Thick and Rich Spaghetti Sauce
This is a very thick spaghetti sauce that I've developed over time.
It's based on both of my Grandmothers Spaghetti Sauce's, plus
a bit of my mothers. Many people are surprised by how hardy
this meat sauce is. It's almost as thick as chili sauce, yet
is definitely Spaghetti. This sauce can be served on any type
of pasta, or can be used in other dishes (It's perfect for my as
the base sauce in my Lasagna!)
Ingredients:
- 2 Cans Stewed Tomatoes
- 8 oz Fresh Portallbela Mushrooms
- 8 oz Canned mushrooms
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 Chopped Onion
- 1 Can tomato Sauce
- 4 oz Tomato Paste OR
- Optional: Grandma Denes Chili Sauce (in place of tomato paste)
- 5 tbs. Garlic Powder
- 1 tbs Sugar
- Meat seasoning (Lowry)
Grind the beef (skip this part if using pre-bought).
You can use whatever grind you want. For this batch, I
ended up using 1/3 brisket, 1/3 beef short ribs, and 1/3 New
York strip. Slice the meat into thin strips.
Season with the Lawry's and parsley, and then put in the freezer
for 30 minutes, or until the surface is slightly frozen (this
makes it easier to grind)
Use your grinders directions. I use a
Kitchen Stand Mixer with the
Grinder Attachment.
I used the coarse grinder attachment for the first pass, and
then ground 1/2 of the already ground beef with the fine attachment.
I then ground 1/2 of that 4 more times with the fine attachment.
This will give the sauce a bit of a different texture - a nice
blend of tender, moist beef and some more chunky.
Making the sauce
Place hamburger, onion, and finely chopped mushroom in frying
pan. Sprinkle a bit of garlic and some Lowry sauce
on it. Cook on med-high heat until hamburger is cooked
through. Use spatchula to chop hamburger up as it cooks
Put stewed tomatoes in kettle. If you want a less chunking sauce,
crush by hand (just squeeze it a bit). Add tomato sauce, mushrooms,
and the cooked hamburger mixture into kettle. If using Grandma
Denes Chili sauce, replace for equal amount of tomatoes paste
Add at least 1 can of water for each can of tomato sauce added.
If you want a thicker, richer sauce, add more water. This will
increase the cooking time, but the sauce will be better.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until cooked
down, stirring as needed.
(The amount you cook this down depends on how thick you want it. I generally want very thick sauce, so will cook it down to about where it was before adding the water. For a even richer sauce, cook all the way down and then add more water, cooking down again.)
The final sauce should be thick, rich, and fairly moist.
Serve with your favorite pasta. I generally use
Angle Hair or Vermicelli.
One option I enjoy is adding very finely chopped fresh green
pepper and cooking the sauce 5 more minutes. I normally don't
like green pepper a lot, as it tends to take over a dish - but
in this case it can add a nice fresh flavor to the sauce.
