Trim and peel the onion, and cut into medium dice (1/2″).

Wash and peel the carrots, and cut into small to medium dice (1/4″-1/2″).

Wash the celery well to remove any grit, then chop into medium dice or thin slices (cut larger stalks horizontally before dicing, and small once crosswise).

Measure out your spices and other ingredients, or have them ready.

Heat an 8 qt Instant Pot on the saute setting, or place an 8-12 qt enameled dutch oven or stock pot over a medium high heat.

Crumble and brown the ground beef into the pan, working in batches if necessary.

Stir and cook until the beef is beginning to brown and no pink remains.

Drain any excess fat, and saute the onions with the salt and pepper until they are translucent. You may want to remove the beef to a bowl and keep it warm while you saute the vegetables before returning it to the pan, unless you are using a very large pot.

Once the onions are beginning to color, add the carrots and celery and saute for another few minutes, stirring often, then add the garlic.

Add the tomato paste to the pot, and stir, continuing to cook just until the tomato paste just begins to brown.

De-glaze the pan with the wine and balsamic vinegar, stirring to scrape the bottom of the pot.

Add the browned beef back to the pot (if you removed it) along with the dried herbs, spices, and sugar, and stir all together to combine.

Add the diced tomatoes and their liquid, or crush whole canned tomatoes by hand before adding them into the sauce. Stir again carefully to mix.

Reduce heat to medium and bring the Bolognese ragu mixture just up to a boil, stirring frequently.

Lower the heat again to keep the pot from scorching, and simmer until the sauce is beginning to thicken and come together.

Ball suggests 15 minutes, but I recommend cooking it quite a bit longer. Stir the mixture often and adjust heat if necessary to prevent scorching.

If you are not pressure canning your sauce, you’ll want to slow cook it for at least an hour, preferably several, before portioning and freezing your ragu.

Fill your pressure canner with several inches of water (follow the manufacturer’s directions) and heat it to around 180F.

Wash your canning jars, rings, and lids in hot soapy water. Place the jars into the canner to pre-heat, and set your rings and lids aside.

Do not boil your lids if you are using standard modern canning lids (follow manufacturer instructions for reusable lids like Tattler or Weck lids).

Using canning jar tongs or a jar rack, carefully remove the pre-heated jars from your pressure canner.

Place the jars on a kitchen towel or wire rack. Do not put hot jars directly on a cold countertop, or they may crack or shatter.

Using a canning funnel and ladle, fill the pint jars with the hot Bolognese sauce. If you used a bay leaf, remove it before filling the jars (or fish it out when you find it).

Divide the ragu mixture evenly among the jars. Leave a 1″ headspace at the tops of the jars. De-bubble the jars, using a de-bubbling tool or chopstick, and top up if needed.

Wipe the jar rims with a clean cloth or paper towel (dip the cloth in hot water or vinegar to cut any fat or residue for better seals).

Top the jars with canning lids and rings, and tighten the rings down fingertip tight (quite snug but not overly tight).

Carefully place the filled jars of sauce into the preheated canner.

Check that the canner vent isn’t clogged and close & seal the lid. Bring the canner up to pressure over medium heat with the vent open, and once the canner is venting a steady stream of steam, set a timer for 10 minutes.

When the canner has vented for 10 minutes, regulate the heat if necessary and drop the weight over the vent (or close the petcock if you have an older unweighted dial-gauge canner).

Can pint or smaller jars of hearty chicken stew for 1 hr (60 minutes) at 11 PSI dial gauge/10 PSI weighted gauge up to 1000 ft (adjust to 15 at higher altitudes with a weighted canner). Process quart jars or mixed batches of pints and quarts for 1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes).

Start your processing timer only once the appropriate PSI has been reached, or when the weight is jiggling to indicate that the proper pressure has been reached. Watch or listen carefully, adjust heat as needed, and reset the timer to zero and restart processing time if you lose pressure below the correct processing pressure at any point.

After the processing time is complete, turn the heat off. Let the pressure canner has cool and slowly return to neutral pressure (the dial will drop to zero, and no steam escapes from the weight or petcock if jiggled).

Wait another 5 minutes after the dial on your canner reads zero before opening. Follow your canner instructions for opening, being careful of any remaining steam (open away from your face).

Gently remove the jars from the canner using jar tongs or the jar rack.

Place the jars on a folded dish towel, cooling rack, or wooden surface. Protect hot jars from cold surfaces like granite, stainless, or concrete countertops until they have cooled.

Let the hot jars cool in a draft-free place where they can rest overnight or for up to 24 hours.