Delicious, slow-cooked baked past with slow-cooked brisket ragu is the ultimate in baked pasta goodness.
I'm not sure there is anything nicer that a low and slow cooked ragu and when combined with great pasta and baked up with cheese, it's a perfect meal for this cooler weather.
Along with the pasta is a low and slow-cooked ragu, which started with a lovely piece of beef brisket. The brisket is combined with San Marzano tomatoes, onions and carrots, red wine and beef broth. It cooks slowly in the oven until the brisket is fork tender. It then gets shredded and added back to the sauce, to simmer some more on the stove-top until it is super rich and flavourful. The final touch is to bake it up with dollops of ricotta cheese.
Beyond the obvious deliciousness, I love that this dish brings together a variety of quality ingredients, from the beautiful brisket, to the creamy ricotta, to the carrots and tomatoes that cook up beautifully in the sauce. Served with a side salad, it's a perfect family meal.
Cook's Notes
My piece of brisket had a generous fat cap, extending over an inch in some places. I trimmed off some of it, but left 1/2-inch or so on to flavour the ragu and keep the brisket lovely and moist.
Surprisingly, despite over 4 hours of cooking, the carrots in the ragu will still be holding their shape, so don't count on them breaking down and disappearing. Be sure to cut them to the size you would like them to be in the finished ragu.
When it comes to the red wine, any nice dry red works. Pick something that you would enjoy drinking out of a glass and you'll be sure to love how it flavours the ragu as well.
The Beef Brisket ragu recipe will make much more than you need for one 10-inch skillet dinner. It just seems to me if you're going to invest 4 hours of slow-cooking, you might as well make a big batch! The extra ragu can be refrigerated for several days or frozen for several months, to use for another meal later!
OR, if you're feeding a crowd, double the remainder of the recipe and use all the ragu in a 9x13 casserole dish instead.
Baked Rigatoni with Brisket Ragu and Ricotta
Ingredients
For the Beef Brisket Ragu:*
- 2 1/2 - 3 lb beef brisket, kept whole, trimmed of a bit of excess fat if necessary
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 cups red wine
- 28 oz can whole San Marzano tomatoes, hand-crushed
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 sprig fresh Rosemary
- 1 sprig fresh oregano
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
For the Ricotta Mixture:
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- 2-3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper, to taste
To Prepare the 10-inch Skillet:
- 3 cups dried rigatoni pasta, cooked to al dente according to instructions and drained
- 3 cups beef brisket ragu, from above
- All the above ricotta mixture
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
To serve:
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Trim the beef brisket of any excess of fat, leaving about 1/2 inch or so on the meat. If your brisket is too large to fit flat in to your Dutch oven, cut in to two pieces so it will fit. Otherwise, leave as one piece. Season the beef with salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a large oven-proof Dutch oven pot (with a lid) over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, brown the meat on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the brisket to a plate and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium under to your pot. Add the onion, garlic and carrots to the same pot and cook, stirring, until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add the flour and the tomato paste to the pot and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook, stirring and scrapping the bits off the bottom of the pot, until the balsamic is almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add the red wine and increase heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until it's reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
- When the wine has reduced, add the hand crushed tomatoes and the beef stock and stir to combine. Add the beef brisket back to the pot. Add the fresh herbs and red pepper flakes and gently stir in to the sauce. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium high heat, then cover the dutch oven and transfer to the preheated 325 F. oven. Cook covered for 3 hours or until the beef is very tender.
- Remove pot from oven and place on the stove-top over medium-high heat. Carefully remove the brisket to a cutting board. Allow to cool a few minutes, then use two forks to shred the meat, discarding any bits of fat. Add the shredded beef back to the pot with the sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer uncovered until reduced and thickened, about 30-45 minutes. Taste sauce and add additional salt and pepper, as needed.
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- While sauce is simmering, cook the pasta, according to package instructions, until al dente. Drain the pasta and place in to a large bowl. When sauce is ready, add the amount of cooked ragu specified in the recipe to the cooked pasta and toss to combine. (Refrigerate or freeze additional ragu right away). Spoon in to a greased 10-inch skillet or similar sized baking dish. Prepare the ricotta mixture by combining all the ingredients. Spoon dollops of the ricotta mixture over-top, then sprinkle with grated mozzarella.
- Bake in 425 F. oven for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbling and golden. Serve sprinkled with the chopped parsley and topped with shaved Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided for general guidance only and should not be relied upon to make personal health decisions.
Hi! I'm Jennifer, a home-cook of many years and a lifelong seeker of delicious food! I'm an equal opportunity eater. I enjoy eating all the foods!
Xia says
This dish was so good! Thanks!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Xia! Thanks so much :)
carolyn says
This is absolutely perfect, made on a rainy day, aromatic for hours and mouthwatering to please the palette! Thank You Jenn 10 star
Jennifer says
Thanks Carolyn and so glad you enjoyed it! And yes, perfect meal for a rainy day :)
Diana says
Made the beef brisket ragu recipe yesterday, so delicious! My husband loved it! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Jennifer says
So glad to hear :) I still have half of it in my freezer and anxiously awaiting a second feed of it! Thanks for coming back to let me know.
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Using brisket in for your ragu must add lots of extra flavor to the dish.
Jennifer says
The brisket made a most delicious ragu, for sure! Super flavourful :)
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
I somehow completely missed the memo for World Pasta Day! Although, to be fair, every weekend day during fall and winter is pasta day in our home. ;) Anyways, this rigatoni looks AMAZING!!! This is some serious comfort food! Definitely need to add this to the pasta rotation! Cheers!
Jennifer says
Thanks Cheyanne and I agree, pretty much every day is pasta day ;)
Gerlinde says
What a satisfying pasta dish. I can’t wait to try it.
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Gerlinde :)
Milena | Craft Beering says
Too good to look at! This is a dish that I'd need to guard with the utmost care in our house - just to be able to bring it to the dining table from the kitchen, lol. I am afraid I may encounter anxious forks while in transit. Pinned!
Jennifer says
Thanks Milena! It is totally the kind of dish that makes you want to just bust out forks, not plates :)
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Now if this is not one big pan of comfort food, I don't know what is! Love it! And Barilla products are AWESOME! Did you say there were 5 servings here? Hmmmm....not sure about that ;)
Jennifer says
Lol! Yes, that serving size is subject to who is digging in to it, for sure :)
[email protected] says
Baked pasta, especially when brisket gets involved, is my favorite kind of comfort food! Love this dish, and Barilla products! Pinned!
Jennifer says
Thanks Annie :) Baked pasta is a favourite of mine, too. Love those crispy bits of pasta :)
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
This looks like the most comforting fall/winter dish Jennifer! I can see myself with a bowl cozying up by the fire already! (With a glass of wine, of course!) We love Barilla pasta too. Thanks for sharing!
Jennifer says
Thanks Mary Ann :) And yes, a glass of wine is almost required with this one!
Chris Scheuer says
I love Ragu, just made a pork one last week. The meat gets so... tender! I love the idea of using brisket and Barilla pasta is the best! What a wonderful combination!
Jennifer says
Thanks Chris :) The brisket was so delicious! I have a hard time getting my hands on brisket here, but when I do, this is a go-to.
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
Jennifer you've outdone yourself, that skillet looks insanely delicious! And Barilla has always been my brand :) I'll be sharing all around!
Jennifer says
Thanks Sue :) Barilla pasta is a staple here, too!
Tricia @ Saving Room for Dessert says
We love our Barilla pasta, and especially these hearty noodles :) Another amazing skillet dinner Jennifer! That tender brisket looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing!
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Tricia :) The brisket ragu was so delicious!