fond from the bottom. Let it bubble and reduce by half (5–7 mins). The kitchen should smell like Sunday in Torino.

Step 5, Build the sauce Add the meat back in. Pour over the passata. Add the stock cube (crumbled) or broth. Bay leaves, basil, thyme, oregano, cinnamon. Stir everything together. Taste, adjust salt + pepper.

Step 6, Low and slow with lid ON Bring to a very gentle simmer. Lid ON. Lowest heat possible (or oven at 140–150°C). 3 hours minimum. Stir every 30–40 min so nothing catches. The sauce should deepen, thicken, smell incredible.

Step 7, Reduce with lid OFF Last 30 mins: lid OFF to reduce and concentrate. The sauce should coat a spoon and the fat should be glossy on the surface.

Step 8, Cool and portion fast (histamine management) Within 2 hours of cooking: portion into 200 g containers. Fridge 2 days max. Freeze the rest immediately. Freezes for 3 months.

Key Details

  • Render the fat first, soffritto in it. This is the difference between a good ragù and a great one. Fresh oil tastes flat in comparison.
  • Onions first, alone. The onion needs to break down sweet before the harder veg goes in. Skipping this = grassy soffritto.
  • Cinnamon ½ tsp is the nonna touch, barely perceptible, but you’d miss it if it weren’t there.
  • Wine generously. The alcohol cooks off in 5 mins; the acidity and depth stay.
  • 3 hours is the histamine sweet spot. Longer = more histamine, marginal flavour gain.
  • Day 2 it’s better. The flavours meld overnight. Make Sunday, eat Monday.
  • Parmigiano rind in the pot during the last hour adds extraordinary umami. Save your rinds in the freezer for this.

Pairs well with

  • Pasta: wholemeal pappardelle, rigatoni, or fresh tagliatelle
  • Bread: Turkish flatbread or sourdough for dipping (the Sunday lazy way)
  • Grains: bulgur, farro, brown rice for higher-fibre bowls
  • Sweet potato: stuffed roasted sweet potato + Greek yogurt + sumac
  • Eggs: ragu + fried egg on sourdough = post-gym monster

Variations

  • All beef if no pork available, use slightly higher fat (10%) for flavour
  • Mixed beef + pork (50/50), cheaper, classic, deeper flavour
  • Add chicken livers (100 g, blended smooth) → traditional Bolognese depth
  • Splash of milk last 30 mins → softer, classic Bologna character
  • Add Parmigiano rind in the simmer → bonus umami, no extra calories

Complete meal combinations (per 200 g ragù portion)

Meal Base Total Kcal Total Protein
Pasta ragù 100 g wholemeal pappardelle 620 42 g
Bulgur bowl 150 g cooked bulgur 540 40 g
Sourdough dipper (Sunday lazy) 2 slices sourdough 480 32 g
Sourdough + fried egg 2 slices + 1 egg 560 38 g
Stuffed sweet potato 1 large sweet potato + Greek yogurt 580 38 g
Grain bowl + spinach 150 g farro + handful spinach 520 36 g
Max protein (post-gym) + 150 g lentils + egg 580 52 g

Storage

  • Fridge: max 2 days (histamine management)
  • Freeze: 3 months in 150–200 g portions
  • Reheat: 5 min in a pan on medium heat, splash of water if too thick
  • Always reheat to piping hot all the way through

← All recipes