Giada De Laurentiis Uses This Type Of Beef For Her Bolognese Sauce

There are so many different recipes for Bolognese out there. The classic meat sauce, named after the city of Bologna, has many iterations all over the world, but if you want authenticity, then you need to listen to an Italian. Who better than America's very own Giada de Laurentiis? The Rome-born chef is known for her creative takes on the classic Italian dishes of her childhood, but she knows how to keep things traditional when needed — and Bolognese is no exception. On an episode of her new YouTube series, "Everyday Giada," de Laurentiis shared her recipe for perfect Bolognese and revealed the cut of meat she uses every time: ground beef chuck.

The reason for her choice is simple. "Chuck has a little bit more fat in it," she says in the video. This not only adds flavor, but it also keeps the meat moist throughout the cooking process and prevents it from breaking down too much. It's the ideal beef cut for a flavorful, balanced Bolognese sauce, and, luckily, it's a reliably cheap cut, too.

De Laurentiis' Bolognese is inspired by a Roman restaurant called NiNo, which she visited with her daughter Jade during the "Everyday Giada" episode. Her extended family has been frequent customers at NiNo for years, and she was introduced to the Bolognese there by her grandfather.

Her simple version starts off with the classic Italian combination of onion, carrots, and celery, as well as garlic. Once she adds her ground chuck, she turns up the heat to caramelize it slightly, which she says is key to the dish. Her other top tips include using her favorite tomatoes, Corbarino cherry tomatoes, instead of San Marzanos, and snipping them with scissors in the pan instead of smashing them. Like with any classic Ragu alla Bolognese, as it's known in Italy, she also uses fresh herbs and keeps any other additions minimal. Her pasta choice (not the traditional tagliatelle) might be a little questionable to some, but unlike the meat, that part is up to preference.