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.