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Found a great spaghetti sauce recipe

MaggieD

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1# Ground Beef; 1# Ground Pork; 1 chopped onion; 2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes w/juice; 2 6-oz cans tomato paste; 2 8-oz cans tomato sauce; 2 bay leaves; 5 garlic cloves chopped; 4 t dried oregano; 1-1/2 t salt; 4 t dried basil, 3 T brown sugar; 1 t dried thyme.

Brown meat and onion and drain. Recipe calls for doing in the crock pot 8-10 hours. I made it on the stove instead, cooked for about 2 hours. Ate the next day (always better that way).

I find ground meat gets cooked to DEATH in a crockpot. That's why I cooked it on the stove top.

(I actually bought 2# of meatloaf mix instead of the 1# each.)

This is a GREAT sauce. (Makes enough for 12 generous servings.) I split it in half and used each half with 1# of spaghetti.
 
1# Ground Beef; 1# Ground Pork; 1 chopped onion; 2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes w/juice; 2 6-oz cans tomato paste; 2 8-oz cans tomato sauce; 2 bay leaves; 5 garlic cloves chopped; 4 t dried oregano; 1-1/2 t salt; 4 t dried basil, 3 T brown sugar; 1 t dried thyme.

Brown meat and onion and drain. Recipe calls for doing in the crock pot 8-10 hours. I made it on the stove instead, cooked for about 2 hours. Ate the next day (always better that way).

I find ground meat gets cooked to DEATH in a crockpot. That's why I cooked it on the stove top.

(I actually bought 2# of meatloaf mix instead of the 1# each.)

This is a GREAT sauce. (Makes enough for 12 generous servings.) I split it in half and used each half with 1# of spaghetti.

Sounds great! God bless you for calling it sauce and not gravy. That drives me nuts!!!
 
Gravy has meat or meat drippings in it.
 
1# Ground Beef; 1# Ground Pork; 1 chopped onion; 2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes w/juice; 2 6-oz cans tomato paste; 2 8-oz cans tomato sauce; 2 bay leaves; 5 garlic cloves chopped; 4 t dried oregano; 1-1/2 t salt; 4 t dried basil, 3 T brown sugar; 1 t dried thyme.

Brown meat and onion and drain. Recipe calls for doing in the crock pot 8-10 hours. I made it on the stove instead, cooked for about 2 hours. Ate the next day (always better that way).

I find ground meat gets cooked to DEATH in a crockpot. That's why I cooked it on the stove top.

(I actually bought 2# of meatloaf mix instead of the 1# each.)

This is a GREAT sauce. (Makes enough for 12 generous servings.) I split it in half and used each half with 1# of spaghetti.

The combination of pork and beef is classic but NO sauce uses actual measurements. It's always "until it looks/smells/tastes right".

Aside from that, I'd recommend losing the brown sugar and adding red wine. I'd also recommend using cubed beef and pork instead of ground and, if you like, a little lamb.
 
The combination of pork and beef is classic but NO sauce uses actual measurements. It's always "until it looks/smells/tastes right".

Aside from that, I'd recommend losing the brown sugar and adding red wine. I'd also recommend using cubed beef and pork instead of ground and, if you like, a little lamb.

I wouldn't argue with any of those changes. I almost added the red wine, but decided to stick to the recipe the first time. Also wanted to use table sugar instead of brown, but didn't for the same reason. I always add sugar to my sauce recipes; otherwise I find it too acidic.
 
I wouldn't argue with any of those changes. I almost added the red wine, but decided to stick to the recipe the first time. Also wanted to use table sugar instead of brown, but didn't for the same reason. I always add sugar to my sauce recipes; otherwise I find it too acidic.

yes, but a pinch, not 3 TBS
and yes to the red wine addition
doesn't even have to be red ... if white is all that is available
 
yes, but a pinch, not 3 TBS
and yes to the red wine addition
doesn't even have to be red ... if white is all that is available

"Justabubba" people have no right to weigh in on spaghetti sauce. ;) ;) ;)
 
"Justabubba" people have no right to weigh in on spaghetti sauce. ;) ;) ;)

the sugar should only be enough to offset the acidity of the tomatoes
3 TBS would probably 'sweeten' it; not a good thing for meat sauce
 
If tomatoes are still on sale, I might need to make my base pasta sauce:

Enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot with some depth.
Fry onions over medium heat until browning just barely begins.
Fill pot with chopped tomatoes (perhaps with skins removed).
Reduce the heat a bit and simmer for 2+ hours.
 
Canned? CANNED?!?

:scared:

Well except in the summer and unless you have a garden, canned tomatoes are no worse than the ones you buy in the grocery that are picked green and bombarded with "ripening" agents to make them turn red.

I don't like adding sugar in tomato sauce, brown or otherwise, and I learned a long time ago to stay away from bay leaves when cooking at home. I tend to overdo it by exponential amounts.
 
A little sugar is magic in tomato sauce.

Exactly. Just as salt is added to sweet things as a flavor enhancement and not expected to add saltiness, so is sugar added to foods we don't expect to be sweet.
 
Exactly. Just as salt is added to sweet things as a flavor enhancement and not expected to add saltiness, so is sugar added to foods we don't expect to be sweet.

And the acidity of tomatoes is a bit much. It's rather strange how just a bit of sugar neutralizes it. Making tomato sauce from scratch, it's easy to taste the difference before and after just a bit of sugar.
 
A little sugar is magic in tomato sauce.

I disagree. I know some folks of a certain age need to counter the acidity, but that is all I can taste if you add it in. To me it is like the raisins in A-1--that is all I can taste when I use it.
 
I disagree. I know some folks of a certain age need to counter the acidity, but that is all I can taste if you add it in. To me it is like the raisins in A-1--that is all I can taste when I use it.

You young 'uns just don't know what's good for ya!

Get off my lawn!
 
You young 'uns just don't know what's good for ya!

Get off my lawn!

Don't worry. Ever since the dog got into your garbage can, scattered your used depends about, and you ran over them with the lawn mower trying to mulch them up because your back was too sore to bend over to pick em up, I stay far away from your yard. :2razz:

Star anise is supposed to be good in spaghetti sauce but I have never tried it.
 
And the acidity of tomatoes is a bit much. It's rather strange how just a bit of sugar neutralizes it. Making tomato sauce from scratch, it's easy to taste the difference before and after just a bit of sugar.

I use wine instead of sugar but my sauce is geared more toward being spicy than sweet. I also don't use onions or peppers because, again, they tend to add more sweet than I like.
 
1# Ground Beef; 1# Ground Pork; 1 chopped onion; 2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes w/juice; 2 6-oz cans tomato paste; 2 8-oz cans tomato sauce; 2 bay leaves; 5 garlic cloves chopped; 4 t dried oregano; 1-1/2 t salt; 4 t dried basil, 3 T brown sugar; 1 t dried thyme.

Brown meat and onion and drain. Recipe calls for doing in the crock pot 8-10 hours. I made it on the stove instead, cooked for about 2 hours. Ate the next day (always better that way).

I find ground meat gets cooked to DEATH in a crockpot. That's why I cooked it on the stove top.

(I actually bought 2# of meatloaf mix instead of the 1# each.)

This is a GREAT sauce. (Makes enough for 12 generous servings.) I split it in half and used each half with 1# of spaghetti.

Subtract the pork, and it sounds really good.
 
1# Ground Beef; 1# Ground Pork; 1 chopped onion; 2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes w/juice; 2 6-oz cans tomato paste; 2 8-oz cans tomato sauce; 2 bay leaves; 5 garlic cloves chopped; 4 t dried oregano; 1-1/2 t salt; 4 t dried basil, 3 T brown sugar; 1 t dried thyme.

Brown meat and onion and drain. Recipe calls for doing in the crock pot 8-10 hours. I made it on the stove instead, cooked for about 2 hours. Ate the next day (always better that way).

I find ground meat gets cooked to DEATH in a crockpot. That's why I cooked it on the stove top.

(I actually bought 2# of meatloaf mix instead of the 1# each.)

This is a GREAT sauce. (Makes enough for 12 generous servings.) I split it in half and used each half with 1# of spaghetti.

Not too far off from my family recipe. The combination of beef and pork flavors is key. My family uses pork neck bones in our gravy (yes, it is gravy not sauce!) and Italian sausages. And of course a healthy dose of red wine. I let mine simmer on the stove all day long (though I almost always end up using a bit for lunch, just pour it over some good bread and hmmmmmm, perfection!).
 
1# Ground Beef; 1# Ground Pork; 1 chopped onion; 2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes w/juice; 2 6-oz cans tomato paste; 2 8-oz cans tomato sauce; 2 bay leaves; 5 garlic cloves chopped; 4 t dried oregano; 1-1/2 t salt; 4 t dried basil, 3 T brown sugar; 1 t dried thyme.

Brown meat and onion and drain. Recipe calls for doing in the crock pot 8-10 hours. I made it on the stove instead, cooked for about 2 hours. Ate the next day (always better that way).

I find ground meat gets cooked to DEATH in a crockpot. That's why I cooked it on the stove top.

(I actually bought 2# of meatloaf mix instead of the 1# each.)

This is a GREAT sauce. (Makes enough for 12 generous servings.) I split it in half and used each half with 1# of spaghetti.

I find the same thing with ground meat and a crock pot.

I no longer use my crock pot for sauces, but when I make my sauce I make large batches to freeze on the stove, with everything but no meat at all. When I use it I brown the meat and add it at the time. Freezing without meat gives me more flexibility when I use it, too. Sometimes I want a simple marinara-type sauce, or to use it for homemade pizza, and so on.
 
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