Spaghetti Sauce Secrets

[Doc]

Do you have any secrete ingredients you put in your spaghetti sauce?
Just curious.

[jim_slagle]

Lots of garlic. I don't know if you would call it a secret though.

[MJJ]

I add a little bit of sugar (and sometimes extra Oregano and Garlic). Same with my pizza sauce, only because my kids love it.

In my opinion, you can't add too much garlic to anything. Chili, chilimac ect..

[Linda1946]

I add a bit of ground allspice.

[Abby]

Curry powder, curry powder and more curry powder!!! My father-in-law used this in his sauce and I have found it irrestible. I also add about 1/2 c. sugar to my sauce.

[Doc]

Curry powder, curry powder and more curry powder!!! My father-in-law used this in his sauce and I have found it irresistible. I also add about 1/2 c. sugar to my sauce.

That would be my dad she's talking about!!!!! Yep, Abby is my wife. Thanks for finding your way over here and helping out with recipes and all. :thumb:
Oh yeah, and welcome to NCT!!!! :D :thumb:

[jim_slagle]

Yep, Abby is my wife.

I thought the name was familiar.

HAPPY 33RD ANNIVERSARY! a little late :tiphat:

How's the Kitchen Aid doing?

Jim

[Abby]

Thanks! I absolutely love my new gadget!! As Doc probably told everyone, I tried making some home made bread this weekend. I ended up throwing it away and started over! It didn't work either because I had one packet of old yeast and one packet of new yeast. It didn't raise and felt like a brick! Hey, Doc, we could have used it for a door stop!

[Doc]

I had thought is using em for skeet and shooting em down .... but they were probably to heavy to fly real far. :hide: :yum: :D

[Deelady]

I sometimes add garam masala and a touch of milk or cream....gives it an indian flare and is soooo good!

Abby I love the idea of curry, never thought of that, will try!! Thanks!

[BamsBBQ]

when i make sauce from scratch i add a small grated carrot to it and a touch of sugar.

the carrot helps with the acid of the tomatoes..

[lilylove]

I start out by sauting my onions, celery and garlic... don't know if it's a secret.

I think it gives the sauce a deeper flavor than just adding the veggies to the tomato sauce.

[Mr. Green Jeans]

Like Trish, saute the veggies and add 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes the very last minute. Just a little heat is neat!

[Maverick2272]

I like that curry idea, we love curry!!

[lilylove]

Like Trish, saute the veggies and add 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes the very last minute. Just a little heat is neat!


Great minds think alike!!:applause::clap:

[Keltin]

White wine and sugar here. If I want it a bit drier and darker, then a merlot instead of white. Oh, and mix in pork or lamb with your beef if you're making a meaty sauce.

[Sass Muffin]

Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, sweet chili sauce and a pinch of ginger.

[Miniman]

I use paprika to give a little bit extra

[BamsBBQ]

thats how the italians around here basically make their meataballs

beef,veal,pork and thats how i usually make mine

White wine and sugar here. If I want it a bit drier and darker, then a merlot instead of white. Oh, and mix in pork or lamb with your beef if you're making a meaty sauce.

[Calicolady]

No veggies, or curry, paprika, ginger, alspice, garlic or milk. Milk?
When I make sauce I fry, then bake my meatballs, sausage &
a piece of chicken. If I don't have sausage, I through in a piece of pork, or a smoked hamhock, that I bake alittle.
When I fry the meatballs, I also fry a cut up into 4 pieces potato.
I only add some salt and fresh ground black pepper, chopped fresh oregano, parsley and just a few basil leaves and some grated romano & parmesan cheese. Any other flavors added to the sauce come out of what I put in the meatball, and what's in or on the other meat I've cooked.
Depending on each pot of sauce, I sometimes have to add sugar, but usually the potato takes care of the acidity.
Once in a great while, if I have a bottle open, some red wine is good to deglaze the frying pans then added to the sauce.

Note: Be frugal if adding basil, either fresh or dried. It will overpower the sauce and ruin it.

[joec]

I use the types of San Marzano tomatoes shown below as a base for all my Italian sauces with tomato. I bit of red wine or white wine, onions, bell pepper, a little crushed red pepper, garlic, dried oregano, fresh basil and flat leaf parsley and an Italian blend of spices. No sugar needed with the wine and these tomatoes. I use two cans of the whole and one of the crushed with about the amount of paste one would get from the small cans. If I can't find them I will settle for other brands such as La Bella San Marzano but this brand is the best period in my opinion and I've tried them all.

[FryBoy]

WHICH spaghetti sauce? I don't have "a" spaghetti sauce, or at least I haven't since my roomie and I invented one in college that had more herbs and spices than Colonel Sanders' Fried Chicken. I make a huge variety of pasta sauces, from the very simple to very complex. And that, I guess, is my "secret ingredient" -- variety.

[joec]

I actually only make one marinara sauce that I call my base sauce as I listed above. It is very thick and from there I could use it on pizza, pasta, add meats like meat balls or sausage etc. I make up about 5 qts ever two weeks and takes me about 5 to 6 hours.

[Mama]

A few Fennel seeds is my secret.

[lilylove]

I always put fennel in my pizza sauce Mama... but not spaghetti. I should try that.

[joec]

I put fennel in my Italian sausage but not in my sauce. Here is my Italian blend that I use which I make myself.

1 Tbs. dried rosemary
1 Tbs. dried basil
1 Tbs. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried sage
2 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. ground garlic

I add about a 1/4 of fresh basil and a 1/4 cup of fresh flat leaf parsley and more dried oregano near the last 30 minutes of cooking.

[Mama]

See how well kept my secret is?

[AllenOK]

As was already mentioned, I saute the onions, garlic, and any other veggies that are used. I will also caramelize some of the tomato sauce/solids. Then I deglaze with wine.

HINT: There is a chemical in tomatoes that is alcohol soluable. You can only taste this in the presence of ethanol. Therefore, pouring a little wine into any tomato sauce will help bring out the full flavor. If you don't want to taste wine in your sauce, use vodka.

[Fisher's Mom]

HINT: There is a chemical in tomatoes that is alcohol soluable. You can only taste this in the presence of ethanol. Therefore, pouring a little wine into any tomato sauce will help bring out the full flavor. If you don't want to taste wine in your sauce, use vodka.Wow, Allen, I never knew that! You know, I used to wonder when I saw those Vodka sauces, since vodka has no taste. Now it all makes sense. Thanks so much for sharing this hint.

[Mr. Green Jeans]

Thank goodness no one commented "First thing I do is take the lid off the jar of Ragu"

Off to the bulk spice rack at the local health food store for fennel seed.

[joec]

As was already mentioned, I saute the onions, garlic, and any other veggies that are used. I will also caramelize some of the tomato sauce/solids. Then I deglaze with wine.

HINT: There is a chemical in tomatoes that is alcohol soluable. You can only taste this in the presence of ethanol. Therefore, pouring a little wine into any tomato sauce will help bring out the full flavor. If you don't want to taste wine in your sauce, use vodka.

I do the same Allen and vermouth also works great which I use in place of a lot of white wines due to its dryness. I actually add the tomato paste when I've done the bell pepper, onions, stir it around then add the wine. At that point I add a single can of whole tomatoes letting it come up to heat before adding the next can. It builds in layers for me with the aromatics (basil and parsley) going in about 30 minutes before completion.

[buckytom]

i like to put fennel seeds in my sausage and peppers. chopped fennel stalks are good in garden style sauces.

the first rule of a long cooking sauce is to stir frequently. not as maniacal as a stir fry, or even as attentive as a good risotto. just don't let it burn.
if you forget to stir a deep pot of sauce and you burned the bottom, just carefully pour out the sauce into another pot. do not scrape any of the black bits up; they're very bitter. same goes if you burn garlic and onions when browning them. if you burn them, chuck them and start over. don;t add to the sauce.

one of the biggest secrets to some good sauces is to add a tsp or two of anchovy paste to the pan when you are just about done browning your garlic and or onions. let it melt in, then add your tomatoes, being sure to scrape up the fond. this works for meat, fish, or even veggie sauces.
if you're going for a seafood dish, you can use some clam broth to give it another level, deppening the briney (i'd rather not call it fishy) flavor. don't use both anchovy and clams, unless you really like fishy sauce.

if you want a really uniform basic sauce, process or food mill your tomatoes, even canned ones. then add a little milk for consistency.
don't be afraid to experiment adding cream or grated cheese to a sauce if it it works with the other ingredients.


if you're using fresh tomatoes, and your sauce is turning out watery but you either don't want or have the time to cook it down, add a little tomato paste. if you don't want the taste of the paste, you can add either a little flour or cornstarch slurry, or even a little milk to help the sauce thicken quickly.

all meats should be well browned before being added to sauce, especially meatballs.
i love pork in sauce, especially fattier cuts like loin rib ends.
when browning sausage, do not puncture the skin. when it's got good color but is not cooked all the way through, i like to transfer the sausage to the pot of sauce, then use a shears to cut them into chunks. that way you don't lose any of the juices.
sauces that have meat in them are always better the next day, after it's cooled and then reheated. the meats suck in the sauce over night, and expel it when reheated, giving up their goodness to the pot, and becoming even more tender.

if you're using dried herbs such as oregano or parsley, put them in the sauce in the beginning so they have a chance to infuse. same goes for dreid pepper flakes.
if you're adding fresh herbs like basil, add it just a few minutes before serving. it will get lost if it cooks too long.

i'll add more later. :chef:

[joec]

I use a stick blender to get the consistency I like which is thick. I like to add a bit of the pasta water to the sauce when reheating in the case of pastas. You are correct on keep stirring sauces. When I turn mine down I check it every couple of minutes during the 4 hours of slow simmering.

[High Cheese]

Do you have any secrete ingredients you put in your spaghetti sauce?
Just curious.

My secret is "Less is More". I always start with Cento San Marzano whole canned tomatoes because there is little to no acidity so the sauce cooks in less than 20 minutes.

My basic marinara sauce:

olive oil
fresh basil
minced onion
minced garlic
white wine
whole canned tomatoes
red pepper flakes (sometimes)
salt & pepper

I start by infusing the oil with a handful of the basil leaves, after 3-4 minutes I remove the basil with a slotted spoon and add the onion, then the garlic, 1-2 more minutes deglaze with white wine and add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 15-20 minutes and it's done. At this point you can serve it as-is for a super clean taste or add meats or whatever to spice it up. I usually divide it so I can change the flavor for the next dinner.

If you can't find Cento San Marzanos and would like to cut down on the acidity: Simmer your sauce for 25-30 minutes and instead of sugar add a pat of butter one at a time until it's at the acidity you like. This will richen the sauce without adding sugar.

[High Cheese]

I use the types of San Marzano tomatoes shown below as a base for all my Italian sauces with tomato. I bit of red wine or white wine, onions, bell pepper, a little crushed red pepper, garlic, dried oregano, fresh basil and flat leaf parsley and an Italian blend of spices. No sugar needed with the wine and these tomatoes. I use two cans of the whole and one of the crushed with about the amount of paste one would get from the small cans. If I can't find them I will settle for other brands such as La Bella San Marzano but this brand is the best period in my opinion and I've tried them all.

Joe, those are not True San Marzano tomatoes. Those are plum tomatoes grown in California. To be a San Marzano tomato it must be grown in Italy. I did a taste test a while back between that exact brand and Cento. There is definately a difference both in taste and looks.

http://www.cento.com/sanmarzano.html

[buckytom]

chees-kinz is right. you can see that right on the label. "grown domestically in the u.s.a."

i've used those before; they're not bad. but imported san marzanos are better.

btw, be careful reading the label with the cento brand as well. only some of the cans say they are imported. i'm guessing that the one's not labelled (and priced) as such are grown here.

[joec]

Joe, those are not True San Marzano tomatoes. Those are plum tomatoes grown in California. To be a San Marzano tomato it must be grown in Italy. I did a taste test a while back between that exact brand and Cento. There is definately a difference both in taste and looks.

http://www.cento.com/sanmarzano.html

Yes that is correct, but I can't always find the cento or a couple of other brands and these are the same species of tomato that work better than a can of Hunts tomatoes. A San Marzano tomato is a type of plum tomato. These are also low in acid as well.

[High Cheese]

I've had good luck before with Tutorusso (sp) canned tomatoes, but they need to cook a tad longer. The Cento SM and the imposters (lol) are priced the same at my store. I haven't seen any domestic Cento SM yet.