Ingredients
Method
Heat a heavy pot over medium heat. Add pancetta. Cook until fat renders and edges turn golden.
Raise heat to medium high. Add beef and pork in an even layer. Leave it untouched until deep brown forms. Break it up and brown well.
Add onion, carrot, and celery. Cook 10 to 12 minutes until soft and almost dry.
Add garlic, fennel, rosemary, and sage. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant.
Pour in white wine. Scrape the bottom. Reduce until nearly dry.
Add milk and enough stock to barely cover the meat. Lower heat until the sauce barely bubbles.
Simmer 2½ to 3 hours. Stir now and then. Add small splashes of stock if it tightens too much.
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of cream or lemon if you like.
Boil pasta in well salted water. Undercook by one minute. Save one cup of pasta water.
Transfer pasta to the sauce. Toss over medium heat. Add pasta water a little at a time until the sauce turns glossy and coats the pasta.
Serve hot with Parmigiano on top.
Notes
Finely minced vegetables matter. They melt into the sauce.
Keep the simmer low to protect the milk.
The sauce tastes better the next day.
Freeze the sauce without pasta for best texture.
Keep the simmer low to protect the milk.
The sauce tastes better the next day.
Freeze the sauce without pasta for best texture.