Neapolitan ragù

Neapolitan ragù, is a sauce associated with the city of Naples, made by combining meat, tomato sauce, and seasonings.

Neapolitan ragù

Neapolitan ragù served with paccheri pasta
Alternative names	Ragù napoletano (in Italian), ragù alla napoletana (in Italian), rraù (in Neapolitan)
Type	Ragù
Place of origin	Italy
Region or state	Naples, Campania
Main ingredients	Onion, meat, tomato sauce, red wine, basil, lard or olive oil
Media: Neapolitan ragù

Less well-known than the ragù associated with Bologna which cooks for less time,^[1] several Neapolitan writers describe it as the "queen of sauces".^[2] In Italian, the ragù is known as ragù napoletano or ragù alla napoletana (Italian: [raˈɡu alla napoleˈtaːna]; Neapolitan: rraù).^[3][4]

Meat

In Naples, the local ragù is viewed as less of a tomato sauce than as a meat sauce. The tomato is understood as the medium that the flavour of the meat can infuse into.^[2] This is seen in the labelling of the Neapolitan ragù as sugo di carne (cooking juices of meat), despite the flavour provided by the seasonings and vegetables.^[1]

Which meat or combination thereof a cook uses is determined by their preferences and where they are preparing the ragù.^[2] On the plains of Campania, water buffalo are consumed where they are reared. In Benevento, at least part of the meat is lamb, and in the Cilento mountains of Salerno goat is used, both the young, as well as the castrated and old. By the 1990s, a ragù made of braciole, beef stuffed with cheese and other fillings, cooked down with tomatoes was a popular preparation, after the price for braciole had dropped.^[2]

A common addition to the Neapolitan ragù is cotica, pig skin softened over a long cooking process. In a ragù preparation, this is rolled tightly, enclosing garlic, raisins, parsley and pine nuts and added to the simmering sauce. Over hours, the Braciolone gives the sauce a depth of flavour, and a silky mouthfeel. At service, it is cut in slivers to portion for each serving.^[5]

Preparations over time

Neapolitan ragù

Neapolitan ragù is known for taking a long time to cook; stories told within families describe ragù being cooked "all day" before World War II. In those days, ragù was cooked in pottery cookware over an inconsistent coal fire, which required ongoing vigilance in addition to the need to frequently stir the sauce. Despite the dish being prepared for larger families, with larger serving sizes and correspondingly longer cook times, such accounts are likely fanciful.^[2]

Preparations at this time were fatty, with some recipes using olive oil and lard, both rendered and unrendered all in one recipe. Occasionally, this was supplemented with the addition of butter.^[2] As of the mid-1990s, a lighter ragù, cooked over a shorter time with less fat was popular, although it was popularly believed that such sauces must be cooked for at least two and a half hours to be considered a ragù. At that time, it was held, a dramatic flavour transformation occurs.^[2]

Serving

In the first course of a Italian meal structure, the sauce of the ragù, separated from the meat is served over macaroni, gnocchi, or ziti. The meat then follows, eaten as the second course dressed with some remaining sauce. During Carnival, the ragù covers the local lasagne di Carnevale, a baked pasta dish containing mozarella and ricotta, sausages and small fried meatballs, as well as hard-boiled eggs.^[1]

See also

• Italy portal
• Food portal

• List of meat-based sauces
• Ragù di salsiccia