Quick Pulled Beef Ragù

A simple way to turn tender pulled beef into a rich, comforting pasta dinner. The beef can be slow-cooked ahead and kept in the fridge or freezer, making this ragù surprisingly quick to put together when you need an easy midweek meal.

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Serves: 4–6

Prepare Ahead – Pulled Beef

About 700–800 g beef chuck steak will give you roughly 2 cups of cooked shredded beef, depending on how much the meat reduces during cooking.

Place the chuck steak in an oven bag and slow cook at 100°C for 6–8 hours, or until very tender and easily shredded. Allow to cool slightly, shred the beef, then measure out 2 cups for the ragù. Any extra beef can be refrigerated or frozen for another meal.

If using frozen pulled beef, thaw it in the refrigerator before making the ragù. If you already have cooked pulled beef on hand, simply measure out 2 cups and skip this step.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked pulled beef, shredded

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 carrot, finely diced (optional)

1 celery stick, finely diced (optional)

2 tbsp tomato paste

400 g tin crushed tomatoes (or passata)

½ cup beef stock (or a splash of red wine)

1 tsp dried oregano (or Italian herbs)

1 bay leaf (optional)

Salt and black pepper, to taste

400–500 g pasta (pappardelle, tagliatelle or rigatoni work well) Gluten Free pasta also works well.

Fresh parsley and parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Prepare the vegetables

Heat olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery, if using, and cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook for a further minute.

2. Build the sauce

Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1–2 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, beef stock or red wine, oregano and bayleaf. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

3. Add the pulled beef

Stir in shredded pulled beef and simmer gently for another 10 minutes. If the sauce becomes too thick, loosen with a splash of pasta water or extra stock. Remove the bay leaf.

4. Cook the pasta

Cook the pasta in a saucepan with salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve ½ cup pasta water before draining.

5. Bring it together

Toss the drained pasta through the ragù, adding a splash of reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce and help it coat the pasta

6. Serve

Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan and chopped parsley.

From My Kitchen

Keep portions of pulled beef in the freezer and this becomes a wonderfully quick dinner. The sauce can also be made ahead and gently reheated before tossing through freshly cooked pasta. Pappardelle or tagliatelle are my favourites, but rigatoni is excellent if you prefer a pasta that catches all the sauce.