Spaghetti Sauce Recipe: Your Thoughts/Feedback/Suggestions

[Andy M.]

I have some pork neck bones in the freezer that I use for sauce. S.O. knows to ask before she chucks anything.

Quick story:

One night in Aruba I was making a chicken and hot pickled pepper dish for dinner. The recipe calls for you to add some of the pickle juice to the pan. While I was working away at the stove, S.O. decided to help by cleaning up, so she dumped out the hot pepper jar and tossed it before I had a chance to use the juice.

Dinner was still good but I'm here to report that the hot pickled peppers in Aruba are a lot hotter than the ones we buy at home...

 

[Chaplain Kent]

Spaghetti night is always a meatless night at our house. I make the sauce using mostly any fresh veggie left in the fridge before shopping. Starting with onions I brown them in olive oil with green peppers, red peppers, celery, broccoli, handful or two of cilantro, garlic and most important pine nuts. Next I'll add whole canned tomatoes which will be smashed and at least one little can of tomato sauce. This gets the brown stuff off the bottom. Add a few fresh Roma tomatoes cut into cubes with the skins left on. Lower the heat and simmer for an hour or longer if my wife is late coming home from work. Other veggies that can be added are squash, egg plant, mushrooms (not a veggie),peas, carrots, I tried left over spinach once but it was too strong.

 

[vyapti]

Two thoughts.

First, once you've browned the meat, remove it from heat and add the spices (I usually use cinnamon & cloves or oregano & basil) and a little dry red wine. Let it sit for 5 minutes before you return it to the burner. BTW, I agree with other posters, use canned, whole tomatos, they break up easilly when they're cooked.

Second, do not drain the grease until the end. Don't stir the sauce the final 10 minutes of cooking. The grease will rise to the top and can be drained then. This really does a good job of blending the flavors.

 

[foodlover]

Ref: Bragazzis sauces LINK REMOVED
The best sauce I have tasted has been from Bragazzis based in the north of England (Sheffield). Not been up there is a while, but my sister says that they are going on-line soon and they share alot of recipe secrets with there customers. Friendly people!

I think the plan is to do the same on-line. Beatutiful ingredients which are hard to find else where.

Ron

P.s Let me know what you think! By the way I am an Italian...and I have not tasted better in Italy.

 

[Robo410]

red sauce I either start with Italian San Marzanno Tomatoes, or if in a real hurry, a jar of classico tomato basil (because it is easily doctored up)

But other sauces always from scratch

 

[Little Miss J]

wow! i had no idea that their was so many different ideas for making tomato pasta sauce. i reckon you could just about eat every night for a year and have a different meal each time!!

 

[spdrdr]

Don't know how I missed this first time around - so very interesting and so full of great ideas. . . .Thanks for bringing it back around Little Miss J - Glenda

 

[Chaplain Kent]

I am camped out for the month at at state park in Wisconsin as the volunteer host. Last night I was searching the fridge for supper since it was just me and I was tired of roasted meats. I found a left over sauce I had cooked sausages in and turned it into spaghetti sauce. Here's what it was.
Two cans of tomatoes, not drained
One bunch of cilantro, coarsely sliced
Two scallions diced
one red onion cut into slices
One small jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
4 sweet Italian sausages
One large green pepper sliced
Place all ingredients into a Dutch Oven over camp fire for several hours or simmer on stove top until ingredients soften into each other.
Spoon out a portion of the juice and thicken with flour, return the thickened portion and stir.

 

[Hopz]

If you choose to use store-bought tomatoes let me suggest Poma Brand.

They are Italian. the come in a box, they are expensive (or at least cost more then those in a can- good enough reason to use them in my book) and they have a great flavor.

Garlic- go easy on the heat and it will not burn. Yes, you can do the onions and the garlic at the same time--- go slow... this action flavors the EVOO and adds to the richness of your suace.

Basil- fresh- added last- no real "cooking" required.

 

[Banana Brain]

I think you should add about fifteen more spices. When I was younger and made the BEST SAUCE ever one time, (really, everyone loved it and I still remember the taste) I just added everything in my mothers spice rack, in huge amounts, plus a bunch of herbs. Oh, and way more red wine than my mother would have liked. I made that whole recipe by sneaking things in while I pretended to "watch" the pot. I suggest you get creative. Pretend to be Emerald and spice it up. Oh, and add some vodka or wine. Tomatoes can't get their full flavornoids or whatever out until cooked with alchohol.

 

[Half Baked]

I always add a sprinkle of sugar in my tomato sauces.

All these ideas are great and I'll incorporate some the next time I make spaghetti.

 

[GotGarlic]

Bump.

Just in case anyone wants to read more about Sunday gravy

 

[kadesma]

My mom Nana, and DH's mom Noni, both did gravey the same way. I still adore it and make mine as they did.
Dad wrote this down for me so I'll post as he wrote it.
2-lbs chuck roast or stew meat
1-c. evoo
2 cups chopped onion
5 cloves garlic chopped fine
1 large can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed or you can do that by hand check and add more if you like but I don't want it to heavy with tomato
4 cups beef stock
salt and pepper
Brown the meat and onion add rest of ingredients
2-3 Tab. fresh chopped parsley
2 Tab. majorum
2tea.thyme dry
1 tea, rosemary I use fresh tender and chopped
1tea. dry basil
1tea. dry oragano
2 cups dry wild mushrooms (porcini ) if you prefer rehydrate them in hot water and save the liquid to ad to your gravey this will give the gravey a dark rich color it will be brown not red then when the mushrooms are nice and soft chop them in f/p til fine and add to the gravey, If you like a nice thick grvey do the same with most of the meat the f/p will cut it up nice for you. Use all the liquid from the mushrooms you will be glad you did the flavor is heaven. If you have any questions I'll be glad to answer as best I can.
kades

 

[Addie]

To use the liquid from the soaked mushrooms, strain through a coffee filter. Does the job perfectly.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Nana and Noni's Sunday gravy...thanks, Ma!

 

[kadesma]

Nana and Noni's Sunday gravy...thanks, Ma!

You're so welcome sweetie.
ma

 

[Kylie1969]

I like the sound of this one, thanks Kades

My mom Nana, and DH's mom Noni, both did gravey the same way. I still adore it and make mine as they did.
Dad wrote this down for me so I'll post as he wrote it.
2-lbs chuck roast or stew meat
1-c. evoo
2 cups chopped onion
5 cloves garlic chopped fine
1 large can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed or you can do that by hand check and add more if you like but I don't want it to heavy with tomato
4 cups beef stock
salt and pepper
Brown the meat and onion add rest of ingredients
2-3 Tab. fresh chopped parsley
2 Tab. majorum
2tea.thyme dry
1 tea, rosemary I use fresh tender and chopped
1tea. dry basil
1tea. dry oragano
2 cups dry wild mushrooms (porcini ) if you prefer rehydrate them in hot water and save the liquid to ad to your gravey this will give the gravey a dark rich color it will be brown not red then when the mushrooms are nice and soft chop them in f/p til fine and add to the gravey, If you like a nice thick grvey do the same with most of the meat the f/p will cut it up nice for you. Use all the liquid from the mushrooms you will be glad you did the flavor is heaven. If you have any questions I'll be glad to answer as best I can.
kades

 

[Kayelle]

I didn't read all of the 97 posts so I don't know if my comments were covered.

A few things are important to my sauce. I use equal parts of ground beef and both sweet and hot Italian sausage, along with a healthy amount of red wine. In addition to the onions and garlic, I like bell pepper and rough chopped black olives. I agree with Kades that a large amount of dried Porchini mushrooms is mandatory, however I don't bother with hydrating them before adding them to the pot. All the liquids in the sauce take care of the hydrating since they simmer in the sauce for a long time.

 

[Andy M.]

...dried Porchini mushrooms is mandatory, however I don't bother with hydrating them before adding them to the pot. All the liquids in the sauce take care of the hydrating since they simmer in the sauce for a long time.

This is what I do as well. No need to rehydrate first. The porcini add umami to the sauce.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I use porcini powder, it's cheaper than the dried porcinis I have access to.