Simple Bolognese Sauce and Hunter Cattle Co.

I had the pleasure of visiting my friends at Hunter Cattle Co. in Brooklet, Georgia. It was so great to re-connect with Debra Ferguson and family again after many years. Their lives are wonderfully busy with children, grandchildren, cattle, and chickens on their 350-acre ranch.

Hunter Cattle Co. is a family owned and operated ranch, specializing in grass-fed beef. Grass-fed beef is as lean as wild elk or deer. And compared to grain-fed beef, it is four times higher in Vitamin E, six times more of Omega-3 fatty acids, and has fewer calories. But who's counting? It's just so tasty and healthy for you.

Hunter Cattle Co.'s newly opened storefront is filled with family photos and heirlooms.

The store also carries local and organic honey, dairy, pastas, and chicken.

A newly born calf only a few days old.

All their cattle are raised and finished on grass with no hormones, steroids, or antibiotics.

Their ground beef had much brighter red color with smaller speckled fat.

Sauté chopped onions in olive oil first, then add herbs and garlic. Add ground beef.

When it begins to brown, add milk. I know, know...it seems weird to do this, but milk makes ground beef tender and the finished sauce is wonderful.

Then add some white wine for great flavor.

Add canned tomatoes and a few dried bay leaves. Then simmer, uncovered until liquid is reduced for about 2-3 hours.

Serve on spaghetti topped with oven roasted onions.

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Simple Bolognese Sauce
Serves 8-10

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium minced onion

1 teaspoon oregano, dried

1 teaspoon basil, dried

1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes

3 whole cloves fresh garlic, grated
2 pound ground beef chuck
1 teaspoon table salt

1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes , packed in juice, chopped fine, with juice reserved

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 dried bay leaves

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat olive in large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion, dried herbs, and pepper flakes and sautè until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add garlic. Add ground meat and 1 teaspoon salt and crumble meat with edge of wooden spoon to break apart into tiny pieces. Cook, continuing to crumble meat, just until it loses its raw color but has not yet browned, about 3 minutes.

2. Add milk and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until milk evaporates and only clear fat remains, about 10 minutes. Add wine and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until wine evaporates, about 10 minutes longer.

3. Add canned crushed and chopped whole tomatoes and their juice and bring to simmer; add dried bay leaves, reduce heat to low so that sauce continues to simmer just barely, with an occasional bubble or two at the surface, until liquid sauce is very thick, about 2 1/2 -3 hours.

4. Adjust seasonings with extra salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and serve over hot pasta of your choice. (Can be refrigerated in an airtight container for several days or frozen for several months. Warm over low heat before serving.)

Hunter Cattle Company
430 Driggers Rd.
Brooklet, Ga. 30415

Phone: 912-823-BEEF

email: grassfed@huntercattle.com