Spaghetti Sauce

[eyeguy 54]

Did my first ever batch today. The Mrs loves it so guess I can still stay here....  Saw a nice little puffball outback so added some. Sumac tea. mmmm

[reinhard1]

I used to make my own sauce years ago but lost the recipe.  I know I put pork ribs in the sauce.  A Italian lady gave me the recipe. Wish I still had it.  Looking good and tasty!!

[delcecchi]

Sounds like "Italian Sunday Gravy",

Here is a recipe or two from Cooks Country

Italian Sunday Gravy

Published April 1, 2007.

 

Why this recipe works:

Italian gravy is a hearty, slow-simmered tomato sauce cooked with everything from meatballs to pork chops. We loved the idea, but not the laundry list of ingredients. For a streamlined Italian Sunday Gravy recipe, we turned to our slow cooker. Tasters preferred flank steak for our recipe over brisket and chuck roast, both of which made the sauce too greasy. Country-style spareribs provided flavorful meat that fell right off the bone. Canned diced tomatoes made our Italian Sunday Gravy recipe too watery, but a combination of drained diced tomatoes, canned tomato sauce, and tomato paste gave it the best balance of flavor and texture. Cooking onions, garlic, wine, and oregano in the sausage drippings built a rich flavor base that carried through to the end of cooking, when we added fresh basil to brighten the finished sauce.

 

Italian Sunday Gravy

Italian gravy is a hearty tomato sauce cooked with everything from meatballs to pork chops. Our tests helped uncover which meats yielded the best taste, texture, and convenience.

Serves 8 to 10

Most sausage has enough seasoning to make extra salt unnecessary. The hearty sauce makes a meal when paired with 2 pounds of rigatoni, ziti, or penne.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 1 pound hot Italian sausage
• 2 onions, chopped medium
• 12 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 pounds bone-in country-style spareribs, trimmed of excess fat
• 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add sweet sausage and cook until well browned and fat begins to render, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to paper towel-lined plate to drain, then place in slow-cooker insert. Repeat with hot sausage.

2. Cook onions in sausage fat over medium heat until well browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in garlic and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook until paste begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in wine and simmer, scraping browned bits from pan bottom with wooden spoon, until wine is reduced, about 3 minutes. Transfer to slow-cooker insert and stir in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.

3. Submerge spareribs and flank steak in sauce in slow-cooker insert. Set slow cooker on low, cover, and cook until meat is tender, 8 to 10 hours. (Alternatively, cook on high for 4 to 5 hours.)

4. About 30 minutes before serving, transfer sausages, ribs, and flank steak to baking sheet and set aside until cool enough to handle. Shred ribs and flank steak into small pieces, discarding excess fat and bones; slice sausages in half crosswise. Use wide spoon to skim fat off surface, then stir sausages and shredded meat back into sauce. Stir in basil and season with pepper. Serve. (Leftover gravy can be stored in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.)

Make Ahead: The recipe can be prepared through step 2 up to 2 days in advance. After reducing the wine in step 2, add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and browned sausages to the Dutch oven and simmer over medium-low heat until the sausages are cooked through, about 12 minutes. Refrigerate the sausage and sauce mixture in an airtight container until ready to use. When ready to cook the gravy, warm the sauce and the sausages together over medium heat until heated through and transfer to slow-cooker insert. Proceed with step 3.

 

The Meat Matters

 

Ask a hundred Italian grandmothers what meat they use for Sunday gravy and you'll get a hundred different answers—everything from meatballs to pork chops. For our easy slow-cooker version, we prefer the taste, texture, and convenience of the following combination.

 

COUNTRY-STYLE SPARERIBS: These meaty ribs become fall-apart tender in a slow cooker.

ITALIAN SAUSAGES: Browning the sausage in advance helps build deep flavor.

FLANK STEAK: This lean cut adds beefy flavor without too much grease.

 

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Hearty Italian Meat Sauce (Sunday Gravy)

Published September 1, 2009. From Cook's Illustrated.

Why this recipe works:

For an Italian meat sauce recipe that didn’t require a long list of ingredients and many hours to prepare, we limited ourselves to pork sausage and baby back ribs, and replaced time-consuming braciole with standout meatballs. By combining our sauce components and then cooking them in the oven rather than on top of the stove (which requires constant monitoring), we could leave our hearty Italian meat sauce recipe unattended for most of the cooking time.

 

Serves 8 to 10

We prefer meatloaf mix (a combination of ground beef, pork, and veal) for the meatballs in this recipe. Ground beef may be substituted, but the meatballs won’t be as flavorful. Six tablespoons of plain yogurt thinned with 2 tablespoons of milk can be substituted for the buttermilk. This recipe makes enough to sauce 1½ pounds of pasta. Our preferred brands of crushed tomatoes are Tuttorosso and Muir Glen. The sauce can be prepared through step 4 and then cooled and refrigerated in the Dutch oven for up to 2 days. To reheat, drizzle ½ cup of water over the sauce (do not stir in) and warm on the lower-middle rack of a preheated 325-degree oven for 1 hour before proceeding with the recipe.

Ingredients

• Sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 rack baby back ribs (about 2 1/4 pounds), cut into 2-rib sections
• Table salt and ground black pepper
• 1 pound hot Italian sausage links
• 2 medium onions, chopped fine (about 2 cups)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 4 teaspoons)
• 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (see note)
• 2/3 cup beef broth
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

• Meatballs

• 2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, crusts removed and bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (see note)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pound meatloaf mix (see note)
• 2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped fine
• 1 ounce Pecorino Romano, grated (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup olive oil

• Pasta

• 1 1/2 pounds spaghetti or linguine
• 2 tablespoons table salt
• Grated parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions

1. FOR THE SAUCE: Adjust oven rack to lower- middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Pat ribs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Add half of ribs to pot and brown on both sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer ribs to large plate and brown remaining ribs. After transferring second batch of ribs to plate, brown sausages on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer sausages to plate with ribs.

2. Reduce heat to medium, add onions and oregano; cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until very dark, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes and broth, scraping up any browned bits. Return ribs and sausage to pot; bring to simmer, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until ribs are tender, about 2½ hours.

3. FOR THE MEATBALLS: Meanwhile, combine bread cubes, buttermilk, parsley, garlic, egg yolk, salt, and red pepper flakes in medium bowl and mash with fork until no bread chunks remain. Add meatloaf mix, prosciutto, and cheese to bread mixture; mix with hands until thoroughly combined. Divide mixture into 12 pieces; roll into balls, transfer to plate, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until ready to use.

4. When sauce is 30 minutes from being done, heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add meatballs and cook until well browned all over, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer meatballs to paper towel-lined plate to drain briefly. Remove sauce from oven and skim fat from top with large spoon. Transfer browned meatballs to sauce and gently submerge. Cover, return pot to oven, and continue cooking until meatballs are just cooked through, about 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, bring 6 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and salt and cook until al dente. Reserve ½ cup cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot.

6. TO SERVE: Using tongs, transfer meatballs, ribs, and sausage to serving platter and cut sausages in half. Stir basil into sauce and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Toss pasta with 1 cup sauce and reserved pasta cooking water so that sauce lightly coats pasta. Serve pasta, passing remaining sauce and meat platter separately.

 

Recipe Testing

Not Your Nonna's Gravy

 

By choosing our ingredients carefully, we created a sauce with almost the same flavor as the more time-consuming traditional approach.

 

RIGHT RIBThese baby back pork ribs turn tender after just 2 1/2 hours of cooking; the bones enrich the sauce.

MISSING LINKWho needs sweet Italian sausage when you've got the mild kick of these spicy links.

MORE THAN A MEATBALLProsciutto and Pecorino Romano give our meatballs authentic flavor.

BEEFY BOOSTERThough unconventional, a touch of beef broth reinforces the meatiness of the sauce.

Technique

In the Black

Cooking the tomato paste until nearly blackened concentrates its sweetness and adds complexity to the sauce.

Looks like a project.  

[Moose]

EyeGuy, Can you post your recipe? It looks like something I would like to try.

Did my first ever batch today. The Mrs loves it so guess I can still stay here....  Saw a nice little puffball outback so added some. Sumac tea. mmmm

 

[eyeguy 54]

6 pounds tomatoes

 

sautee 

4 1/2 cups green peppers

4 1/2 cups onions

3/4 cup celery

2 garlic cloves

I sauteed a bit then nuked it in the blender. just chop if you want pieces.

 

add tomatoes  (I pulse in blender)

2- 12 oz can paste

1 T salt

3 T brown sugar

1 T oregano

1 T basil

1 T parsley

1 T worstershire

1 T soy sauce

 

[reinhard1]

Thank you Del and Royce for the recipe's.  I will try them all.  Love trying new things.  Del,  that first recipe sure sounds like the one I used to make.  There are some good store bought sauces out there but there is nothing like homemade.  The prep work doesn't bother me one bit for a good outcome.  good luck.

[delcecchi]

The cooks illustrated family of websites is a great resource for dependable recipes.  Unfortunately it costs money, but I have a subscription and am willing to post or share an occasional recipe.  It is my way of contributing, since I don't can or cook many big meals any more. 

[nofishfisherman]

We just did our first batch of sauce last week.

We roast roma tomatoes along with onion, red pepper, carrot, basil, salt, a little balsamic vinegar, pepper, and some other seasonings.  Once its all roasted we let it cool and then blend it for a very thick and heart sauce. You can also add a touch of water or stock if you want it thinner.

Its a pretty quick and easy way to make a fresh and healthy sauce.  We bag it up in quart size freezer bags and then lay them flat to freeze.  We've got 9 quarts done so far and will probably do another batch yet this year.

It pairs very well with out homemade venison meatballs that we do every fall.  Those also get bagged and frozen.  The combination makes for a very quick and easy meal during the week when we get home from work. 

[eyeguy 54]

recipe please.

[Jim Almquist]

I like to store my sauce in Ball quart jars in the freezer. I leave about a inch at the top and use my Foodsaver to vacuum the lids on. That way it taste as fresh as the day I make it.

 

 

1 6lb 6oz can crushed tomato
1 6lb 6oz can tomato sauce
1 6lb 6oz can diced tomato
4 12oz can tomato paste
12 tsp. sugar
6 tsp. salt
4 green peppers chopped
2/3 oz.fresh Thyme
2/3 oz.fresh Basil
1 oz.fresh Oregano
1/2 oz.fresh Marjoram
5 large onions chopped
4 16oz. cans Mushrooms drained
2 Head of garlic peeled and chopped

Will make about 12 Quarts
Put in at least a 20 quart pot and simmer for 2to 3 hours

[nofishfisherman]

A couple people have asked for the recipe I use for the sauce I mentioned above so I thought I'd post it. The recipe below is really just our starting point.  We modify it each year and quantities can vary a little year to year.  This year we added red pepper, carrots, and basil to the roasting pan so we probably upped the olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper a little (we don't really measure any of it so its just a guess).  Really all you do is add everything to your roasting pan and roast it until cooked and most of the water has cooked off.  You can play with the veggies and herbs you add or you can go with the recipe as is.  Sometimes we leave it plain and then doctor up the individual bags when we go to use them for dinner.

This is what my wife has written up for basic guidelines.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

2 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes quartered (Play with quantities, I often do 5-8lbs of tomato to fill my roasting pan)  We use romas as they are meaty was less water, we quarter them and scoop out and discard the seeds.

Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Splash of white balsamic vinegar 1 medium or ½ large onion 1 teaspoon kosher salt coarsely ground black pepper. 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees 

2. Combine ingredients, toss well to mix (I do it right in the roasting pan) 

3 Roast 1 hour until tomatoes break down (stir 1-2 times during the hour), I watch for the water to mostly evaporate (time may change a little depending on qty and number of veggies added, I think this year we were over an hour on roast time)

4. Cool, transfer to food processor or blender and mix. 

I then bag it up in portion sized ziploc freezer bags, freezing on a a cookie sheet so they are even. Then I transfer 3-4 bags into one larger gallon freezer bag so the bags don't slide around in the freezer.