Runny spaghetti sauce

[snickerdoodle]

A friend of the family gave me a batch of homemade spaghetti sauce (with meatballs) and now that I've thawed it out, it's REALLY thin. This friend isn't exactly known for her culinary skills but I couldn't pass up free food. So here I am with the sauce in the pot, simmering and I have no idea what to do to thicken it up. I don't have any tomato paste or canned tomatoes on hand. Any suggestions for thickening this sauce up? Will it reduce? Would that be a good idea?

 

[Andy M.]

A friend of the family gave me a batch of homemade spaghetti sauce (with meatballs) and now that I've thawed it out, it's REALLY thin. This friend isn't exactly known for her culinary skills but I couldn't pass up free food. So here I am with the sauce in the pot, simmering and I have no idea what to do to thicken it up. I don't have any tomato paste or canned tomatoes on hand. Any suggestions for thickening this sauce up? Will it reduce? Would that be a good idea?

Simmer uncovered. That's all that's necessary. Keep tasting as all flavors will be concentrated including saltiness.

 

[snickerdoodle]

Thanks Andy, you're always coming to my rescue on here. I owe you a hug One day I won't be so needy on here and I can be more of a helper than a helpee. It's a bubblin' away and already thickening a bit. Thanks again!

 

[Andy M.]

I'm going to hold you to that hug.

 

[kadesma]

A friend of the family gave me a batch of homemade spaghetti sauce (with meatballs) and now that I've thawed it out, it's REALLY thin. This friend isn't exactly known for her culinary skills but I couldn't pass up free food. So here I am with the sauce in the pot, simmering and I have no idea what to do to thicken it up. I don't have any tomato paste or canned tomatoes on hand. Any suggestions for thickening this sauce up? Will it reduce? Would that be a good idea?

If you have a bag of dry mushrooms add some boiling water let soak and then chop tje mushrooms finely and add to you sauce along with a bit of the mushroom sauce or water. This will thicken your gravy . You can also use you f/p and gring some cooked meat to add or fresh chopped mushroom will do it
kadesma

 

[Kayelle]

Snickerdoodle, just let me say, you are a delight to have around. It's nearly as good as having a daughter around who is anxious to cook. (never had a daughter) What a great job you are doing for your young family. Just needed to tell you that.

 

[Bigjim68]

I grind the dried mushrooms fine and use them to thicken the sauce. The mushrooms will soak up a lot of liquid and add a lot of flavor also.

 

[buckytom]

snicker, when reducing, just be sure to stir a lot. as it thickens, it will have a tendency to burn on the bottom.

if it does burn a little, try not to scrape any black stuff up off the bottom and just pour off the sauce into another pot. it will be ok and can continue to thicken without getting bitter.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

All good suggestions.I grow toms for salad and Roma Plum Paste toms for sauce.
The Roma Plum has few seeds and is a non juicy tom, the fruit tends to ripen together to make commercial harvesting easier, freezing does not cause the raw Roma tom to leak when defrosting.

 

[CharlieD]

So, how did it turn out?

 

[snickerdoodle]

Hey all! I didn't realize there were more responses to this thread until now; cool! The sauce turned out great; it bubbled away for a good 45 minutes, I added some sugar, parm and herbs and it was perfect Reducing it was definitely a good thing because when I first tasted it, right after thawing it tasted like watered down tomato sauce, ick.

Snickerdoodle, just let me say, you are a delight to have around. It's nearly as good as having a daughter around who is anxious to cook. (never had a daughter) What a great job you are doing for your young family. Just needed to tell you that.

Awww, shucks! (as my 4 year old would say) All of you collectively can be my psuedo chef-parents any day! Unfortunately my parents don't cook much, with the exception of my mother in law, and, well, I think most of us know how... *searching for the right word* complicated that relationship can be at times!

 

[CookLikeJulia]

Another suggestion. You can also add flour to thicken it up or cornstarch dissolved in a cold water.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Hey all! I didn't realize there were more responses to this thread until now; cool! The sauce turned out great; it bubbled away for a good 45 minutes, I added some sugar, parm and herbs and it was perfect Reducing it was definitely a good thing because when I first tasted it, right after thawing it tasted like watered down tomato sauce, ick.



Awww, shucks! (as my 4 year old would say) All of you collectively can be my psuedo chef-parents any day! Unfortunately my parents don't cook much, with the exception of my mother in law, and, well, I think most of us know how... *searching for the right word* complicated that relationship can be at times!

My first mother in law was the pastry cook on Devil Island, see could kill at 25 yards with her tongue