Eggerhof Sugo & Pasta Sauces from South Tyrol
Eggerhof Sugo & Pasta Sauces are ready-made sauces from Aldein in South Tyrol, ranging from robust game ragouts with venison, red deer, and wild boar to Italian classics like Bolognese and Amatriciana. Each 210-gram jar is ready to serve in just a few minutes and comes from the same kitchen as the corresponding Eggerhof pasta.
Sugo, the Italian word for more than just a sauce
Eggerhof Sugo & Pasta Sauces stands for sauces that chef Erich Gruber prepares at the Eggerhof in Aldein with the same care as his pasta. In Italian, "sugo" literally means juice or essence – and that is exactly what each of the 9 sauces in the range aims to capture, whether from braised game meat or tomatoes simmered for a long time.
Unlike many ready-made sauces from the supermarket shelf, Eggerhof Sugos do not come from a large manufacturer, but from the same small kitchen where the pasta is made. This connection between pasta and sauce is palpable in the range: both are perfectly matched rather than just randomly standing side-by-side on a shelf.
Anyone who opens a sauce from Eggerhof will not find a thin, watery sugo, but a sauce with clearly visible portions of meat or vegetables – robust, concentrated, and hearty. Even the first spoonful shows a clear difference from industrial, thin ready-made sauces found on supermarket shelves.
This concentration has a simple reason: game meat, speck, or sausage cost more than water and thickeners, but that is exactly what ultimately makes the difference between a sauce to fill you up and a sauce with real flavor.
The name Eggerhof Sugo consciously represents a range that does not limit itself to a single culinary tradition. Italian classics like Bolognese or Amatriciana sit side-by-side with alpine game ragouts, which stem more from traditional South Tyrolean hunting cuisine than from the Italian trattoria next door.
Nine sauces, three game ragouts, four tomato sauces
The range can be divided into three game ragouts, four tomato sauces, and two light sauces without any tomato at all. The South Tyrolean Mushroom Sauce with shiitake and king oyster mushrooms, as well as the cream sauce with raw ham, stand out clearly in color from the rest of the range.
The game ragouts form the most robust part of the range: the Venison Ragout with 55 percent venison, red wine, porcini mushrooms, and six mountain herbs; the Red Deer Ragout with 60 percent red deer meat and cranberries for a fruity sweet-and-sour note; and the Wild Boar Ragout with 72 percent meat from free-roaming wildlife – the highest value in the entire range.
The four tomato sauces include the Bolognese Sauce with 17 percent beef and 17 percent pork in a 50 percent tomato base, the spicy Amatriciana Sauce with 15 percent South Tyrolean speck instead of the classic guanciale, the Salsiccia Sauce with 27 percent Italian sausage, and the Shepherd's Sauce based on the recipe for sugo alla pastore.
Unlike the other three tomato sauces, the tomato takes a backseat in the Shepherd's Sauce: mushrooms, cooked ham, and cream define its color and texture much more strongly than they do in the Bolognese, Amatriciana, or Salsiccia.
The two light sauces complete the range: the South Tyrolean Mushroom Sauce with 22 percent shiitake and 22 percent king oyster mushrooms in a whole milk base, and the Cream Sauce with Raw Ham with 16 percent raw ham in whole milk and cream. Both are completely tomato-free and therefore stand out visually from the tomato-red Bolognese, Amatriciana, Salsiccia, and Shepherd's sauces.
This categorization covers the entire Eggerhof Sugo range. Anyone unable to choose between the 9 sauces will find this a practical first point of orientation: game for particularly hearty occasions, the four red tomato sauces for everyday Italian-inspired meals, and the two light sauces for those who prefer things a bit calmer and milder.
Robust game or milder tomato?
The most important decision when looking at the range concerns intensity: those looking for particularly robust, game-typical aromas should reach for one of the three ragouts, while the tomato sauces generally taste more accessible and suitable for everyday use.
Within the ragouts, there are further nuances: the Venison Ragout is considered the most balanced of the three, with red wine, porcini mushrooms, and six carefully coordinated herbs. The Red Deer Ragout adds a fruity note with the cranberries, which pleasantly rounds off the strong game flavor. The Wild Boar Ragout, with its 72 percent meat content, is the most robust, hearty choice in the entire range and is particularly suitable for those who like things especially savory.
Among the four tomato sauces, the Amatriciana with South Tyrolean speck and peperoncino marks the spicy end of the spectrum, while the Bolognese serves as a familiar everyday classic with a balanced meat content in the middle. The Salsiccia Sauce with 27 percent Italian sausage provides a different, spicier meat note than the Bolognese, while the Shepherd's Sauce with mushrooms, cooked ham, and cream remains the mildest and creamiest of the four tomato sauces.
Our tip: If you are ordering for the first time, it is best to combine a mild sauce like the Bolognese or the cream sauce with raw ham with a more robust ragout to get to know the breadth of the range all at once.
The sauces hardly differ in terms of price or quantity: all 9 varieties come in the same 210-gram jar, so you can choose based solely on taste rather than the fill quantity.
Another point of orientation is the origin of the main ingredient: in the three ragouts, the game meat is the focus; in the Bolognese, Salsiccia, and Shepherd's sauce, a specific piece of meat from agriculture; and in the Amatriciana as well as the cream sauce with raw ham, a type of speck or ham.
In the South Tyrolean Mushroom Sauce, shiitake and king oyster mushrooms from a second family business in Aldein are the focus instead. Whether you prefer a specific type of meat, prefer to avoid meat entirely, or simply want to compare out of curiosity, this classification will help you quickly find the right sauce in the Eggerhof Sugo range.
Erich Gruber cooks pasta and sauce equally
Responsible for all 9 sauces is the same man behind the pasta: Erich Gruber, trained chef and operator of the Eggerhof in the industrial zone of Aldein at 1,200 meters above sea level.
"High quality in food is a must for us," emphasizes Erich Gruber – a claim that shows in the long braising time of the game ragouts just as much as in the selection of hand-picked tomatoes for the Italian sauces. As Erich Gruber describes it, every sauce should taste as if you had let it simmer for hours yourself, even if it only takes a few minutes of heating at home.
This is also how Erich Gruber explains why he consciously uses South Tyrolean speck instead of Italian guanciale for the Amatriciana: a regional reinterpretation of the original, not just a mere substitute. GMO-free ingredients and the absence of additional colorings and preservatives apply equally to all 9 sauces, just as they do for the company's 10 pasta varieties.
A single company that produces both the pasta and the corresponding sauce is the exception rather than the rule in retail. Usually, the sauce comes from a different manufacturer than the pasta, even if both are on the same shelf. At Eggerhof, however, both product lines are created under the same kitchen management, with the same eye for ingredients, origin, and quality in every single jar.
You can find more about the Eggerhof and its pasta in the Eggerhof South Tyrol producer hub as well as in the Eggerhof Pasta collection.
Heated in minutes, cooked for hours
All 9 sauces are already fully cooked and only need to be heated at home: in a pot or the microwave, this usually takes less than 5 minutes; for the game ragouts, one minute less is usually sufficient.
The sauces are easiest to combine with the Eggerhof Egg Ribbon Pasta, which, thanks to its broad surface area, reliably holds almost any of the 9 sauces and is therefore considered a safe standard choice in the range. If you prefer a more precise match, choose accordingly: porcini mushroom pasta to go with the Venison Ragout (which also contains porcini), or speck pasta with the cream sauce with raw ham for a double-speck note.
For the Italian sauces like Bolognese, Salsiccia, or Amatriciana, classic Italian pasta shapes like spaghetti or penne are also suitable, even if they are not part of the Eggerhof range. For the game ragouts, you might alternatively consider polenta or mashed potatoes as a side dish instead of pasta, especially on colder days with a correspondingly hearty appetite.
A dab of butter or some grated cheese rounds off almost any of the 9 sauces additionally, without changing their actual character – robust for the ragouts, spicy for the tomato sauces, and mild for the two lighter sauces.
If you want to serve the sauces without pasta, there are also suitable options: polenta or mashed potatoes go just as well with the game ragouts as they do with the creamy Shepherd's Sauce, while both the South Tyrolean Mushroom Sauce and the cream sauce with raw ham can be poured over gnocchi or rice. Warmed-up farmhouse bread to mop up the sauce works with practically all 9 varieties, regardless of whether it is a robust game ragout or a milder tomato sauce.
Nine sauces for every occasion
Whether it is a hearty game ragout on Sunday or a quick Bolognese during the week: with 9 different sauces, the Eggerhof range covers a wide range of occasions, with no two sauces being alike.
The game ragouts are particularly suitable for guests, while the tomato sauces like Bolognese or Salsiccia are perfect for the quick everyday routine when there is little time to cook. Each of the 9 jars can be delivered within 1 to 2 days, so that even spontaneous visits from guests can be catered to culinarily at short notice.
If you are unsure which of the 9 sauces to try first, it is easiest to orient yourself by your own daily routine: for a simple evening after work, the tomato sauces are best; for a special occasion on the weekend, the game ragouts; and for anyone who prefers things a bit quieter and milder, the South Tyrolean Mushroom Sauce or the cream sauce with raw ham are always the obvious choice.
As Erich Gruber describes for his entire range, pasta and sauce should be thought of together, not separately. Anyone who orders both together receives a complete, perfectly matched meal from a single small kitchen in Aldein, instead of having to laboriously hunt for ingredients from several different companies.
Try your way through the 9 sauces of the Eggerhof Sugo range – from the mild cream sauce to the robust wild boar ragout, there is something suitable for every taste.
