Ground beef spaghetti sauce

[tenspeed]

On the first part I would add one of those small bottles of red wine...

NO! Get a bottle of a full bodied red, add a glass to the sauce, and drink the rest. As Jacques Pepin would say, Happy Cooking!

I use hot Italian sausage (store brand, billed as lower fat content) with the ground beef, about a third to a half of the total amount of meat. I brown the meats, drain over paper towel, and then saute the onions, etc. Nothing wrong with some diced green pepper if you like. If your sauce has too much acidic bite to your liking, you can add a teaspoon or three of brown sugar to smooth it out.

 

[Caslon]

I agree with Andy. On the first part I would add one of those small bottles of red wine, let it reduce down then add the canned tomatoes and sauce. I prefer fresh basil, stems can be removed when sauce is done and I don't use oregano in any Italian red sauce except pizza sauce. I would also add some red pepper flakes to taste as well as a parmesan bone. I'd cook with the lid off and add some unsalted beef stock to thin if needed.

I have a seldom used bottle of red cooking wine. These helpful hints are getting above me real fast.

 

[buckytom]

Just one more tip?

If you find that your meat sauce is a little greasy with a good amount of visible oil floating on top, you can always turn off the heat so it stops simmering, then use a clean towel (or thick paper towel) to blot off the oil.

I used to have a girlfriend that blotted any oil or fat off of everything. Sauces, pizza, even potato chips were pressed in a paper towel (and then you ate potato crumbs). She was a part time professional dancer, so she was a lttle crazed with keeping in shape. But she was raised in a very traditional Italian American house, so not eating much wasn't an option.

 

[CraigC]

I happen to have a seldom used bottle of red cooking wine. These helpful hints are getting above me real fast. Please stop!

Throw that away! Don't use any wine that you wouldn't drink! that stuff has way too much salt in it. I also only buy unsalted broth/stock so I control the amount. If you were making a sauce with anchovies, salt is pretty much not necessary.

 

[Caslon]

However this turns out, I think I'll be liking having real spaghetti pasta and my attempt at meat sauce.

I'll buy a frozen roll of garlic bread. Packaged bag of mainly romaine lettuce. Ceasar dressing.

 

[medtran49]

My mother always used the jarred mushroom pieces in her sauce. I remember grocery shopping with her when I was a little girl and I knew we were having spaghetti when she bought a jar. That stopped as soon as I got out on my own as they are way too salty for me and also have a funky taste to me. Every once in a while, we'll get something in a restaurant that uses them. We don't go back when that happens. I'd rather use fresh brown mushrooms or dried porcini.



As far as fat goes, make the sauce a day or 2 before you intend to use it and refrigerate. The fat will solidify on top and you can just pick it out. Also, sitting gives the flavors a chance to meld and it seems to always taste better.



And you would never catch me putting green peppers in spaghetti sauce.

 

[taxlady]

Sometimes I add two or three large strips of lemon zest. They add a lovely, subtle "je ne sais quoi". I use large pieces so they are easy to find and remove before eating it.

 

[RPCookin]

Sauce without green pepper would be like sauce without onion and garlic for me. Dried porcini mushrooms (or powder) is also a must in my book.

I have rarely made spaghetti, but I agree that if you like green pepper as I do, there's no reason I can think of not to include it. I may go with a red bell pepper too, because I love the sweeter flavor over the green ones. I do love mushrooms in spaghetti sauce though.

I had a good friend when I lived in Montana whose father immigrated to the US from southern Italy when he was a teenager. He learned to make meat sauce from his mother, and my friend learned from him. I don't know the details, but one thing they did when possible was to harvest mushrooms out on the prairie after a summer thunderstorm. 24 to 36 hours after a storm these big mushrooms pop up through the grass. They have caps that are about 3" in diameter, and when sliced in strips and sauteed and added to a sauce, they were great.

Thanks for the part about the oregano and basil in order to prevent one or the other from overpowering the sauce. Nothing probably ruins a sauce more than having one herb stand out too much.

I guess that's so, but it still depends on personal preferences. I usually just keep adding them until I like the taste. I like bold flavors, so I may tend to overdo it for some people's tastes, but most of the time, it's just my wife and me, and we both have similar likes in that department.

 

[GotGarlic]

Caslon, This looks like a great starter recipe for spaghetti sauce. I'd take a few of the suggestions that appeal to you and go for it. Definitely don't use the cooking wine, though. Either buy a bottle of something like a Cabernet Sauvignon, or a pack of four small bottles if you don't want to drink the rest. You only need about a cup.

Take notes of what you liked and what you might want to change next time. I love to load up spaghetti sauce with three colors of bell peppers, as well as more onion than most recipes call for. Make it your own and have fun [emoji2]

 

[CakePoet]

So I just made 10 portions of köttfärsås ( ground beef sauce) today, no wine, no mushroom , no bellpeppers, no sausage , it still taste great and it is very simple sauce.

 

[Caslon]

I'm staying off the wine. I made a batch of beef stew and added just a bit too much burgandy wine. The wine flavor got magnified. It turned out to be burgandy beef stew, not in a good way.

I made another batch of beef stew awhile back after having learned my lesson. A little bit of wine goes a long way. I added barely a "splash" of quality burgandy wine and it gave my beef stew that extra special something. BTW, I'm going to toss my years old bottle of "red cooking wine". I'm not even sure the shelf life of it.

 

[caseydog]

As far as fat goes, make the sauce a day or 2 before you intend to use it and refrigerate. The fat will solidify on top and you can just pick it out. Also, sitting gives the flavors a chance to meld and it seems to always taste better.

Good advice... but I'm thinking I've heard that before. Did somebody already say that?

CD

 

[caseydog]

I'm staying off the wine. I made a batch of beef stew and added just a bit too much burgandy wine. The wine flavor got magnified. It turned out to be burgandy beef stew, not in a good way.

I made another batch of beef stew awhile back after having learned my lesson. A little bit of wine goes a long way. I added barely a "splash" of wine and it gave my beef stew that extra special something. BTW, I'm going to toss my years old bottle of "red cooking wine".

LOL, I've done that, too. Yes, red wine, especially French red wine, can easily dominate your food.

CD

 

[Kayelle]

I'm staying off the wine. I made a batch of beef stew and added just a bit too much burgandy wine. The wine flavor got magnified. It turned out to be burgandy beef stew, not in a good way.

I made another batch of beef stew awhile back after having learned my lesson. A little bit of wine goes a long way. I added barely a "splash" of quality burgandy wine and it gave my beef stew that extra special something. BTW, I'm going to toss my years old bottle of "red cooking wine". I'm not even sure the shelf life of it.

Remember too that red wine can go "off" pretty quickly. We don't drink red wine so it makes sense for us to buy the little four bottle packs, and each bottle is about a cup of wine. We do drink white wine however so it's always there to cook with.
Glad you're throwing out that nasty "cooking wine" as it's worse than worthless.

 

[di reston]

The term 'bianco' indicates no tomatoes in the recipe, and is usually used for sauces. In my experience, that is. The following recipe is from Giallo Zafferano and refers to sauce:

Ragù Bianco con tagliatelle

250g tagliatelle
100g bacon, finely chopped or minced
60g yellow onions
EVOO 50g
2 bay leaves
water as necessary
ground beef 250g
a 'soffritto' of 60g celery
1 clove garlic
1 sprig rosemary, you need to pick the leaves from the sprig
60g carrot
white wine - 1 glass, maybe a little more - taste it and see
black pepper
fresh pork sausagemeat, 1 sausage, skin removed
white wine
3 sage leaves
water

1. Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery.
2. Gently heat the olive oil with the clove of garlic
3. Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery to the pan
4. add the herbs except the bay leaves, which are added later
5. Add the ground meat and continue to stir on a gentle heat
6 add the bay leaves
7. Now add the meat, and the bacon and 'crumbled' sausage meat
8 Remove the garlic
9Cook for a few minutes, to 'meld' the flavours
10 Add the wine and de-glaze the pan.
11. stir until the wine is evaporated, leaving a vinous aroma
12. Cook the tagliatelle to your liking, toss together with the ragù

This dish will last 24 hours in the fridge in a hermetically sealed container; they freeze well however.

di reston


Happy New Year everyone!

Peeple of the wurl, relax! (Tom Robbins - Fierce invalids home from hot climates)

 

[Caslon]

di, I asked for it, I got it. Spaghetti meat sauce recipes that are way beyond my expertise or aspiration.

Another question if you all don't mind. Which of these two would you cook your meat sauce in?

I'm leaning towards using the deep stew pot with lid. The non-stick Calphalon pan would probably do nicely too, but I don't like how everything slides off it while cooking.

 

[Andy M.]

...Another question if you all don't mind. Which of these two would you cook your meat sauce in?

I'm leaning towards using the deep stew pot with lid. The non-stick Calphalon pan would probably do nicely too, but I don't like how everything slides off it while cooking.

Definitely the saucepan.

 

[Caslon]

Definitely the saucepan.

Okay. I promise that was my last question about making ground beef spaghetti meat sauce. Before I start, I'm going to read all the replies again. Thanks.



Pasta isle at supermarket. Some pasta boxes were well boxed up (classy looking). I bought a plain packaged bag of spaghetti with close to three times the amount of spaghetti, for the same price. Pasta is pasta for the most part, right? I mean, how simple can something be?

 

[Andy M.]

Okay. I promise that was my last question about making ground beef spaghetti meat sauce. Before I start, I'm going to read all the replies again. Thanks.

Obviously, I got an urge to make a batch of basic easy to make spaghetti meat sauce and freezing it into portions for later. As some replied, it freezes and thaws pretty well. It's gotta come out better than Stouffers, I hope.

Pasta isle at supermarket. Some pasta boxes were well boxed up (classy looking). I bought a plain packaged bag of spaghetti with close to three times the amount of spaghetti, for the same price. Pasta is pasta for the most part, right?

Pretty much, there isn't much difference among dry pastas. That's not to say that any cheap pasta is as good as the more expensive option. You're going to have to taste them and decide.

 

[taxlady]

The term 'bianco' indicates no tomatoes in the recipe, and is usually used for sauces. In my experience, that is. The following recipe is from Giallo Zafferano and refers to sauce:

Ragù Bianco con tagliatelle

250g tagliatelle
100g bacon, finely chopped or minced
60g yellow onions
EVOO 50g
2 bay leaves
water as necessary
ground beef 250g
a 'soffritto' of 60g celery
1 clove garlic
1 sprig rosemary, you need to pick the leaves from the sprig
60g carrot
white wine - 1 glass, maybe a little more - taste it and see
black pepper
fresh pork sausagemeat, 1 sausage, skin removed
white wine
3 sage leaves
water

1. Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery.
2. Gently heat the olive oil with the clove of garlic
3. Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery to the pan
4. add the herbs except the bay leaves, which are added later
5. Add the ground meat and continue to stir on a gentle heat
6 add the bay leaves
7. Now add the meat, and the bacon and 'crumbled' sausage meat
8 Remove the garlic
9Cook for a few minutes, to 'meld' the flavours
10 Add the wine and de-glaze the pan.
11. stir until the wine is evaporated, leaving a vinous aroma
12. Cook the tagliatelle to your liking, toss together with the ragù

This dish will last 24 hours in the fridge in a hermetically sealed container; they freeze well however.

di reston


Happy New Year everyone!

Peeple of the wurl, relax! (Tom Robbins - Fierce invalids home from hot climates)

Thank you. I have copied and pasted this recipe. I am looking for pasta sauces with no tomatoes.