Directions

• Place the pancetta and garlic in the bowl of a food processor, pulse a few times, then process till it is a smooth paste.
• Scrape the paste into a large, wide Dutch oven or other heavy pot, along with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Melt them together over medium heat, spreading the paste around with a wooden spoon so its fat begins to render. Cook about 4 minutes, until the fat is mostly rendered. Add the onion, carrot and celery, and cook slowly over medium-low heat – stirring now and then so the veggies don’t brown — until the onion is soft, translucent and pale gold, about 15 minutes.
• Add the ground beef, pork, and hot Italian sausage to the pot, raise the heat to medium, and break up the meat with a wooden spoon as much as possible. Once you hear the meat start to faintly sizzle, reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the meat brown very slowly, stirring occasionally and continuing to break up any remaining clumps, for about an hour, until it is evenly browned and burnished. If necessary, lower the heat so it doesn’t scorch on the bottom.
• When the meat is nearly done browning, heat the chicken broth in a medium saucepan; cover and keep it hot over low heat until ready to use.
• When the meat is browned, turn the heat to medium-high and stir in the wine, scraping up any browned bits or deposits on the bottom of the pan. Cook and stir until the wine is mostly soaked in and evaporated, about three minutes. Stir in the salt and nutmeg. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the milk, and cooking and stirring until it is barely visible, about three minutes.
• Measure two cups of the hot broth and stir the tomato paste into it, so the paste dissolves. Stir the broth with paste into the meat sauce, then stir in the tomato purée. (Keep the unused broth handy in the pot in case you need to reheat it and add more to the sauce later.) Partially cover the pot and let it simmer very slowly and gently, stirring occasionally, for two hours.
• After two hours stir the sauce. If it is starting to look at all dry, reheat the remaining chicken broth, ladle in a little more, and stir. Continue to simmer gently, uncovered, for an additional hour, until the vegetables have completely melted in. Stir it occasionally and add a little more hot broth or water if necessary to keep it sumptuously saucy.
• Cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into a few pieces and stir them into the sauce; add about 20 grinds of freshly ground black pepper and stir that in, too. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and/or pepper if necessary.