When rigatoni is done the rigatoni will be firm to the bite but not completely soft which also known in cooking as "al dente".
The length of time you cook rigatoni is between 10 minutes to 12 minutes or until the rigatoni is al dente.
When the rigatoni is al dente it means the rigatoni is firn to the bite not completely soft.
Rigatoni is a type of pasta that is used for pasta bakes or for pasta dishes that have heartier and thicker sauces.
The Rigatoni pasta is great for dishes and pasta bakes with heartier and thicker sauces because of the ridges on the outside of rigatoni noodles.
The ridges hold thicker sauces much better than smoother pasta shapes do which makes rigatoni pasta perfect for the thicker and creamier sauces.
Rigatoni makes for a great baked Rigatoni pasta or you can make a normal pasta with it as well.
Rigatoni pasta is also larger than ziti pasta and penne pasta and sometimes it's slightly curved but not as curbed as elbow macaroni is.
The word rigatoni comes from the word "rigato" which means ridged and are short, wide tubes of pasta that have ridges on the outside but are smooth on the inside.
Rigatoni pasta noodles are also great for big chunkier sauces due to their ridges which that have a wide center which capture the sauce perfectly.
Rigatoni pasta noodles are the perfect shaped pasta for meat sauces that are substantial like ragu or classic tomato sauce and seafood sauce.
You can take the rigatoni pasta noodles out of the cooking water while they are still much al dente so they can finish cooking directly in the pan along with the sauce.
Southern Italy favors the Rigatoni pastas where they are also often paired with thicker sauces.