Bourbon-Infused Cowboy Spaghetti Recipe

If bolognese took a detour through the American South, you'd end up with this bourbon-infused cowboy spaghetti recipe. Full of strong flavors, savory meatiness, and cheesy goodness, it's a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal that goes just as well for a summer's eve dinner as it does on a cold November night.

The bones here are familiar. We've got ground beef, crushed tomatoes, and pasta, just like any good pasta bolognese would have. But then the flavors get a decidedly punchy upgrade from smoky bacon rendered and tossed in a fiery chile maple syrup, bourbon to deglaze the base, sharp white cheddar grated over the top, and buttery scallions and crispy fried shallots added for crunch. What you're left with is a meat sauce with an unmatched smokiness and depth, and every element combines to take the dish somewhere a standard bolognese would never dare go.

As a recipe developer and blogger with an affinity for Southern comfort food, I think cowboy spaghetti proves that the format of a pasta dish matters less than what you put in it. With the right ingredients, even a dish like pasta can become deliciously American, familiar, and unique at the same time.

To make this amazing one-pot dish, you'll need dried spaghetti or bucatini, thick-cut bacon or pancetta, and an 80/20 blend of ground chuck. For flavoring, the special ingredient here is the chile maple syrup, which you can read more about below. 

Next, you'll need to gather yellow onion, garlic, tomato paste, a good bourbon of your choice, a can of crushed tomatoes, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and black pepper. We will then finish the spaghetti with unsalted butter, olive oil, scallions, some sharp white cheddar, and crispy fried shallots.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water before draining.

While the water heats, cook the bacon in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes.

Remove with a slotted spoon and stir to coat with maple syrup.

Add the ground chuck to the rendered fat and cook, breaking it up, until browned, about 6 minutes. Drain the excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan.

Add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes.

Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute until the paste darkens slightly.

Add the bourbon and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 1 minute to cook off the alcohol.

Add the crushed tomatoes, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

Melt the butter with olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the scallion whites and cook until charred at the edges, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Toss the drained pasta directly into the sauce along with the scallion butter (minus the scallions). Add the pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce to coat the noodles.

Plate the pasta, top it with grated cheddar, crispy bacon, fried shallots, and scallion greens, and serve.

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As its name suggests, this bourbon cowboy spaghetti does contain alcohol. However, it is not heavily alcoholic, and the bourbon adds more of its signature rich flavor than much actual spirit. Typically, alcohol takes about three hours of cooking to mostly evaporate. In this recipe, the bourbon is added and cooked for about 10 to 15 minutes in total. And while that means that there is some alcohol left in the final dish, it is important to note that the amount remaining after 10-plus minutes of uncovered cooking is negligible for most people. Instead, what you get from cooking with bourbon is the caramelized, vanilla-and-oak character of bourbon, not the alcohol itself.

If you don't want any alcohol at all in your food, the best substitute for this recipe is additional beef stock, along with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar for the acidic kick, and a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce for depth and umami flavor. It won't taste the same as bourbon, nor will it smell like it, but it will help you get a deglazing sauce going. You can also use a non-alcoholic bourbon alternative for a more similar flavor profile.

If you've never tried chile maple syrup before, you're in luck, because this simple condiment is probably going to become your new favorite pantry item. Chile maple syrup is exactly what it sounds like: pure maple syrup that has been infused or blended with chiles to make a sweetener that is sweet, smoky, and spicy all at once.

While not common, spicy maple syrup as a condiment is also not incredibly rare, either. There are now several kinds available in gourmet grocery stores and online. A chile maple syrup I especially love is this collaboration between Runamok and the Spice and Tea Exchange. Their sauce is infused with Merquén, a traditional Chilean blend made from sun-dried, smoked red peppers, coriander, and salt. It's moderately spicy and really smoky, and a completely unique spin that I love in savory as well as sweet dishes. If you want a maple syrup with less heat, look for Ancho chile or chipotle-spiced variations. 

If you don't want to buy maple syrup, you can also make your own in about five minutes. To start, toast your whole chosen chiles and spices in a dry pan. Then, add about 1 cup of maple syrup and heat it on low heat for about five minutes. Stir, and cook for about two minutes before tasting and adding another pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne powder. Let it cool, seal it with a lid, and let it infuse in a cool, dark place for at least three days. Strain it, and you're ready to use it in your favorite preparations.

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