Spaghetti Sauce Secrets

AllenOK said:

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.

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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.

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.

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.

Doc said:

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

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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.

joec said:

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.

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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

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.

High Cheese said:

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

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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.

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.