Bologna, Emilia-Romagna — the ragù bolognese is the emblem of Bolognese cooking. The 1982 registration with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce codified the 'official' recipe. The preparation appears in 18th-century Bolognese sources as a sauce for fresh tagliatelle.
Ragù alla bolognese is the most misunderstood Italian preparation in the world — not a tomato-heavy meat sauce (spaghetti bolognese is an international invention) but a long-cooked soffritto of minced beef and pork with very little tomato, reduced in milk and white wine over 4 hours to a rich, creamy, concentrated meat sauce. The 1982 registered recipe of the Bologna Chamber of Commerce specifies beef (specifically the coarse-minced beef 'cartella', the plate cut), a small amount of pork belly, onion, carrot, celery, tomato purée (very little — just for colour), dry white wine, whole milk, and broth. No garlic, no herbs except bay, no cream.
Ragù bolognese after 4 hours of simmering is pale, thick, and meaty — not red but a dusty rose-brown. The flavour is concentrated and complex: the slow milk reduction has produced a sweetness; the wine has given acidity; the long simmer has unified all the flavours. Over fresh tagliatelle with a snowfall of Parmigiano, it is the definitive statement of Bolognese cuisine.
Soffritto: very finely diced onion, carrot, celery in butter and oil until completely softened (15 minutes). Add minced beef (300g) and pork belly (100g, minced or very finely diced); cook, breaking up, until completely separated and beginning to brown. Add white wine; stir and allow to evaporate completely. Add whole milk (100ml); stir and allow to evaporate completely — the milk is the crucial step that tenderises the meat. Add tomato purée (1 tablespoon only — this is not a tomato sauce). Add beef broth to just cover. Simmer uncovered at the gentlest possible heat for 4 hours minimum, adding broth as needed. The ragù should be thick, meaty, slightly creamy, and pale. Serve over fresh tagliatelle (never spaghetti).
The milk step is the most counter-intuitive and essential — the milk proteins and sugars tenderise the meat fibres and produce a richness that no amount of cream can replicate. Use whole milk, added after the wine has evaporated, and allow it to absorb completely before adding tomato. The ragù improves enormously over 3-4 days of refrigeration and reheating — make a large batch.
Too much tomato — the Bologna ragù is essentially a meat sauce; excess tomato changes it into a tomato-meat sauce, which is a different preparation. Cooking too briefly — 4 hours minimum; anything less produces a harsh, unintegrated sauce. Serving with spaghetti — tagliatelle (specifically 8mm wide fresh egg pasta) is the canonical pairing; the ragù clings to fresh pasta very differently than to spaghetti.
Marcella Hazan, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking; Giorgio Locatelli, Made in Italy