First, I feel sorry for anyone who eats ragu or prego or any if that store bought crap. Here's as easy as a good sauce is going to get.....or gravy as the NJ folks call it...
In a big stainless pot
Couple of tablespoons of GOOD olive oil 4-5 garlic cloves...minced 1 onion chopped Fry these over medium heat until golden brown...not to fast and not to long
Add in 3-5 cans of crushed tomatoes fr a thicker sauce . Pur�e tomatoes for not so thick SLOWLY bring to a boil (optional: small can of tomatoe paste...I use it) After your reach a boil, add any meat that you have previously cooked...meatballs, sausage or braciole.....Ground beef if your Irish. Lol Also after you reach boil, add a pinch of oregano, some fresh basil and a pinch of sugar
Reduce to a simmer for a couple of hours After simmer add some more chopped basil and a little grated cheese...you are good to go at this point. Find a good imported pasta (DeCecco is great) and a good bread
Last edited by Adkstalker; 09/15/13.
Kiss your girlfriend where it smells.......take her to Jersey!
ok. I'm gonna type this in from the cook book. The best Italian cook book I have used, or seen, is "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking", by Marcella Hazan. I have, and have seen/used many guides, but hers is simply the best.
Quote
1 tablespoon Vegetable oil 3 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup chopped onion 2/3 cup chopped Celery 2/3 cup chopped Carrot 3/4 pound fatty ground chuck salt to taste, along with fresh ground pepper 1 cup whole milk Nutmeg 1 cup dry white wine 1 1/2 cans Italian plum tomatoes, crushed 1 1/4 pound cooked pasta Fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
An enameled cast iron pot works best
put the oil, butter and onion in the pot. Turn the heat on medium. Cook and stir until the onion is translucent. Add the celery and carrot. Cook for about two minutes, stirring to coat the vegetables with oil.
Add the ground beef, some salt and some pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well. Cook until the meat has lost it's raw color.
Add the milk. Simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away. Grate in a little nutmeg. Stir.
Add the wine, and let it simmer until the wine evaporates. Add in the tomatoes and stir well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down a little, so that the sauce cooks at the lowest heat. You want just a bubble or so, no more. Cook uncovered for three hours, or more. Stir occasionally. While the sauce cooks, you may find that it dries out a little. If so, add water, about half a cup at a time. At the end, the sauce will be fairly dry. The fat should separate from the sauce. Check seasonings.
Toss the sauce with the cooked, drained pasta. Add a tablespoon of butter, and serve with the fresh grated cheese.
Just to keep it short here's the ingredients for my thick chunky meat sauce.
1 1/2 lbs ground beef 1/2 lb fresh ground pork 3 mild Italian sausages (cut in slices) 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes (drain and chop in thick chunks) 2 28 oz cans tomato sauce 1 16 oz can tomato sauce 1/2 of a small can tomato paste olive oil 1 1/2 med yellow onions (diced) 1 lb (+) mushrooms (half white and half brown is very good) cut in 1/8" slices a pinch of white sugar fresh chopped garlic (or garlic powder) 1 T oregano 1 T basil 2 T dried parsley salt black pepper 3 whole bay leaves 3/4 cup red wine dash of Worcestershire dash of Tapitio
The basic recipe is something I learned from my dad (he learned how to make spaghetti sauce from real Italians in NYC) and that I've altered and refined over the years.
It's an undertaking to make a pot of sauce but it's well worth the effort.
An Italian buddy of mine makes his sauce and puts a big hunk-o-pork butt in it to simmer all day. It's out of this world! I've been trying to get the recipe for five years!
Mike
Know fat, know flavor. No fat, no flavor.
I tried going vegan, but then realized it was a big missed steak.
An Italian buddy of mine makes his sauce and puts a big hunk-o-pork butt in it to simmer all day. It's out of this world! I've been trying to get the recipe for five years!
Mike
My dad's original recipe used rolled up seasoned flank steak to impart the "meat" flavor. There might have been some pork in there too. Instead of adding meat to the sauce he made meatballs that were added at the end.
It's been a long time (45 years) since I helped my dad make gallons of "his" spaghetti sauce.
An Italian buddy of mine makes his sauce and puts a big hunk-o-pork butt in it to simmer all day. It's out of this world! I've been trying to get the recipe for five years!
Mike
My dad's original recipe used rolled up seasoned flank steak to impart the "meat" flavor. Instead of adding meat to the sauce he made meatballs that were added at the end.
Rolled up flank steak = Braciole.
Meatballs,sausage, braciole or pork butt should go in during simmering to get the flavor....some of the meatballs will break up during stirring...which is what I like. I friggin hungry
Kiss your girlfriend where it smells.......take her to Jersey!
Bolognese Meat Sauce (or "Gravy," as many Americans of Italian extraction refer to it)
Recipe: Saute a lightly salted mixture of one finely chopped onion, one finely chopped celery stalk including the leaves, one finely chopped carrot, in lard (or the cooking oil of your choice) till onions are translucent. Then add one pound ground beef, one pound ground veal, and one pound ground pork. Turn heat high and stir for about ten minutes. Add a cup of red wine. Keep cooking and stirring for another five minutes. Stir in a tablespoon full of tomato paste and cook for another couple of minutes. Add three cups full of canned tomatoes that you've previously a) removed the hard white parts and bits of skin from, then b) crushed to bits. Mix in. Add four whole bay leaves and a teaspoon full of fresh ground black pepper, stir in. Bring to a boil, then down to a simmer. Add two teaspoons of salt and stir in. Simmer uncovered for two to three hours. Every half hour, check to see if it's getting dry. If so, add warm whole milk a cup at a time, then stir it in, so the "gravy" remains liquid. After you've added a cup or two, you can switch to hot water as the additive instead of milk. Periodically, taste for salt. If it needs more, add more a little at a time till it's right.
The way I remember my dad pronouncing it was ... braas-choule. Two syllables.
thats close enough..lol.
Yep. I tried making it once and the meat turned out like shoe leather. Never made it again. It made the sauce taste real good, though, from being cooked in it.
I love to make meat sauce and rarely do it the same way twice.
Pour a glass of wine.
In a big heavy pot add olive oil and heat up, put a hunk of beef roast in and brown, remove and set aside.
Add some garlic and a mirepoix, cook until 5-10 minutes. Add some wine,(pour yourself another glass)a little beef stock, a couple spoon fulls of tomato paste, and put the meat back in. Cover and cook on low for a long time.
I usually pull the meat out when it is about to fall apart. Sometimes I run the veggies and cooking liquid through the blender, sometimes not. Add a couple cans of good Italian tomatoes like San Marzanos and simmer for a couple more hours or until consistency is right.
Serve sauce with meat on the side. Pasta or potatoes get smothered in the sauce.
Salt, pepper, season to taste at every stage.
Delicious and easy. (might need more than one bottle of wine)
“Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die.”
As far as jarred sauce. I won't buy the Ragu stuff, or the expensive boutique stuff either.
Rob posted a brand he buys(brain fart, can't remember right now) and I picked some up when I saw it at the store. Inexpensive, very tasty and not made with a bunch of corn syrup [bleep].
It'll come to me and I'll post it.
“Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die.”
Don't own a recipe but am 1st gen American with northern Italian parents. A sweet, simple one my Mother often made as I do now.
1.5# ground beef 1.5# ground pork 12 oz or so of diced tomatoes One big azz can of crushed tomatoes from Costco, about the size of a bowling ball. One cup of chopped fresh parsley One 4 oz jar of pesto One small onion diced Six gloves of garlic, minced
Grey the meat and drain via hot H2O from the faucet Dump all of the rest in the pot short of the garlic Cover and simmer for two hours Taste for flavor and tweak as required, more pesto or salt or ?? Once flavor is right and meat crumbles readily add garlic and simmer for 45 minute more.
Don't own a recipe but am 1st gen American with northern Italian parents. A sweet, simple one my Mother often made as I do now.
1.5# ground beef 1.5# ground pork 12 oz or so of diced tomatoes One big azz can of crushed tomatoes from Costco, about the size of a bowling ball. One cup of chopped fresh parsley One 4 oz jar of pesto One small onion diced Six gloves of garlic, minced
Grey the meat and drain via hot H2O from the faucet Dump all of the rest in the pot short of the garlic Cover and simmer for two hours Taste for flavor and tweak as required, more pesto or salt or ?? Once flavor is right and meat crumbles readily add garlic and simmer for 45 minute more.
"Pesto" can mean a lot of different things. Do you mean basil pesto?
Bolognese Meat Sauce (or "Gravy," as many Americans of Italian extraction refer to it)
Recipe: Saute a lightly salted mixture of one finely chopped onion, one finely chopped celery stalk including the leaves, one finely chopped carrot, in lard (or the cooking oil of your choice) till onions are translucent. Then add one pound ground beef, one pound ground veal, and one pound ground pork. Turn heat high and stir for about ten minutes. Add a cup of red wine. Keep cooking and stirring for another five minutes. Stir in a tablespoon full of tomato paste and cook for another couple of minutes. Add three cups full of canned tomatoes that you've previously a) removed the hard white parts and bits of skin from, then b) crushed to bits. Mix in. Add four whole bay leaves and a teaspoon full of fresh ground black pepper, stir in. Bring to a boil, then down to a simmer. Add two teaspoons of salt and stir in. Simmer uncovered for two to three hours. Every half hour, check to see if it's getting dry. If so, add warm whole milk a cup at a time, then stir it in, so the "gravy" remains liquid. After you've added a cup or two, you can switch to hot water as the additive instead of milk. Periodically, taste for salt. If it needs more, add more a little at a time till it's right.
served in the finest reatarauntees in New Yawk
Liberalism is a mental disorder that leads to social disease.
If somebody wants to try my recipe I'll fill in the details.
If it's not too much trouble please do.
Denny.
1 1/2 lbs ground beef 1/2 lb fresh ground pork 2 or 3 mild Italian sausages (cut in slices) 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes (drain and chop in thick chunks) 2 28 oz cans tomato sauce 1 16 oz can tomato sauce 1/2 of a small can tomato paste olive oil 1 1/2 med yellow onions (diced) ... don't use sweet onions 1 lb (+) mushrooms (half white and half brown is very good) cut in 1/8" slices a pinch of white sugar fresh chopped garlic (or garlic powder) 1 T oregano 1 T basil 2 T dried parsley salt black pepper 3 whole bay leaves 3/4 cup red wine dash of Worcestershire dash of Tapitio
Season the ground beef with S&P and garlic powder and brown in a skillet. Brown the ground meat (half the beef and pork) in two separate batches (so that it actually browns) and leave it a little chunky. Think bits of chunky mini meatballs. Drain the grease and set aside.
Cook the sausages. In a skillet add 2 T water, the sausage, cover, and cook over med low heat until the water has absorbed. When the water is gone add a little bit of oil, turn up the heat and brown. Set the sausages aside to cool. When they're cool enough to handle cut them into 3/16" rounds, return to a hot skillet and brown. This extra browning step adds flavor and removes some of the grease/fat.
While you're browning the meat dice the onions(1/4" or larger), slice the mushrooms, drain the canned whole peeled tomatoes (Italian plum tomatoes are preferable), slice the tomatoes into chunky bits (remove the seeds when doing this), and open all the cans.
In 6 quart or larger pot add a couple T of olive oil, the diced onions, 3 or 4 cloves of fresh minced garlic, stir, cook, add the mushrooms, and cook the onions until translucent. Don't brown them. If you're using powdered garlic add about 1 t + after the onions have started to cook.
When the onions are done add the rest of the ingredients, about one t of salt (or less to taste), 1/2 t black pepper , keep the heat up until it starts to bubble, then turn it down to a slow simmer ... just a few bubbles.
Simmer *uncovered* for about 2 1/2 hours. Once it reduces and thickens you might need to cover it. Judge accordinly.
I've never written this recipe down but I have finally got the amounts of everything down to the point where I could write it out. I used to just measure by eye and taste.
I might edit this post but for now it's waaay close enough to wind up with a really good pot of thick chunky meaty tomato spaghetti sauce.
Don't own a recipe but am 1st gen American with northern Italian parents. A sweet, simple one my Mother often made as I do now.
1.5# ground beef 1.5# ground pork 12 oz or so of diced tomatoes One big azz can of crushed tomatoes from Costco, about the size of a bowling ball. One cup of chopped fresh parsley One 4 oz jar of pesto One small onion diced Six gloves of garlic, minced
Grey the meat and drain via hot H2O from the faucet Dump all of the rest in the pot short of the garlic Cover and simmer for two hours Taste for flavor and tweak as required, more pesto or salt or ?? Once flavor is right and meat crumbles readily add garlic and simmer for 45 minute more.
"Pesto" can mean a lot of different things. Do you mean basil pesto?
That's the only kind I ever make, and I do so according to the traditional recipe, but nowadays when a restaurant invites you to try their "pesto," they can mean just about anything. But, like you, I lean towards the traditional meaning of it.
Ya ever try Rinaldi? Not bad stuff for store bought.
I was razzinya. the Rinaldi is good for a quick store brand sauce. I have a couple made from scratch recipes from family and and old family friend that are very good but take a while to make. Anymore time is at a premium so those are made onlty in the winter.
Liberalism is a mental disorder that leads to social disease.
I wish I could advise the recipes for my buddy's meat and marinara sauces, but we make it in batches large enough for 200-300 people, never figured out how to downsize it. He also makes a nice lemony fetuccine sauce to go with them.
I wish I could advise the recipes for my buddy's meat and marinara sauces, but we make it in batches large enough for 200-300 people, never figured out how to downsize it.
A good meat sauce is truly one of those things that does not demand strict adherence to a recipe.
Take your time, use ingredients that you like, and are fresh.
You're gonna have to try to fugg it up.
This right here. Wife made sauce and pasta tonight. Pork she ground up herself from a shoulder roast on sale. Home grown maters and basil. Garlic, onions, and a good simmer on the stove, really is hard to make it wrong.
A good meat sauce is truly one of those things that does not demand strict adherence to a recipe.
Take your time, use ingredients that you like, and are fresh.
You're gonna have to try to fugg it up.
This right here. Wife made sauce and pasta tonight. Pork she ground up herself from a shoulder roast on sale. Home grown maters and basil. Garlic, onions, and a good simmer on the stove, really is hard to make it wrong.
That hurt.
I went to all the trouble of posting the recipe that was passed down to me from my father, a recipe that I've refined over the last 35 + years, and now you guys say "just throw some stuff in a pot and cook it".
I went to all the trouble of posting the recipe that was passed down to me from my father, a recipe that I've refined over the last 35 + years, and now you guys say "just throw some stuff in a pot and cook it".
I appreciated your posting. A family recipe is something to cherish and enjoy.
If you want to use ground game meat instead of ground beef that's fine but add the ground pork. It doesn't have the same flavor without it.
The good thing about making a big pot of spaghetti sauce is freezes really well. It's just as good, if not better, thawed and reheated. I use quart (or gallon) zip-loc bags to freeze it in.
Dump the frozen sauce in sauce pan over med low heat, boil the water for fresh spaghetti noodles, and about the time the noodles are done the sauce is re-heated. In 20 minutes or so you can have full on spaghetti dinner with salad and garlic bread.
The only complaints I've ever had is from strange people that don't like mushrooms or tomatoes or Italian food in general. Everybody else loves it.
A good meat sauce is truly one of those things that does not demand strict adherence to a recipe.
Take your time, use ingredients that you like, and are fresh.
You're gonna have to try to fugg it up.
This right here. Wife made sauce and pasta tonight. Pork she ground up herself from a shoulder roast on sale. Home grown maters and basil. Garlic, onions, and a good simmer on the stove, really is hard to make it wrong.
That hurt.
I went to all the trouble of posting the recipe that was passed down to me from my father, a recipe that I've refined over the last 35 + years, and now you guys say "just throw some stuff in a pot and cook it".
Next thing you know, people will be posting that there is more than one way to effectively sharpen a knife!
Not a real member - just an ordinary guy who appreciates being able to hang around and say something once in awhile.
Happily Trapped In the Past (Thanks, Joe)
Not only a less than minimally educated person, but stupid and out of touch as well.
A good meat sauce is truly one of those things that does not demand strict adherence to a recipe.
Take your time, use ingredients that you like, and are fresh.
You're gonna have to try to fugg it up.
This right here. Wife made sauce and pasta tonight. Pork she ground up herself from a shoulder roast on sale. Home grown maters and basil. Garlic, onions, and a good simmer on the stove, really is hard to make it wrong.
That hurt.
I went to all the trouble of posting the recipe that was passed down to me from my father, a recipe that I've refined over the last 35 + years, and now you guys say "just throw some stuff in a pot and cook it".
Thanks Fish. We didn't expect another one at this point in our life, ( he is #2, has one sister that started high school this year ) but wouldn't change anything.
A good meat sauce is truly one of those things that does not demand strict adherence to a recipe.
Take your time, use ingredients that you like, and are fresh.
You're gonna have to try to fugg it up.
This right here. Wife made sauce and pasta tonight. Pork she ground up herself from a shoulder roast on sale. Home grown maters and basil. Garlic, onions, and a good simmer on the stove, really is hard to make it wrong.
That hurt.
I went to all the trouble of posting the recipe that was passed down to me from my father, a recipe that I've refined over the last 35 + years, and now you guys say "just throw some stuff in a pot and cook it".
Fish-
Sorry about your feelers.
I will repost the family recipe:
Douche Bag Spaghetti Sauce ...
1 Cup Tomato Juice 1 Cup White Vinegar 1 Cup Hot Water
“Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die.”
I made this on Saturday. The wife had to go to San Fransisco for a few days and I've been eating it for dinner. Pretty damn good. Really good on just a slice of sour dough.
I swapped out a pound of the beef with a pound of chicken Italian sausage. I also added the better part of a small can or tomato paste.
----------------
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef (85% or 90%) 1 medium carrot, finely grated (about 1/2 cup) 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced (about 1/2 cup) 4 cloves garlic, finely minced 2 (28 oz) cans crushed Roma tomatoes (I recommend Contadina) 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed 3/4 tsp dried thyme 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp dried marjoram 1/2 tsp dried sage 2 bay leaves 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/2 - 1 cup chicken or beef broth, to thin sauce if desired
In a large sauce pot, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium high heat. Crumble ground beef into pot (approximately 1 inch pieces). Brown beef, stirring occasionally (I was always taught to stir constantly but this makes your beef gray, let it brown on bottom and only stir occasionally) and breaking up beef as you stir, until cooked through. Drain ground beef, reserving 1 Tbsp fat in pot. Place browned beef in a food processor and pulse until finely ground, about 10 - 15 seconds, set aside. Saute carrot and onion in reserved fat over medium high heat until golden, about 4 minutes, adding in garlic during the last minute of sauteing. Remove from heat (this will reduce splattering) and stir in 2 cans crushed Roma tomatoes, remaining 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, sage, bay leaves, salt, pepper and browned beef. Return pot to low heat and simmer uncovered, 5 - 8 hours (yes minimum of 5 hours), stirring occasionally. Add broth to sauce to thin sauce if desired (at about 4 hours sauce will be pretty thick so if you want it any thinner just add broth to desired consistency. Also, once it reaches the thickness you want you can cover it with a lid to reduce further condensation). Remove bay leaves and serve sauce warm over pasta garnished with grated cheeses and additional chopped fresh parsley or basil if desired.
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