Rich, hearty venison bolognese sauce slow-cooked to perfection. This Italian venison ragu is perfect for cozy dinners and holiday feasts.
This venison bolognese is comfort food at its best. It's rich, flavorful, and deeply satisfying.
The slow-cooked sauce captures everything I love about Italian cuisine: patience, simplicity, and incredible flavor.
It’s the kind of dish you’ll want to share on chilly winter evenings or bring to your holiday table - a warm, hearty meal that always brings everyone together.
Serve it with pasta, top it with grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and you’ve got pure Italian joy in every bite!
The preparation of venison ragù follows a similar process to the traditional bolognese sauce, but with a few tweaks, thanks to the spices and a generous splash of red wine.
Like all Italian family recipes, everyone has their own version, and this is the one I love to make at home.
It’s wonderful with your favorite pasta, whether fresh homemade pasta or dried pasta, and just as delicious served over creamy polenta.
Ingredients you'll need
Like any traditional Italian sauce, a great venison bolognese starts with simple, high-quality ingredients.
Here are my ingredient recommendations:
- Venison: Coarsely minced or finely chopped for a hearty texture and rich flavor.
- Vegetables: A classic Italian soffritto made with onion, carrot, and celery.
- Tomatoes: Tomato passata or good-quality peeled tomatoes (pelati) work beautifully.
- Wine: A splash of red wine (like Sangiovese or Chianti) for acidity, and that authentic Italian taste.
- Stock: Beef or vegetable stock to keep the sauce rich and moist while it simmers.
- Milk: Stirred in at the end to smooth up the tomato’s acidity and make the sauce super silky.
- Bay leaf: Adds a gentle sweet aroma and balances the flavor.
- Cinnamon: This is optional, but gives an extra layer of flavor.
- Olive oil: Choose a good extra-virgin olive oil, both for cooking and drizzling on top before serving.
How to make venison Bolognese
This Italian venison bolognese recipe comes together easily with minimum effort.
Follow these simple four steps, and in no time you’ll be sitting down to enjoy a delicious homemade Italian meal.
Keep scrolling to the end of the post for the full printable recipe!
STEP 1. Sauté the onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil, then add the meat and cook until browned.
STEP 2. Pour in the wine and let it evaporate, about 5 minutes.
STEP 3. Add the tomato passata and bay leaf, and simmer gently for about 2 hours. Add a little stock if the sauce dries out.
STEP 4. In the last 30 minutes, stir in the milk and cook until the sauce turns thick and rich.
The sauce is ready when it reaches a dense and rich texture.
Storage Tips
- Fridge: Store your venison bolognese sauce in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Freezer: It freezes beautifully! Portion it into containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently before serving.
What can I serve with Venison ragu'?
Traditionally, ragù is served with fresh egg tagliatelle, but you can also use pappardelle, rigatoni, penne or mezze maniche.
They're all great pasta shapes for catching every bit of that rich, meaty sauce.
In northern Italy, it’s often enjoyed over creamy polenta, a comforting combination that feels like a warm hug on a cold day.
This venison bolognese sauce is also fantastic layered into homemade lasagna, stuffed inside cannelloni, mixed into a classic pasta bake, or spooned generously over fluffy jacket potatoes.
However you serve it, it’s pure comfort in every bite!
Did you try this recipe?
Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thepetitecook!
Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Recipe
Venison Bolognese
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 carrot, finely minced
- 1 celery stalk, finely minced
- 1 golden onion, finely minced
- 450 g venison meat, minced or finely cubed
- 170 ml red wine
- 400 ml pureed tomatoes, or 3 tablespoon triple concentrate tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf, optional
- 100 ml vegetable stock, or brodo di pollo (chicken stock)
- 120 ml fresh whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat. Add in the carrot, celery and onion and cook, stirring often for about 10 minutes, until the veggies have softened.
- Add in the minced venison and continue to cook, stirring often, until it's browned.
- Pour in the wine and allow it to evaporate, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
- Pour the tomato sauce into the saucepan and add in the bay leaf. Reduce heat to very low, partially cover with a lid, then slowly cook the ragu' for at least 2 hours.
- Stir the sauce occasionally, and if you see it's drying out, pour in a bit of stock. During the last half an hour of cooking, pour in the milk a little at a time, until fully incorporated.
- The sauce is ready when it reaches a dense and rich texture. If it's still too runny, let it cook a little more. Season with a pinch of cinnamon and sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
- Serve with egg tagliatelle or short pasta, and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese on the side.
Notes
- Chop the veggies by hand. I know that using a food processor might be tempting, but the hand-chopped soffritto gives the ragu' a unique texture.
- Use a large heavy-duty pan or a cast-iron pot, that will hold the heat steady.
- If you use ground meat, the cooking process should take about 2 hours.
- If you use knife-chopped meat instead you want to slow cook it for up to 3 hours until the meat breaks downs nicely into the sauce.
- Cooking the bolognese at very low heat is the real secret that will thicken your sauce.
- Leave the salt and pepper out until the very end. The ragu' should be seasoned once it is cooked through.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Leave a Reply