Beef · Slow cooker adaptation

Vincenzo Slow Cooker Beef Ragu (Chuck Steak)

Vincenzo's chuck-steak ragu, with his hob casserole swapped for the slow cooker. Soffritto and meat browned, red wine, passata, vegetable stock and rosemary, then six low hours for falls-apart beef in a silky sauce.

R By Richard · Adapted from Vincenzo's Plate · Published 4 June 2026
⏱Prep 25 min
🍲Slow cook 6 hr (Low) / 4 hr (High)
🍽Serves 6
Vincenzo's Slow Cooker Beef Chuck Ragu

Source video by Vincenzo's Plate on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules.

Vincenzo builds his ragu the Italian way, soffritto soft and sweet in olive oil, beef chuck cubed and browned hard with flour to create a cream as the red wine hits, then passata, vegetable stock, rosemary and bay all go in. His original Dutch oven simmers for 4 hours; the slow cooker version preserves the entire hob build (which is where the flavour lives) and gives the meat 6 hours low to fall apart. Half a litre of stock plus the passata gives the right ratio for the slow cooker (which loses less moisture than the hob). Fresh basil stirred in at the end. Fettuccine is the pasta, wide ribbons hold the meaty sauce. Freezes well, multiple meals from one cook.

Slow cooker notes: Vincenzo's hob version covers and simmers in a Dutch oven for 4 hours, with the lid off for the last 30 minutes to reduce. The slow cooker version preserves the hob build (soffritto, meat brown, flour, wine, passata) and replaces the 4-hour covered simmer with 6 hours low for deeper meltdown of the chuck. Stock volume trimmed from 1 litre to 500 ml, slow cookers lose less liquid, and Vincenzo himself states 500 ml is enough in the hob version. Basil at the end is unchanged.

Ingredients

Meat
  • 800 gbeef chuck steak, cut into 2 cm cubes
  • 3 tbspplain flour
Soffritto
  • 4.5 tbspextra virgin olive oil
  • 1 carrotcarrot, finely chopped
  • 0.5 oniononion, finely chopped
  • 1 stalkcelery stalk, finely chopped (keep leaves)
Aromatics
  • fresh rosemary, 1-2 sprigs
  • 2 leavesbay leaves
Sauce
  • 175 mlred wine
  • 700 mltomato passata
  • 500 mlvegetable stock
  • fine salt
  • black pepper, freshly cracked
Finish
  • fresh basil, torn (add late)
Pasta
  • fettuccine, cooked al dente in salted water (add late)

Method

  1. Heat the 4.5 tbsp olive oil in a wide pan over a medium heat. Add the finely chopped carrot, onion and celery and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring, with a splash of water if it starts to catch, until soft and just starting to caramelise.

    ~10 min

  2. Stir in the rosemary sprigs and cook for another minute.

    ~1 min

  3. Add the cubed beef chuck. Brown each side over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cubes have colour all over.

    ~8 min

  4. Sprinkle the 3 tbsp flour over the meat. Stir to coat and cook for 1 minute.

    ~2 min

  5. Pour in the red wine. Stir and let the alcohol bubble off, about 2 minutes. The flour combines with the wine to make a glossy cream around the meat.

    ~3 min

  6. Add a splash of stock to keep things wet, then tip in the bottle of passata and the rest of the stock. Stir in the bay leaves and the rosemary (if still attached, leave the sprigs in, easier to fish out later).

    ~3 min

  7. Tip everything into the slow cooker. Season with a little salt (the stock is already salty) and black pepper.

    ~2 min

  8. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or high for 4 hours, until the beef is falling apart and the sauce is thick.

    ~360 min

  9. Fish out the bay leaves and any rosemary stalks. Stir in the chopped celery leaves and the torn fresh basil with the heat off.

    ~1 min

  10. Cook the fettuccine in plenty of salted boiling water until just al dente, about 8 minutes for fresh-style, longer for very dry. Toss the drained pasta with a few ladles of ragu in a wide pan, adding a splash of pasta water if needed.

    ~9 min

  11. Plate the pasta in nests, spoon more ragu over the top. Serve with grated parmesan if you like.

    ~2 min

Frequently asked

Why chuck steak and not mince?
Chuck has the connective tissue and intramuscular fat that breaks down over a long cook into a silky, gelatin-rich sauce. Mince gives you a different texture (small grains throughout) which is what bolognese is built on. Vincenzo's pitch is that the cubed chuck makes a ragu that 'melts in your mouth' in a way mince can't.
Can I use beef stock instead of vegetable?
Yes, beef stock makes the ragu meatier. Vincenzo uses vegetable because it lets the beef and tomatoes lead. If using beef stock, hold back on the salt; bought beef stocks tend to be saltier than veg.
How long does it keep, and does it freeze?
4-5 days covered in the fridge. Freezes well in single-meal portions for up to 3 months. Vincenzo's pitch is that one cook produces multiple meals, defrost in the fridge overnight, reheat gently with a splash of water.
Extraction notes (transparency): Most quantities clearly stated: 800 g beef chuck, 1 carrot, half onion, 1 celery stick, 1 bottle passata (typically 700 ml in Italy, recorded as 700 ml), 500 ml vegetable stock, 1 standard glass red wine (recorded as 175 ml), 3 tbsp plain flour, 4-5 tbsp olive oil, rosemary 'as much as you like', a few bay leaves, basil at end (not quantified).