# Today was Sauce making day



## fredtgreco (Nov 10, 2009)

I have Tuesdays off while my wife teaches math at the local homeschool co-op. Today, instead of working from home, or pushing the younger two (Paul and Abby) to do copious schoolwork, I made sauce with some helpers.

To make sauce in a true Italian fashion you must:


make a huge quantity
not follow a written recipe
use *plenty* of meat in the sauce
cook it a long time (at least 10 hours)
This was the finished product:







Here are my helpers making meatballs:


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## NaphtaliPress (Nov 10, 2009)

Looks great. Quantity I get; but I'm lost without a recipe; any clues Fred?


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## Herald (Nov 10, 2009)

Abundanza!


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## Berean (Nov 10, 2009)

I can _smell_ it!


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## fredtgreco (Nov 10, 2009)

NaphtaliPress said:


> Looks great. Quantity I get; but I'm lost without a recipe; any clues Fred?


There is a method, Chris. You just don't follow a strict paper recipe.


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## ewenlin (Nov 11, 2009)

Care to share with us your non-paper, non-written recipe?


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## Andres (Nov 11, 2009)

I salivated a little. sorry.


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## SolaScriptura (Nov 11, 2009)

Come on, Fred! Don't be a tease! Share the general gist of the recipe!


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## BobVigneault (Nov 11, 2009)

Some of my most treasured memories were of making sauce and meatballs with my dad. You did a great thing Pastor Fred and it looks delicious. A pot of sauce THAT big is a gift that keeps on giving. Well done sir.


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## Blue Tick (Nov 11, 2009)

I'll be over shortly with the salsiccia!


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## Herald (Nov 11, 2009)

Ah, growing up with a Sicilian mother every Sunday was sauce day. My mom cooked it all day long. The brasiole and sausage...I can still smell them. Also, rigatoni, not spaghetti.


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## puritanpilgrim (Nov 11, 2009)

What I love about a well done sauce is that it actually tastes better after a day in the fridge.


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## HokieAirman (Nov 11, 2009)

You owe me a new keyboard...mine got wet and shorted out...like Andres, I salivated... 

j/k!


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## fredtgreco (Nov 11, 2009)

SolaScriptura said:


> Come on, Fred! Don't be a tease! Share the general gist of the recipe!



Here you go:


Get a huge pot
Put some olive oil in the pot and then put a good quantity of meat (an inexpensive cut of beef/steak is good). Pour/sprinkle in seasonings (oregano, basil, salt, pepper, garlic salt, etc). Cover the pot and brown the meat.
Cut up a couple of huge green peppers and an onion in big chunks. Add them to the browning meat once the meat is mostly browned.
Add large quantities of tomato sauce and tomato paste. Add more seasoning. Add some sugar.
Start a second boiling pot and boil some Italian sausage. After the sausage is boiled, add it to the main pot.
Get your wife to make 5-6 dozen meatballs. Have them browned and then add them to the sauce.
Cook over low heat for the next 10-12 hours, stir, taste and add seasonings as you go along (this is the non-paper recipe part).
When the time is done, take it off the heat and let it cool.
Then freeze whatever you do not use that day


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## DeoOpt (Nov 11, 2009)

*fettucini alfredo sauce*

fettucini alfredo sauce.

1lb of butter

1lb of cream cheese

heavy wipping cream 

Parmigian cheese

Ramano cheese

garlic

sweet vermooth


Melt butter with garlic and mix in creem cheese untill soupy add heavy wipping cream about 2 pints stir 
add parmigan and ramano cheese add sweet vermooth 1-2 tbl spoons

yummy


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## NaphtaliPress (Nov 11, 2009)

Thanks Fred. On #2 is that cubed/chunked or ground meat? If not ground, would short ribs work? 


fredtgreco said:


> SolaScriptura said:
> 
> 
> > Come on, Fred! Don't be a tease! Share the general gist of the recipe!
> ...


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## fredtgreco (Nov 11, 2009)

NaphtaliPress said:


> Thanks Fred. On #2 is that cubed/chunked or ground meat? If not ground, would short ribs work?
> 
> 
> fredtgreco said:
> ...



It is cubed/chunked meat. I cut the pieces about half the size of a hand. That keeps them relatively intact over the long cooking process. I suppose you could use short ribs, but I don't find that works well with sauce. Round steak is ideal - cheap, doesn't fall apart, and after the long cooking in the sauce more tender than a regular filet.


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## Amazing Grace (Nov 11, 2009)

Herald said:


> Ah, growing up with a Sicilian mother every Sunday was sauce day. My mom cooked it all day long. The brasiole and sausage...I can still smell them. Also, rigatoni, not spaghetti.




I am also one who favors cut pasta. We make sauce every Sunday. I have recently started adding provolone cheese to my meatballs. Awesome~~~

-----Added 11/11/2009 at 01:16:02 EST-----



fredtgreco said:


> NaphtaliPress said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks Fred. On #2 is that cubed/chunked or ground meat? If not ground, would short ribs work?
> ...



I throw in the extra Pork Chops from Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Jon Peters (Nov 11, 2009)

fredtgreco said:


> SolaScriptura said:
> 
> 
> > Come on, Fred! Don't be a tease! Share the general gist of the recipe!
> ...



Wow! That is a lot of meat!


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## fredtgreco (Nov 11, 2009)

Most people don't realize it, but the real difference with sauce is the meat. It's why orange Ragu just doesn't cut it.


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## NaphtaliPress (Nov 11, 2009)

Fred, do you make your own tomato sauce or is there a brand you like?


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## SolaScriptura (Nov 11, 2009)

fredtgreco said:


> SolaScriptura said:
> 
> 
> > Come on, Fred! Don't be a tease! Share the general gist of the recipe!
> ...



Thanks, Fred! You've now created work for my wife... I can't wait to tell her the good news!


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## Answerman (Nov 11, 2009)

Isn't real italian sauce made from fresh tomato's?


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## fredtgreco (Nov 11, 2009)

NaphtaliPress said:


> Fred, do you make your own tomato sauce or is there a brand you like?



I use large restaurant style cans as a starting point. Brand really doesn't matter much, since all the flavoring and substance comes from the cooking.



Answerman said:


> Isn't real italian sauce made from fresh tomato's?



Not really. There is a significant element of additional cost and work in working from tomatoes. And the tomatoes themselves are just as "pre-processed" as cans of sauce, coming from mega-farms, etc.


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## NaphtaliPress (Nov 11, 2009)

Fred,
How large is a restaurant size can? 


fredtgreco said:


> NaphtaliPress said:
> 
> 
> > Fred, do you make your own tomato sauce or is there a brand you like?
> ...


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## Quickened (Nov 12, 2009)

I shouldnt have read this! Now i am quite hungry! This is something that i should really work on. Getting my sauce down


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## sailorswife (Nov 12, 2009)

I miss those kids! They are getting so big!


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## fredtgreco (Nov 12, 2009)

sailorswife said:


> I miss those kids! They are getting so big!



They are! I imagine yours are as well!!


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## fredtgreco (Nov 12, 2009)

Not sure. I just buy the biggest can in the grocery store, and use about 3-4 of them. Depends on how much you want to make. I made 24 quarts this time in a 16qt pot and an 8 qt pot. I used one big can and like 6-7 of the normal big cans (24oz?). I also used three larger cans (12oz?) of the tomato paste.



NaphtaliPress said:


> Fred,
> How large is a restaurant size can?
> 
> 
> ...


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## Amazing Grace (Nov 12, 2009)

NaphtaliPress said:


> Fred,
> How large is a restaurant size can?



Chris, they are called # 10 cans. If I may, here is how I make it.

1) 1 # 10 can of crushed tomatoes

2) 1 # 10 can of Whole peeled tomatoes. (Squish with hands in can)

3) 2 tbsp chopped garlic in oil

4) Cut one large onion

5) 1 can of chicken stock

6) salt, pepper, sugar to taste

7) Basil, parsley, oregano to taste Romano cheese 


Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in bottom of the pot until lightly browned. Add tomatoes and one can of water chicken stock and seasonings. Simmer for 5-6 hours or longer if you can. Add meatballs and pork and sausage while cooking.

Try making your meatballs with 2/3 beef and 1/3 ground pork.


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## a mere housewife (Nov 16, 2009)

That looks like the refrigerator of a very organised woman . You have the cutest helpers.


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## Answerman (Nov 17, 2009)

fredtgreco said:


> Answerman said:
> 
> 
> > Isn't real italian sauce made from fresh tomato's?
> ...



Fred, I know what you're saying if you buy your tomato’s in the grocery store but I was thinking more like using home-grown tomato’s. I remember the first time I made some sauce using my own vine ripened tomato’s, me and my family never wanted to go back to canned sauce. It sure does take extra time though.

When I use fresh tomato’s, before I add them to the meat, I like to strain out the juice after they have simmered about 20 minutes to thicken the sauce up some, and if you chill the juice, it tastes incredible. I figure if you make a huge batch this way, it's worth the extra effort. I also used my own home-grown basil and oregano, yum.

As a side note, I have a hard time finding a good olive oil. I remember buying some one time and noticed it had a wonderful fruity taste even though it was not infused with anything. The store we bought it from stopped carrying that oil, much to our disappointment. Most of the olive oil we buy at Sam's club or Costco is bland, do you know a brand that has this full bodied, almost fruity taste without having to break the bank?


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## fredtgreco (Nov 17, 2009)

a mere housewife said:


> That looks like the refrigerator of a very organised woman . You have the cutest helpers.



Right on both counts, Heidi!




Answerman said:


> fredtgreco said:
> 
> 
> > Answerman said:
> ...



I don't have easy access to a garden (nor am I a gardener), so I have to make do. You might be correct about the additional flavor - for me the difference of cooking with the meat is so profound (from store sauce) that it makes it worthwhile.

The question about olive oil is a good one. I remember seeing a review on some cooking show (I forget which) in which they ranked various brands. They made the point that if the olive oil is bland, there is really no reason to even use it (instead of another oil). You may want to search for something like that review on the web.


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## SueS (Nov 21, 2009)

About olive oil - we buy ours in bulk at one of the Italian grocery stores located in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. We fill our own bottles from a mega-gallon container - it's so much cheaper even than buying at Sam's and the taste is much better. I'm using more olive oil now than I ever have - we love dipping Italian bread into olive oil mixed with dipping spices - YUM!!!


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## kvanlaan (Nov 21, 2009)

My wife does this too, then cans it in the pressure canner (you have to if you're adding meat). When she makes a batch, it is without meatballs but with browned and seasoned hamburger, about 10 lbs of it (and about 20-30lbs of tomatoes). It is truly awesome to see that woman cook!

One other thing: I know a few Italians here in Hamilton who swear by not just fresh _pomodoros_, but from their own back yard! One older lady that I know has about 1/2 her back yard planted in tomatoes, just for this very thing! And there are great displays of passion when any other way besides their mother's way is even suggested.


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## fredtgreco (Apr 10, 2010)

View attachment 1765

After several months, we need sauce again!


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## Herald (Apr 10, 2010)

Fred,

Two weeks ago I made my own sauce and meatballs. The sauce simmered for nearly eight hours. It was tremendous (if I do say so myself).


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