I want the most kick-ass tomato sauce/marinara recipe....

[excane]

All you chefs out there....I want your best tomato/marinara/meat sauce recipe.

I've been on a spaghetti kick lately (always loved Italian food) but I want something that will make me go "WOW"

Whaddya got for me?

[tplyons]

I could tell you, but then I'd be buried with the fishes.

[fdeck]

First of all, the meat shall be hot Italian sausage, skinned, fried up and crumbled into little bits. Second, dice a large onion and get it cooked down in olive oil along with a few cloves of garlic crushed. This is best done on low heat with the pan covered. Add a large can of tomato puree, a fair amount of oregano, and black pepper. Then according to your likings, add "petite diced" tomatoes, or diced tomatoes, if you like it chunky. Add more tomato puree if you want more food. Add a little can of tomato paste if you like it thicker.

I find that while heating the sauce, it tends to spatter, which you can minimize by leaving out the tomato paste until the very end.

This is not supposed to be fancy, but damn good. It's my mom's recipe, except that I switched from ground beef to the hot sausage. All of her recipes were designed to get supper on the table for a family of five in about 20 minutes.

The most important thing is that there are no hard rules. I don't like to cook it for a long time.

[excane]

^^ That sounds damn tasty...gotta give that one a go.

[stevetx19]

i know this may seem strange, but try slicing a few carrots into the sauce. Make sure it simmers for at least 1/2hour for the carrots to soften up a bit. I can't eat spaghetti without it now.

[ADbassman]

I concur with fdeck's recipe.

If you wanna try tomato sauce from scratch, here's a recipe for you.

Yield, 2 & 1/2 quarts (2.5lt)

Onion, small dice 8 oz. (250g)
Carrot, small dice 4oz. (120g)
Garlic, minced 1 Tbsp. (15ml)
Olive Oil 2 fl oz. (60ml)
Tomato concassee 7 lb. (3.1kg)
Fresh Oregano 1 Tbsp. (15ml)
Fresh thyme 2 tsp. (10 ml)
Salt 1 tsp. (5ml)
Pepper 1/2 tsp. (2ml)
Fresh Basil, chopped 1/2 oz. (15g)

1. Sweat the onion, carrot and garlic in the oil until tender.
2. Add the tomato concassee, oregano and thyme. Simmer for approximately 1 hour or until the desired consistency is reached.
3. Pass the sauce through a food mill if a smooth consistency is desired. Do not puree if a chunkier sauce is desired.
4. Adjust the seasonings and add the basil.

In case you're wondering, Tomato Concassee is just diced tomatos that have been peeled and seeded.

[steve21]

Lazy college student, so I'm going to admit I use Trader Joe's canned marinara, BUT while heating it up, I do like to add in some sriracha hot sauce as my secret recipe... it's very subtle but the added kick RULES and it can be added to any real recipe easily.

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by ADbassman

I concur with fdeck's recipe.

If you wanna try tomato sauce from scratch, here's a recipe for you.

Yield, 2 & 1/2 quarts (2.5lt)

Onion, small dice 8 oz. (250g)
Carrot, small dice 4oz. (120g)
Garlic, minced 1 Tbsp. (15ml)
Olive Oil 2 fl oz. (60ml)
Tomato concassee 7 lb. (3.1kg)
Fresh Oregano 1 Tbsp. (15ml)
Fresh thyme 2 tsp. (10 ml)
Salt 1 tsp. (5ml)
Pepper 1/2 tsp. (2ml)
Fresh Basil, chopped 1/2 oz. (15g)

1. Sweat the onion, carrot and garlic in the oil until tender.
2. Add the tomato concassee, oregano and thyme. Simmer for approximately 1 hour or until the desired consistency is reached.
3. Pass the sauce through a food mill if a smooth consistency is desired. Do not puree if a chunkier sauce is desired.
4. Adjust the seasonings and add the basil.

In case you're wondering, Tomato Concassee is just diced tomatos that have been peeled and seeded.

This looks good. I would add, for the beginning cook, what size pot would you start this in?

[tplyons]

I do mine in a 5-1/2 quart Calphalon stock pot.

Takes all day but well worth it.

2 lbs. ground beef. Browned, drained.
2 lbs. Italian sausage
Large Onion
2-3 cloves garlic (more if you like)
Two big cans tomato sauce
One big can tomato puree
One 6 oz can tomato paste (more if necessary)

Rinse the cans with water and pour one of the large cans into the sauce.

Oregano, basil to taste. That's just a starting point for my sauce. It takes a minimum of like three hours simmering over low heat. Stir every fifteen minutes and the last hour sample every stir. Adjust spices if necessary.

I take out the sausage and serve on the side. I live with four other guys who like a meal with a lot of protein.

[fdeck]

Some modifications should be noted too. If you expect to be feeding one or more vegetarians (or just don't know in advance), then the Italian sausage works fine as a topping. This is always a consideration when entertaining in Madison. Also the same sauce, with added crushed anise seed, is basic pizza sauce.

[Marley's Ghost]

2-3 cans crushed tomotoes
3 oz olive oil
2 whole cloves garlic
onion powder
italian seanoning (mccormicks or some other)
1 slice of bacon (or bacon bits)
2 tbsp butter or olivio
salt
pepper
2 lbs chicken. sausage, ribs or pork chops (or combo)

Heat the oil in a large pot. Pour in garlic ,spices, bacon and butter. Heat until garlic starts to brown. Pour in tomato. Heat on low-med

Meats - season with salt and pepper and barbecue or pan fry with olive oil until about 50% cooked. Add to sauce. Cook for at least two hours covered on low-med heat. Mangia!!

[excane]

Originally Posted by tplyons

I take out the sausage and serve on the side. I live with four other guys who like a meal with a lot of protein.

[MakiSupaStar]

Here's a tip. If you're using tomato paste, you can eliminate the bitterness of the tomatoes by adding chicken broth extract. It's subtle, but makes stuff taste delicious. Not too much though, because the stuff is very very salty.

[Marley's Ghost]

And don't forget the bacon!

[Marley's Ghost]

Originally Posted by excane

mmmm sausage!

[Unrepresented]

I don't make from scratch, since I'm never home long enough, but my standard "pasta sauce" recipe is:

~1 lb of italian sausage, skinned and crumbled -- have had really good luck with Henry's chicken basil italian sausage, the consistency of ground chicken is weird on its own but in a sauce it's tasty.

saute that in a skillet with four or five minced cloves of garlic and a chopped onion (I prefer yellow). I will usually deglaze with a little red wine, and then add a can of stewed tomatoes to absorb the rest of the heat. My personal twist is to add a table spoon or two of molasses, then add a jar of your favorite tomato sauce, mix in a table spoon of parmesan cheese for savory, and if the girlfriend isn't looking as much tobasco sauce as I can sneak in without getting into a fight.

[Fishheadjoe]

All of the above are great... consider frying some pork ribs in olive oil first, until brown. Then remove the ribs, set aside and make your sauce and as any of the above. Carrots add sweetness to the sauce. Another tip is to add a tablespoon of sugar to the sauce... it helps to eliminate the bitterness that some canned tomatoes can have.
Once all of your ingrediants are in the pot, drop the pork ribs back in.
Also, if possible, make the sauce a day in advance as everyone knows tomatoe based sauces are always better the next day.
Also, if possible, use fresh herbs...
did I mention that garlic is my birthstone?
Fishheadjoe

[Phalex]

We used to do sauce every Sunday. Me and a buddy of mine would get three gallon jugs of cheap Burgundy, use maybe 2 cups in the sauce, and drink the rest while we waited for the tomatoes to melt. Mondays were pretty rough in those days......


Sooo.....

Maybe 12 Roma tomatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cups of red wine
Throw the above into a suitable pot, put the heat on medium, cover and commence to drinking soem of the left over wine.

Then......

Chop up some onion, maybe some carrots if you've a mind to, mushrooms are always nice...... Saute until they start to brown in a bit of olive oil, and throw them into the pot with the tomatoes and wine (Turn the heat down to low.)

Pour yourself another glass of wine and go hang out someplace getting drunk (stirring occasionally) until the tomatoes have pretty well melted into the sauce.

Fry up some sausage, or ground beef, and throw it into the pot stirring occasionally. Leave the pot uncovered so it'll thicken up.

Drink more wine

Now, chop up an entire head of garlic. When the sauce is looking like its thick enough, throw in about a TBS of Oregano (dried) and maybe a tsp of fennel seed....some red pepper if you like salt to taste....... Briefly saute the garlic, throw it in the pot, stir, turn off the heat, have another glass of wine boil up some water for the pasta and enjoy!

I pretty much did this from memory at work, but just throw stuff in the pot until it taste about right.

[ADbassman]

Originally Posted by Marley's Ghost

And don't forget the bacon!

"True" Tomato sauce calls for salt pork.

[hbarcat]

Originally Posted by fdeck

First of all, the meat shall be hot Italian sausage, skinned, fried up and crumbled into little bits. Second, dice a large onion and get it cooked down in olive oil along with a few cloves of garlic crushed. This is best done on low heat with the pan covered. Add a large can of tomato puree, a fair amount of oregano, and black pepper. Then according to your likings, add "petite diced" tomatoes, or diced tomatoes, if you like it chunky. Add more tomato puree if you want more food. Add a little can of tomato paste if you like it thicker.

I find that while heating the sauce, it tends to spatter, which you can minimize by leaving out the tomato paste until the very end.

This is not supposed to be fancy, but damn good. It's my mom's recipe, except that I switched from ground beef to the hot sausage. All of her recipes were designed to get supper on the table for a family of five in about 20 minutes.

The most important thing is that there are no hard rules. I don't like to cook it for a long time.

This is almost identical to how I make my spag sauce but I add one ingredient. I put in some zesty Italian style dressing in an amount that's sufficient to taste but not be intrusive. It adds some zing to it. I prefer to add some fresh diced tomatoes if available, rather than canned because they make the sauce taste so much fresher, but it's not a big deal if you're in a hurry.

Also, if it's just for me, I'll throw in a touch of hot sauce. If my daughter is having some, then not.