Sheep sauce: tradition in the kitchen

Preparing an excellent sheep sauce, even in white, is not that difficult. It just requires a little patience but the result is mouth-watering.

Today we want to share with you a recipe that smells of ancient: the sheep sauce. Typical of all those areas of central-southern Italy where sheep farming is one of the main activities, it is prepared like a classic ragù. What makes it so different from the classic recipe is precisely the presence of sheep meat: the mutton sauce is in fact much tastier .

Sheep ragù is prepared by cutting a piece of meat with the bone into rather small cubes and then letting it cook over medium-low heat for about 3 hours . So we know that making this recipe might be daunting, but the final flavor you get is so full that it’s really worth it. We usually use sheep’s sauce for gnocchi, but you can dress any pasta shapes you want. Try it for example with tagliatelle!

How to prepare the sheep sauce recipe

1. First, chop celery , carrot and onion with a knife.
2. Brown them in a pan with a few tablespoons of oil and a pinch of salt .
3. Meanwhile, cut the sheep meat into rather small cubes.
4. Brown it in a pan then blend with the red wine .
5. When you no longer smell alcohol, add the tomatoes and a glass of water.
6. Cook the sheep ragout for 3 hours over low heat and without a lid, stirring occasionally and adjusting with salt and pepper halfway through cooking.
7. Once ready, use it to season your first courses.

Sheep ragout in white

1. To prepare the white sauce, proceed in the same way. Prepare the sauté and brown the meat in the oil .
2. Add the wine , white in this case, and start cooking by adding about half a liter of meat broth .
3. Also perfume with a bay leaf and a sprig of rosemary and let it go over low heat, with the lid, for 3 hours . If necessary, add more broth.
4. Adjust the salt and pepper halfway through cooking and once ready use it as you prefer.

Also try the Neapolitan ragù recipe and you will discover one of the many variations of a simple meat sauce.

storage

The sheep sauce can be kept in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for 2-3 days . You can also freeze it, already portioned, so as to have it available when you need it.