[rhood]

Anyone got a recipe for homemade meat sauce for pasta. Getting sick of what comes in jars. Thanks.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by rhood

Anyone got a recipe for homemade meat sauce for pasta. Getting sick of what comes in jars. Thanks.

I'll be curious to hear answers, I've given up.

No matter how much time you take and how much you spend, I still can't make sauce that's better than some of the premium brands you can find at Supermarkets or Specialty stores.

My daughter, who eats out in Little Italy in Boston at least once a week, loves Rao's sauce. I prefer Victoria, Mezzeta or Michael's of Brooklyn ... Silver Palate in a pinch.

[Papa_lecki]

Originally Posted by rhood

Anyone got a recipe for homemade meat sauce for pasta. Getting sick of what comes in jars. Thanks.

We’ve never had sauce (gravy) from a jar.

1 can tomatoes (either crushed or pealed (I like peeled)
1 can dice tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
Olive oil
Garlic
Basil

If you want meat sauce - start with equal parts veal/beef/pork - cook them
Remove meat
Crush 1 or 2 cloves garlic, sauté in olive oil (about 2 to 3 minutes)
Add the 3 cans of tomatoes to the pan
Add some Italian seasoning
Let that cook down for about 30 minutes
Add meat back into the red sauce.
Add basil to the end.

If you want thinner sauce, add some of the water from cooking the pasta

I sometimes add diced onions with the garlic.

I dont know the ounces
But I use the small can of tomato paste
The normal size can (like a soup can) of the diced tomaotes and
The next size up of the tomatoes

[daniel200]

This one is very good:

The Best Slow-Cooked Bolognese Sauce Recipe

There are several videos of how to make this available on youtube

[scubawva]

Can sizes?
Lidia Bastianich & Ina Gsrten both have excellent sauce recipes.

[Papa_lecki]

Originally Posted by scubawva

Can sizes?
Lidia Bastianich & Ina Gsrten both have excellent sauce recipes.

I dont know the ounces
But I use the small can of tomato paste
The normal size can (like a soup can) of the diced tomaotes and
The next size up of the tomatoes

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I make 4 quarts of sauce every 6-8 weeks, when I make a tray of lasagna. The leftover sauce gets portion-controlled and frozen, and I use it to make meatballs and macaroni, alternating with leftover (portion controlled) lasagna once a week until it's used up and I have to make a fresh batch of sauce.

Here's the sauce:
MEATBALLS:
1 lb. ground chuck, 1 large egg, S&P, grated locatelli romano cheese, parsley, breadcrumbs softened in milk.
EVERYTHING ELSE:
4 sweet italian sausages
3 small cans tomato paste + 3 cans water
1 big can pureed tomatoes + 2 cans water
a bunch of FRESH minced cloves garlic optional
1 teaspoon of sugar if you want to mute the tang of the tomatoes (also optional)

Make meatballs, a little bigger than a golf ball.
Brown in 5 or 6-quart pot, remove. Brown halved sausages, remove.
Set meat aside. Leave the fat and "gunk" in the pot but scrape it so it's not stuck to the metal.
Add tomato paste, mix with gunk til fully mixed.
Add pureed tomatoes, water, meat, bring to a boil.
simmer 3-4 hours til reduced and slightly thickened

If it gets too thick, add water a half-cup at a time but let it heat into a slow boil to make sure the sauce absorbs that water or you'll end up with runny lasagna.

Let me know if you want the lasagna recipe. I keep all my recipes in a google doc spreadsheet and can reformat for here.

[Rainger99]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

I make 4 quarts of sauce every 6-8 weeks, when I make a tray of lasagna. The leftover sauce gets portion-controlled and frozen, and I use it to make meatballs and macaroni, alternating with leftover (portion controlled) lasagna once a week until it's used up and I have to make a fresh batch of sauce.

Here's the sauce:
MEATBALLS:
1 lb. ground chuck, 1 large egg, S&P, grated locatelli romano cheese, parsley, breadcrumbs softened in milk.
EVERYTHING ELSE:
4 sweet italian sausages
3 small cans tomato paste + 3 cans water
1 big can pureed tomatoes + 2 cans water
a bunch of FRESH minced cloves garlic optional
1 teaspoon of sugar if you want to mute the tang of the tomatoes (also optional)

Make meatballs, a little bigger than a golf ball.
Brown in 5 or 6-quart pot, remove. Brown halved sausages, remove.
Set meat aside. Leave the fat and "gunk" in the pot but scrape it so it's not stuck to the metal.
Add tomato paste, mix with gunk til fully mixed.
Add pureed tomatoes, water, meat, bring to a boil.
simmer 3-4 hours til reduced and slightly thickened

If it gets too thick, add water a half-cup at a time but let it heat into a slow boil to make sure the sauce absorbs that water or you'll end up with runny lasagna.

Let me know if you want the lasagna recipe. I keep all my recipes in a google doc spreadsheet and can reformat for here.

It looks good seems to be very time consuming.

My wife usually just opens a jar of Ragú! It is faster!

[Caymus]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

It looks good seems to be very time consuming.

My wife usually just opens a jar of Ragú! It is faster!

Many retired people like to spend hours cooking. I have friends who actually mill flour when making bread.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by rhood

Anyone got a recipe for homemade meat sauce for pasta. Getting sick of what comes in jars. Thanks.

Try this:

Access Denied

Recipe on The Food Network by Giada. The complete recipe is there along with a step-by-step video of how to make it. Added bonus is that Giada is pretty easy on the eyes.

[Dotneko]

I use lamb in mine.
I do it in the crockpot.

Use lamb loin chops or neck pieces. Sear them in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil and a garlic. Maybe 8 pieces for a big crockpots worth. They dont need cooking through, just browning. Set aside.
Use the juice from the oil/lamb and fry a large can of paste - it will absorb the garlic.

In a large crockpot, add 3 large cans of sauce ,2 large cans of crushed, the paste and oil from the frying pan - and a cup of water to rinse the goodness from the fried garlic into the pot. Add the lamb pieces.

Season to taste. We like garlic, so add garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, 1 tbs of sugar - because my Italian mother said it cuts the acid.
Put in on low for maybe 4 hours or until you cant wait any longer. Adjust seasonings.

I put it in freezer baggies and freeze. Its wonderful!
I have been collecting cheaper cuts of lamb and freezing it while waiting to make more.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

It looks good seems to be very time consuming.

My wife usually just opens a jar of Ragú! It is faster!

Ragu is great if you don't care what it tastes like. And if you're retired, and able-bodied, there's no reason to NOT make sauce from scratch unless you simply don't want to (and that's a perfectly reasonable answer).

Most of the time involved in making my sauce is letting the pot sit on the stove on low heat for a few hours, and giving it a stir every 15 minutes or so. You can watch a movie, do your laundry, do your gardening, clean the house, bake something, catch up on your soaps, exercise to music in your living room, knit something, invite folks over for lunch - lots and lots of things you can do while you wait for the sauce to simmer.

My sauce is old-school sauce. The stuff that Ragu advertises that it was created to taste like. Except they don't use meat, and they don't use fresh garlic, or fresh anything. Theirs is a marinara, mine is what's known as a gravy.

In fact, the word ragù is used in Italian to describe a sauce made with meat. The brand Ragù doesn't use meat in their sauce. So their sauce doesn't even live up to their brand name. False advertising maybe? Regardless, it's just seasoned tomato puree.

[asianthree]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

It looks good seems to be very time consuming.

My wife usually just opens a jar of Ragú! It is faster!

Basically open up cans, simmering in a pot that doesn’t have to be watched for 4 hours, except to give a stir every once in awhile. If one wants less work use crock pot. I don’t like the results as well, I think it changes the texture a little. You can make for 1-2 servings or more and freeze once a month. I do make mini meatballs at the same time for soups and all things pasta at the same time

Have always been no additives or preservatives in our life. My only change to OB recipe is I can my own tomato’s and sauce. I do use 3 sweet sausage and one or two hot, for little spice.
Once simmered I make 4 single lasagna, package rest of sauce in bags that can be thawed and drop in simmering water, open and use. Time out of my life once a month 1 hour prep, plus the 4 hours of no peeking summer pot.

Did this while working 50 plus hours a week, plus raising a family. Now 24/7 free time to improve better tasting food, that doesn’t come from a jar. But it’s all about preference and upbringing

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by rhood

Anyone got a recipe for homemade meat sauce for pasta. Getting sick of what comes in jars. Thanks.

It is often a matter of time, convenience and preferences. An addition of fresh herbs or spices can make a difference in your old standbys.

Not what you're looking for, but give it a thought.
Cook and drain spaghetti.
Fry pan heat minced garlic, butter, evoo add spaghetti and fry till crispy.
Salt and pepper to taste
Top with fried fish (even caned anchovies or sardines) of your choice, shrimp, clams, etc.

Fried spaghetti can also be a side dish, like potatoes. Hey! Who doesn't like butter, garlic, salt and pepper?

PS. Fried spaghetti is also a great bed for roasted or sautéed vegetables. YUM!

[Dotneko]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

It is often a matter of time, convenience and preferences. An addition of fresh herbs or spices can make a difference in your old standbys.

Not what you're looking for, but give it a thought.
Cook and drain spaghetti.
Fry pan heat minced garlic, butter, evoo add spaghetti and fry till crispy.
Salt and pepper to taste
Top with fried fish (even caned anchovies or sardines) of your choice, shrimp, clams, etc.

Fried spaghetti can also be a side dish, like potatoes. Hey! Who doesn't like butter, garlic, salt and pepper?

My husband loves burnt butter pasta - heat the butter until it is brown liquid!