Bolognese Sauce

This recipe came from Cooks Illustrated and is a favorite at our  house. I double the recipe and freeze half. The slow simmering imparts a deep rich flavor to the sauce. 

Prep Time-15 min.  Cook Time 50 min. Simmer a couple of hours.  Makes sauce enough for 2 lbs. of pasta.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup minced onion

1/4 cup minced carrot

1/4 cup minced celery

¾ pound ground beef chuck

3/4 pound ground pork

table salt

2 cups whole milk

2 cups dry white wine

2 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, packed in juice, chopped fine, with juice reserved

Salt to taste and a dash crushed red pepper

1. Heat butter and oil in large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion, carrot, and celery and sautè until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add ground meat and ½ teaspoon salt; crumble meat with edge of wooden spoon to break apart into tiny pieces. Cook, continuing to crumble meat, just until it loses its raw color but has not yet browned, about 3 minutes.

2. Add milk and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until milk evaporates and only clear fat remains, 20 minutes. Add wine and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until wine evaporates, 20 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and their juice and bring to simmer; reduce heat to low so that sauce continues to simmer just barely, with an occasional bubble or two at the surface, until liquid has evaporated, about 3 hours. Adjust seasonings with extra salt to taste and serve. (Can be refrigerated for several days or frozen for several months. Warm over low heat before serving.)