Ragù-Type Sauces

The words ragout and ragù are, to the American ear at least, homonyms. This observation leads to the secret of the best ragù. Make a ragout, or stew, reduce and degrease the braising liquid as though you were making a classic French brown sauce, and then—here is where the similarity with French sauces ends—shred or dice the meat (for example, beef, rabbit, duck, veal, hare) and stir it back into the reduced braising liquid. Your stew becomes sauce with tiny pieces of meat dispersed throughout—in other words, stew and braising liquid have become one. This method—make a stew and then dice, chop, or shred the meat—is far better than what most recipes recommend: chop or dice raw meat, brown it, and simmer it in liquids such as tomatoes, wine, or broth.