- Don't you just love
that classic all day simmered beef ragu flavor?
Well, today we're gonna do it in half the time
and all in one pot.
(upbeat music)
So talking about that classic all day simmered flavor,
beef ragu is such a comfort food, right?
I mean, when I think about eating it, I'm on the couch.
I've got my favorite blanket.
Everybody's happy in my home.
I want you to have that as well.
So with all of that being said,
with some great beef and this red wine,
a little bit of Instant Pot magic,
you're gonna have dinner on the table
in a fraction of the time with this beef ragu.
First things first, my friends,
let's get all of our veggies prepped for the Instant Pot.
This is a great opportunity to get more familiar
with your chef's knife, as this knife work is key.
Keeping everything diced small and uniform
will help it cook evenly for a great end sauce result.
Whacking garlic. (knife smashes garlic)
Who doesn't love to take some frustration out
in the kitchen?
This helps the garlic skin peel off super easily.
And after a frenzy of chopping,
this beautifully fragrant garlic
goes right in with the veggies.
And this is the moment
I introduce you to the star of the show:
three beautiful Certified Angus Beef bottom round steaks.
Look at the marbling.
Look at that vibrant red color.
This is the perfect cut of beef for this recipe,
as well as your wallet.
But remember, look for our logo.
This bottom round needs to be Certified, right?
If it's not Certified, it's not the best.
As far as knife work goes for the beef,
I'm simply chunking these steaks into equal size cubes
and seasoning both sides generously with salt and pepper,
because that's all the beef needs.
And now we sear.
It's important to pay respect to this technique
and truly give it the time it deserves.
The process of searing our beef this way
helps build tremendous flavor.
Don't be afraid of browning, you guys.
That's what we wanna see here.
I promise you're doing it right.
The brown bits and the crisp edges,
that's flavor developing, my friend, let it happen.
Do this in small batches,
so we don't risk overcrowding the pan.
Use a little bit of extra oil in between searing batches
to ensure the caramelized bits
on the bottom of the pan aren't burning.
We want to save those for the deglaze next.
(steak sizzles)
Oh, and look at all the flavor.
Look, see all those brown bits.
That's exactly what your pan should look like.
Once all of our beef is seared nicely on both sides,
remove it from the pan and put it aside.
At this point,
we're switching the Instant Pot to the saute method.
And this is where we get to utilize all of that bond
on the bottom of our pan.
That's all that yummy goodness at the bottom
that I told you about.
That's good stuff.
And as the veggie saute in the pan,
they will help release those bits of flavor
and marry everything together, as we build our sauce.
And remember, season, season, season.
This is where we use our dried herbs,
and we start to see the veggies cook down a little bit.
Now for the wine.
Using red wine to deglaze all of the goodness.
So I'm gonna bump up the saute heat a little bit for this.
Look at all of that flavor.
Bring your sauce to a simmer
and add the tomatoes and the beef back in,
that we set aside earlier.
Be a little bit strategic with how you're placing your beef
into the Instant Pot.
You want all of that beef to be covered in the sauce.
So at this point, all we have to do is put the lid on,
change the Instant Pot to pressure cook,
and set the timer for 45 minutes.
The Instant Pot has done hours of work for us
and in a fraction of the time.
Now it's time to take a peek at what we've created.
Look at the sauce transformation.
Oh my gosh.
It's slightly thicker.
It's incredibly fragrant.
I mean, this is bottom round, you guys, look at this.
This is a fantastic way to enjoy bottom round steaks.
Wow, you should be so proud of this meal.
I have all the beef shredded.
It's perfect.
All I have to do now
is add in my four cups of uncooked pasta.
That is some of the magic in using the Instant Pot,
the pasta never overcooks.
Add in your dry pasta
and be sure that every bit of the pasta
is submerged in the liquid.
We're gonna pressure cook for an additional three minutes.
And once that's over,
turn off your Instant Pot and naturally depressurize
for an additional four minutes.
Remember that all day, simmer smell we talked about?
It smells so good in here!
I'm just gonna do some cheese and some fresh parsley.
And let's give it a taste.
(upbeat music)
Oh my gosh, the pasta is cooked perfectly.
Thank you Instant Pot.
The beef is so moist and it's shredded perfectly.
All I need is that cozy blanket we talked about.
This is delicious.
You guys are gonna love this.
See you next time in the Test Kitchen.
(upbeat music)