Spaghetti Sauce? Meat Sauce?
Once you have this delicious spaghetti sauce or meat sauce (whatever you call it in your home) simmering away on your stove for a few hours, everyone in the house will be eager for dinner.
Some People Call it Gravy…
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I’m sure there will be many who read this and say “this Spaghetti Sauce is not Italian!” And they will be right. My homemade spaghetti sauce (meat sauce) is not even Italian-American. Neither am I. I didn’t have a Nonna whose side I stood by as a child watching her chop the veggies and gently stir the pot. But my sauce is homemade and delicious.
This recipe is inspired by many that I’ve read and many that I’ve eaten. Pasta is comfort food for me and probably for you or you wouldn’t be reading the recipe.
I love a good Bolognese and will order it in nearly any restaurant and in any city. My sauce is not a bolognese but I do take inspiration from this as well. I’ve developed the flavor by tweaking the sauce over the years to tailor it to my family’s taste.
I Just Call it Meat Sauce, and it’s All Homemade.
I enjoy making this sauce on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon (especially if the weather is not agreeable). While it’s just me and the hubby at home these days, I haven’t learned to make a smaller portion of sauce.
That’s not bad news, because this means there is always some sauce in the freezer ready for those weeknights when cooking is very low on your list.
Vickie De's Spaghetti Sauce
Some people call it sauce, some people call it gravy. My sauce is inspired by Italian flavors and my husbands love of meat.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Ground Beef, I choose the leanest available
- 20 ounces Ground Pork
- 8 cups Tomato Sauce, low sodium if available
- 28 ounces Diced Tomatoes, 1 - 28 ounce can
- 1 Lb Mushrooms (chopped), white or crimini
- 1 Onion (large, chopped)
- 5 cloves Garlic (diced)
- 1 cup Red Wine, optional
- 1 tbsp Marjoram , if using dried herbs you may want to increase amount
- 1 tbsp Oregano
- Salt & Pepper , to taste
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
Prep the Aromatics
- Put Olive Oil in stock pot on back burner and turn heat to med-low
- Chop the onions and mushrooms and add them to stock pot to begin to caramelize.
- Dice the garlic and set aside
Brown the ground meat
- In the 12 inch frying pan brown the ground beef first, when the meat is browned, remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon (leaving any fat behind) and add it to the stock pot with the onions and mushrooms.
- Next using the same skillet, brown the ground pork (using the beef fat for flavor and to prevent the pork from sticking to your pan). Ground pork is usually very lean. When the meat is browned, remove t-it from the skillet with a slotted spoon (again, leaving any fat behind) and add it to the stock pot that now contains the onions, mushrooms and ground beef.
Add Remaining Ingredients
- Add the garlic to the meat, onion and mushroom mixture. Stir well and cook for 3 - 4 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and wine (if using)
- Add marjoram and oregano.
- Taste the sauce at this point, before adding salt & pepper
- Depending on your taste, add salt and pepper as needed
- Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover the stock pot and cook until sauce reduces and thickens (generally 3 - 4 hours)
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 363Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 8gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 1018mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 4gSugar: 10gProtein: 22g
If you enjoyed this recipe and you are looking for more creative ways to use ground meat, check out my recipe for Larb, the southeast Asian lettuce taco!
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