HOW TO COOK MEAT
Spaghetti Sauce
yields
8-10 servings
cuisine
american
dish type
pasta
Spaghetti sauce is probably one of the most generic cooking terms of our time. We all have our own ideas of what constitutes a good spaghetti sauce. And really, as long as it's a sauce and it goes on a spaghetti, you would technically be right. At least everyone agrees on one thing: that a spaghetti sauce involves tomatoes. However, not everyone agrees about the inclusion of meat. As with all arguments revolving around the inclusion of meat, I am inevitably for it. Almost have to be, right? If you prefer your spaghetti sauce to be meat-free, don't put it in. Simple as that. Make a tomato sauce or a marinara instead. They're good, too.
Spaghetti Sauce Recipe: Soffritto, Herbs, Red Wine, Stewed Tomatoes, Beef Stock, and Ground Beef
1. Assemble the ingredients for spaghetti sauce. The basic spaghetti sauce recipe is that of a simple ragú. A ragú is basically any meat-based sauce that is simmered for a long time. It commonly, but not always, contains a soffritto, which is a combination of onions, celery, and carrot cooked until brown and sweet. They also commonly involve tomato, as many Italian recipes for sauce do.
2. Fry the vegetables in the olive oil and butter. The soffritto usually does not include herbs or garlic but this recipe benefits from their inclusion at this stage. If you desire a more intense herb flavor, add them towards the end of the recipe. Many people consider the inclusion of butter in an Italian recipe as inaccurate. However, butter is quite commonly used in Italy, especially in places like Rome, where olive trees do not grow as well as the cows that eat the grasses do.
3. Add the tomatoes and the other liquids to the pot. After the veggies and herbs are fried to a nice brown but are not crispy, add the tomatoes, paste, wine, and stock. Simmer this mixture covered for 30 minutes over medium heat. Break the tomatoes up into smaller pieces. After the tomatoes are cooked, puree them with a stick blender or pass the sauce through a food mill to make a consistent tomato sauce. The sauce will appear lighter now, but it will darken as it cooks.
4. Fry the meat separately and add to the sauce. Break the ground beef into smaller pieces and fry separately in some olive oil or butter. Drain the fat from the pan and add it to the pureed tomato sauce. Then cook the sauce uncovered, stirring occasionally for at least an hour or more to combine all the flavors. The sauce could be cooked much longer if desired. In many people's opinion, the sauce only gets better the longer it cooks. Add liquid as needed in the form of beef or chicken stock.
5. Cook the spaghetti al dente. You will want to boil the spaghetti last as it will get soggy or over-cooked quickly. Use a pair of tongs to stir the pasta once a minute as it cooks. Don't stir too much; just enough to keep it from sticking to the bottom. Once it's tender to the tooth, remove from the water and serve with the sauce right away. Don't rinse the pasta or coat it with oil. Just serve it with the sauce and you will be good to go! And, as always, top with only the finest Parmigiano-Reggiano, and lots of it.
Tips and Tricks
You could use another type of ground meat if you prefer. Or even some cubed meat of some sort. There is much room for flexibility with this recipe.
To cook the sauce uncovered without splattering tomato sauce all over the place, just leave a heat-safe spoon in the dish with the lid on. Prop the lid up a bit on one side with the spoon to let the steam escape. But the tomato pops will hit the lid instead of the stove top.
You could cook the meat with the soffritto in step two if you wanted to. But cooking it separately makes it easier to remove the beef fat, which can be kind of nasty.
Cooking the sauce a day ahead will further improve its quality and taste.