I made a batch of my meat sauce and for the first time, I actually wrote down the recipe. I've been making this recipe for 20 years, but have never written it down. My mom taught me how to make it and I improved it over time. I've talked with others about their sauce and used some of the techniques they use in order to improve the sauce. I've also at least quadrupled the size of the batch. I like to have enough left over to freeze. This batch will last the three of us about 6 months. There are a lot of ingredients, but the work is fairly easy, but it does take some time.
I use three types of meat for this sauce. I like the mix of flavors. You can use other meats as well. Elk is great with it, but it is not available at the market I go to and I've never been hunting. I also put a little cayenne in it. Not enough to make it spicy, just enough to cut any sweetness in the sauce and give it a little boost. If you can't find buffalo at your market, you can use beef, but buffalo has a richer taste and less fat.
The wine can also vary. I had Merlot around. I did not have any white wine, but I had some sake, so I used sake this time. It was fine. Some people also like to use a dessert wine, like Marsala, but I think it is a little too sweet, so I don't. Spice also vary. My mom always used "Italian Seasoning". I use individual spices. I don't put much salt in it, some people will put more in. I just put enough in to pull the flavor of the meat. Any more can be added later. Larger mushrooms slice easier. You can also buy pre-sliced mushrooms. I don't because they are more expensive and less environmentally sound (the packaging).
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 lb ground buffalo
- 1 lb ground mild or sweet sausage
- 1 red pepper
- 1 green pepper
- 2 onions
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp basil
- 1 tsp savory
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp tarragon
- 2 tsp parsley
- 2 tsp thyme
- 1 lb button and/or white mushrooms
- 1 cup red wine (like Merlot)
- 1 cup white wine (like chardonnay)
- 1/4 cup dry vermouth
- 4 29oz cans of tomato sauce
- 4 12oz cans of tomato paste
Dice onions and peppers. Mash and dice garlic. Clean and slice mushrooms.
Heat an 11 qt pot on medium to medium high heat. Add oil. Brown meat with onion, peppers, garlic, salt and herbs.
Reduce heat. Add mushrooms and simmer till onion, peppers and mushrooms are soft.
Add wine, simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.
Add sauce and paste. Stir. cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 1 hour. Season with extra spices, if needed.
Remove bay leaves. Serve over spaghetti noodles and freeze remainder for later.
