The Bold Meats Emeril Lagasse Uses In His Extraordinary Lasagna

While it might not be one of Emeril Lagasse's favorite foods, the famed chef sure knows how to make a substantial lasagna. In Youtube video shared by Lagasse, the chef shows his audience how to make his "manly meat lasagna." After various rounds of cheers and applause, he tells the boisterous crowd, "You deserve it!" Although most lasagna recipes contain a single meat — or maybe a mixture of two proteins like ground beef and ground pork — chef Lagasse uses a whopping six different types of boldy flavored meats in his hefty lasagna. 

Lagasse's not-suitable-for-vegetarians lasagna includes two different sauces (a ragù and a bolognese), which are both meat-based, of course. The first sauce, a ragù, uses a combination of hot and sweet sausages for savory complexity. Crushed tomatoes are then added and cooked down into the zesty sauce. 

The second begins with pancetta. Once it has browned, Lagasse adds softball-sized mounds of ground pork, ground beef, and ground veal to the pot. After everything has been sauteed and seasoned, he adds aromatics, spices, and a bit of wine, which helps deglaze the pan. Lagasse says this bolognese sauce takes about an hour to make, so patience is necessary. After the bolognese has simmered and come together, Lagasse adds his secret weapon, yet another meat: chopped chicken livers, which give lasagna an extra boost of rich flavor. 

When assembling a lasagna, it's important to spread a good amount of sauce along the bottom of your baking dish so that the noodles don't stick to the pan, making serving easier. After the initial layer of sauce, lay down lasagna noodles, ensuring that they cover as much of the dish as possible without overlapping too much. You can use oven-ready, no-boil lasagna noodles, but they don't always have the best texture, so we recommend using freshly boiled noodles. Otherwise, if you're able to find them, use fresh sheets of uncooked pasta. 

Chef Lagasse also includes blanched spinach and roasted portobello mushrooms, which add a bit of vegetal freshness to cut through the heavy recipe. He follows up with generous additions of rich ricotta and shredded mozzarella to balance the bold meatiness. Traditionally, however, northern Italian lasagna bolognese doesn't usually have shredded cheese in the layers — only some parmesan on top. Instead, the decadent creaminess comes from a béchamel sauce, versus lasagna from southern Italy that tends to feature ricotta. But lasagna is really a choose-your-own-adventure dish when making it at home, so use whatever dairy you like. 

Lagasse recommends letting the finished lasagna rest before running a knife all along the sides of the pan to loosen the edges. He tops a slice with a healthy dusting of parmesan, presenting the plate with his signature, "Bam!" If you're nostalgic for more of the chef's culinary advice, check out Emeril Lagasse's best cooking tips for home chefs.