Fresh Oregano In My Sunday Sauce

[Mylegsbig]

Hey guys i have been using dried oregano for my sunday sauce just a good pinch and i season it to taste.

Question. Will my sauce be better if I use fresh oregano?

If i use fresh oregano im supposed to add it at the end right?

How much should i use? Here are the dimensions of my sauce.

1 1/2 pounds meat
1 28oz can whole tomatoes
1 6oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup Porcini Mushroom Liquid (porcini's soaked in Spring Water)

Will fresh oregano add anything to my dish? is it worth it?


Give me all the feedback you can

[Andy M.]

You are right that you would add the fersh oregano later in the cooking that you have to with the dry.

I think dry and fresh oregano give you different tastes in a sauce like this. I prefer dry for sauce. USe twice as much fresh as you would dry.

[GB]

I love fresh oregano. The only way to tell if you would like it better in your sauce is to try it. Like Andy said, use twice as much as you would dried. And you are correct in that you would want to add it at the end of the cooking process.

[ironchef]

Like Andy and GB said, add it towards the end of the cooking process. About 1-2 minutes before the sauce is done is good. That way the herbs can release their oils and it will permeate through the sauce.

[Mylegsbig]

thanks guys

[BreezyCooking]

While I do love fresh oregano in a lot of recipes, good Italian "gravy" ain't one of them. I just think the dried adds more & better traditional flavor. And I'm not even Italian - lol!!!

[Robo410]

I find fresh oregano more floral, less pungent. You will need a little more than you use of dried, but I think you will really like it.

[mudbug]

Originally Posted by ironchef

About 1-2 minutes before the sauce is done is good. That way the herbs can release their oils and it will permeate through the sauce.

Not doubting your expertise, ironchef, but is that really enough time? Are you bruising the leaves first? I know they are smaller than bigger leaves such as basil and so forth. I usually use the dried oregano for sauce like some of the others, but fresh is always nice if it adds some brightness to a dish.

Just wondering.

[jpmcgrew]

Any fresh fresh herb is more desirable the dried.

[ironchef]

Originally Posted by mudbug

Not doubting your expertise, ironchef, but is that really enough time? Are you bruising the leaves first? I know they are smaller than bigger leaves such as basil and so forth. I usually use the dried oregano for sauce like some of the others, but fresh is always nice if it adds some brightness to a dish.

Just wondering.

I was assuming Mylegs would mince/chop the leaves first before adding them.

[mudbug]

Gotcha, IC.

OK, legs - what didja end up doing?

[ironchef]

Originally Posted by BreezyCooking

While I do love fresh oregano in a lot of recipes, good Italian "gravy" ain't one of them. I just think the dried adds more & better traditional flavor. And I'm not even Italian - lol!!!

It depends on where you're from. Most basic tomato sauces from Italy (Sugo al Pomodoro) use either basil or thyme as their herb of choice for flavoring. Oregano in pomodoro sauce I believe, originated or was made popular in Naples, and was used to top pizzas with. You usually won't find oregano in pomodoro from Puglia, Campania, Sicily, etc.

[Mylegsbig]

I went with dried. I already had the ingredients purchases. Don't know if it's worth it to add fresh at this point. Probably gonna stick to my tried and tested recipe

[Constance]

I really prefer dried oregano for my sauces. If you happen to have some fresh on hand, I'd just add a bit of that at the very end to acentuate the deeper flavors of the sauce.
I think oregano is one herb that is is actually more flavorful when dried.

[buckytom]

i agree that dried, usually imported dried oregano is the way to go with sauce.
oregano is a difficult herb to grow well for use as a fresh herb, in my experience. you need the proper kind of poor mountain soil and climate to get the plant to produce enough, and pleasent tasting essential oils.

you can grow huge oregano plants in nice rich soil, but the leaves will end up with a kind of non-descript grassy or weedy smell, rather than the desired slightly aromatic, herby, and earthy flavor of oregano.

[GB]

I grew oregano last year and it was amazing stuff. Does that mean my soil was poor bucky?

[buckytom]

hmmm, you may just have had the proper soil for it gb. "poor" is really a relative term. some plants thrive in soil not suited for most others.

do you know if you grew the mexican or mediterranean variety of oregano?
also, where did you plant it, and did you ammend the soil in any way?

i'm curious because everyone i know that has grown oregano has eventually torn it out because even tho it was prolific, taking up too much space, it tasted terrible - like weeds.

[GB]

I am not sure why type it was. My brother gave it to me from his garden. The leaves were dark green and small with little hairs on them (fuzzy).

For my soil, I used some gardening mix on top of my soil that was already there (which was very dense like clay). The oregano was planted in a spot that gets sun in the early afternoon, but is in the shade the rest of the time. It was very small when I planted it and by the end of the season it took over that whole corner of the garden. Luckily that was a coner that was not being used by anything else. I hope it comes back this year. It was my favorite herb from last summer.

[GB]

BT after looking at a few photos I am guessing mine was Mediterranean.

[buckytom]

i may just have to make a trip to massatoothsets with a shovel and a bucket and steal a sample for examining.

ain't nothing like good fresh herbs.

i could swap a piece of my sage plantings. i lop off about half every year because it overgrows the herb box. the good part is that i tie the cuttings in bundles and dry them for incense. it not only tastes good but smells amazing as incense.