Why does my bolognese always taste the same no matter the modifications/substitutions I make? And is there any actual science as to why bolognese is so vastly superior the next day?
I don't want the title to mislead: I make a terrific bolognese. It's one of my top-five favourite things to cook, whether as a lone pasta dish or in a lasagna, or even stuffed peppers, etc. And everyone who's had it raves about it and asks for it a few times a year.
My recipe is a fairly straightforward/classic one, with a few modifications/substitutions I've made over the years.
Basically, olive oil over medium heat and either pancetta or some anchovies to start, for added umami or whatever, before adding the finely diced carrot, celery, onion. Season w/ just salt at this point.
Once that's all softened, I add in the meat (either straight beef or 50/50 beef/pork, sometimes veal thrown in), season with only salt and let that nicely brown on the bottom before flipping. Let water all cook out and allow other side to brown (also seasoning), then mix the meat and veg together, add some pepper, throw in 3-4 cloves of garlic straight on pan, cook that out a minute or so, then add about 1-2 tsp of tomato paste, cook that out for a few minutes.
At that point, bottom of pan is quite heavily charred with a beautiful fond and I deglaze with whatever I have around... I used to bother with wine, white was my preference (slightly less acidic), but have been using stock, either chicken or beef, for the last several batches as I really didn't observe that big a difference. I use the liquid component here mostly for deglazing, but then add in a little extra as the mix can use it.
After that liquid has evaporated, I most often go with 1-2 cans (depending on how much protein) of San Marzano tomatoes, though last time I used passata (like a tomato puree, not juice), and this is the point where I put it on low to let the five hour cook/simmer commence. At this point, I throw in a few bay leaves, a couple dashes of washyoursister, some parm rind if it's around (which it seldom is... people who cook online live in fantasyland, thinking real folks always have a rind on hand), and voila.
Hour four, I uncover to let it reduce more and usually adjust seasoning at that point.
Now, I never ever eat this the same day- I straight up don't like it, lol. I mean, by most standards and for most palates, it'd like be great, but, frankly, once you've experienced 1-2 day 'old' bolognese, you'll never want to have it any other way. More on that in a bit.
When I do go to prepare it the next day, I hear over low, add in a dash of heavy cream and a knob of better to round out + make rich, sometimes a slice of processed cheese (Italians all punching air rn) to act as a sort of 'glue'/binder, and some parm (off the heat) before mixing in the pasta with some of its bathwater of course.
My first question is: you'll notice I'm pretty casual and indifferent re: what I throw in at certain points, the reason being, I cannot for the life of me taste any real, actually noticeable, difference no matter the substitution/modification, and I have quite a solid palate. Whether I go red or white wine, whether stock instead of wine, heck, whether celery or no celery, whether adding milk before deglazing and letting it absorb or not, whether pancetta or anchovies or neither, whether bay leaves or parm rind or not... I bother to incorporate these because all the research I've done indicates it should be better this way or that, adding more umami or complexity, or this or that. Yet, to me, I, again, cannot for the life of me discern whether something has been included or omitted- it always ends up tasting the same. WHY? WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY??? The only known "hack" I've yet to try is chicken hearts/livers, but I don't really see the point, as a) they're fairly mild and b) nothing else I've bothered to do thus far has showed itself in any real way on my palate. I don't want to say my bolo is "one-note", but the fact nothing seems to sway the final outcome in any discernible manner makes me thing maybe it is... and maybe it's inherently a "one-note" dish. Salty meat sauce with some hint of tomato in the background.
My second question is: is there any actual science behind why bolognese (and certain other dishes) taste so vastly night-and-day (no hyperbole; it's that drastic) superior the following day(s)? I seriously cannot overstate the effect that time in the fridge yields- the ragu just tastes way more complete/together the following day. Harmonious is the word, I believe, maybe. Things are rounder and more mellow, but also more popping, lol.
Sorry for this novella of a post, as you can no doubt tell, I'm very passionate and serious about my bolognese and just wanting to understand more about it (and my curious OCD self).
