Gotta have Bacon in the Bog !

I thought I would share my bolognaise sauce recipe with the good folk here on ATS, and also get some feedback on what you think makes a good bog – I’m always willing to adapt and try new things with my cooking.

Ingredients:
. 17 oz (500g) of prime quality beef mince, NOT the cheap fatty stuff
. Bacon rashers – approx ¼ amount of mince. Cut off about half of the fatty sections.
Cut in to small pieces
. 1 or 2 Large Red Chillies or chilli powder – quantity to suit taste
. 1 Brown Onion - diced
. 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, cut up finely, NOT pressed or minced
. 1 teaspoon Paprika powder
. Fresh or dry herbs to suit taste. ie Italian basil, sage, thyme
. 1 can diced tomatoes
. Equal amount of fresh tomatoes, smaller the better (ie cherry tomatoes), diced
. Regular tomato Ketchup
. Red Wine (optional)
. Olive Oil
. Salt and Black Pepper

Preparation and Cooking:

In a deep fry pan :-
. Brown the mince on low heat and simmer off any moisture – put to one side.
. Cook the bacon on medium heat until it’s brown but not crispy – put to one side.
. Cook onion in olive oil on medium heat until translucent, adding garlic and chillies
for about a minute before it’s finished
. Add mince and bacon back in to fry pan and leave on medium heat
. Add paprika and herbs
. Stir for a couple of minutes letting the herbs and paprika absorb in to mixture
. Add a small amount of salt and pepper
. Add canned and fresh tomatoes and stir in
. Add a few tablespoons of Ketchup
. Add a splash of red wine
. Set heat so sauce simmers slowly
. Stir every 5 or 10 minutes until fresh tomatoes have fully broken down in to the
sauce. Approx 1.5 to 2 hours.
. Add more salt and pepper to suit taste

I like my sauce chunky so I eat it like this, but you can put in a blender if you like a finer look and/or feel on the palate.

Enjoy with your favourite pasta and don’t forget the parmesan. I like to reheat the leftovers on the next day and put on toast with grilled cheese for a late breakfast or lunch.

* Ned

Sounds tasty, will be trying. I have bookmarked the thread in my "recipes" folder. Thanks for posting.

Sounds really good. I think i'll have to try it with my homade bacon and all my veggies from the garden. Anything with bacon is good in my book. I might add some smoked pork chop to it as well. It pays to be able to grow and butcher your own meat. "At least we know what goes into ours", is what my dad always says. Anyway thanks for the recipe. If you need any pork recipes; I am the master pork cooker.

It is a hard line ATS rule that I must participate in all bacon related threads! So I'll have to fix this bacon in the bog stuff sometime in the next week and report back.

~Heff

reply to post by usmc0311


Totally agree - homegrown or home-raised is ALWAYS the best !

I do most of my own fruit and veg but not meat. The tomatoes, herbs and chillies in this recipe come from my garden - Yummo !

I can see how different types of pork (including smoked) would work in a bog recipe.

* Ned

you sure know how to ruin a spag' bol'.
(if it aint broke, dont fix it)

reply to post by Hefficide


Cool, look forward to your response Heff.

I was vegetarian for nearly 10 years. It was bacon that brought me back to the fold

It's funny, but if you look at a lot of lentil or legume recipes (what vegos thrive on) most include bacon or some other meat like lamb to really get the combination of flavours right.

Peace - Ned

Originally posted by Kino321
you sure know how to ruin a spag' bol'.
(if it aint broke, dont fix it)

you sure know how to ruin a thread.

don't trip on your way out