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Spaghetti Sauce




Source of Recipe


chum recipes 042400 rec.food.recipes


Recipe Introduction


Spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, salsinna, gravy, plus I dont know how many more names refer to the magical red stuff that accompanies traditional pasta dishes. How to make it and what is correct and what is incorrect has been debated among pasta lovers for centuries. It is safe to say there is no right and wrong as long as the sauce has a tomato base. Although there are many ways to sauce a dish of pasta,
the traditional red sauce is the most popular and the most
controversial.
Let me begin by saying that when I make a batch of spaghetti sauce, I make a big batch. I will use what is needed the day that it is made and put the rest up in multiple freezer containers. I usually put enough in the freezer to prepare 3 to 4 meals for 4 diners each.

In years gone by, my mother made the proper amount of meatballs in proportion to the amount of sauce. She browned the meatballs in an old black iron skillet and finished them in the sauce. The sauce she made was excellent, however the fats from the cooking meatballs were infused into the sauce. Some families did not brown the meatballs, preferring instead to put them into the sauce directly. This also
resulted in a high fat sauce but produced a softer meatball. I prefer to do neither of the above. I make meatballs in large batches, cook them off in the oven, cool them on a wire rack so as much fat as possible drips off, and then bag them in portions that are frozen for use at a later date. Armed with sauce in the freezer and meatballs in the freezer a nice spaghetti dinner can become a rather simple chore.

Color, viscosity and flavor are the three important goals to
accomplish in order to make a superior spaghetti sauce. Three items that are very popular in many sauce recipes are sugar, wine and tomato paste. I use none of these in my sauce recipe. Sugar will slightly darken the sauce as it caramelizes during the cooking process. Using a good grade of tomatoes with the proper blend of vegetables and herbs
makes the artificial use of sugar in the sauce unnecessary. Spaghetti sauce that is cooked properly will not need to be thickened by using tomato paste, which has a bitter, pungent taste. While I enjoy wine with spaghetti, I prefer it in a glass, not in the sauce. The tannin in red wine will darken the sauce considerably. The addition of a small amount of a dry white wine is an option that you can take if you
feel that the finished sauce needs it.

One of the kitchen implements that I use to prepare my spaghetti sauce is a food mill. For those of you who do not have this kitchen tool, I will give instructions on how to make the same sauce using a food processor. The advantage of the food mill is that it removes the fibrous membranes from vegetables as they pass through. It is also faster and less messy than dealing with the food processor.


Recipe Link: http://www.lotsarecipes.com

List of Ingredients




6 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium onions, quartered
9 cloves garlic, whole
2 stalks celery, cut in half
2 medium carrots, cut in half
1 lb. beef shortribs
20 whole bay leaves
1 #10 can whole tomatoes ( 6 Lbs. 6 oz. size)
1 can crushed tomatoes (1 Lb. 12 oz. size)
2 cans Hunts tomato sauce (1 Lb. 13 oz. size)
1 tsp. salt

Recipe



Saute Place the first five ingredients in a heavy bottom sauce pan, 8 quart capacity or larger. Saute over medium heat until the meat is lightly browned and the vegetables begin to soften.

First Simmer Add the bay leaves, the # 10 can of whole tomatoes and the can of crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to maintain a medium simmer.
Stir frequently and hold simmer for 2 hours. Add the two cans of Hunts tomato sauce and the salt. Without changing the heat source bring back to a simmer and hold for another hour. Commercial tomato sauces are all spiced differently. I
specify Hunts because their flavor is an integral part of the sauce we are making.

Pass Through the Food Mill Remove the short ribs from the cooked sauce and while the sauce is still hot place your food mill over another sauce pan. Fill the food mill with the cooked sauce and crank the mill clockwise and counterclockwise until the mill is empty. Keep repeating this process until all the sauce has been passed though the mill. You will notice at this point a substantial amount of fibrous material clinging to the bottom of the mill plate.
You do not want this in the sauce. The short ribs becomes the "cooks lunch."

Instead of using a food mill you can use a food processor. Using a food processor. Puree the Vegetables With the blade attachment, puree the onions, carrots, garlic and celery. Saute Vegetables and Short Ribs Place the vegetables in a large sauce pot and add the short ribs, saute until ribs are
browned. Process Whole Tomatoes With the blade attachment in, load the processor with whole tomatoes and pulse very lightly. Take great care that you dont over process the whole tomatoes. All that is necessary is a couple of pops on the pulse button. If you notice a change in color of the tomatoes you have over done them. Continue processing until you have all the tomatoes done. Place the tomatoes into the sauce pot including all the juice from the can. Wrap the bay
leaves in cheesecloth forming a small garni bag, add the can of crushed tomatoes and bring mixture to a medium simmer. Hold simmer for 2 hours stirring often.
After two hours add the two cans of Hunts tomato sauce and the salt. Again, Hunts is spiced for the flavor we are looking for in this sauce. Let the sauce return to a simmer and let cook for another hour. Remove the short ribs and the
garni bag containing the bay leaves. The sauce is now ready to serve.