Stensoni's Best Tomato Meat Pasta Sauce

By kitschyguy

Traditional Sicilian American Tomato Beef Pork Gravy (Easy) for Pasta and other dishes

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp Olive Oil
• 3/4 pound lean Ground Beef
• 1/2 pound lean Ground Pork
• 4 - 5 large cloves Garlic
• 1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
• 1 can Peeled Tomatoes (28 fl oz)
• 2 cans Tomato Paste (8 fl oz)
• 4 - 5 large dried Bay Leaves
• 1 tbsp dried Oregano, heaping
• 1 hot pepper of choice
• 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/8 tsp Sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Peel Garlic Cloves, crush with the flat-end of a butcher's knife and then finely mince.

Add 2 tbsp Olive Oil to a large metal pot and heat to medium-high heat.

Add Ground Beef and Pork and chop into a layer using the flat end of a spatula.

Brown meat to a very dark golden brown, stirring occasionally using spatula.

Turn off the burner and remove meat while draining the grease.

Add another 4 tbsp Olive Oil to the pot and reheat to medium-high heat.

Add minced Garlic and brown to a golden brown, mixing with spatula. Turn burner to medium heat and add Onion, caramelizing the Onions by mixing with spatula.

Remove pot from heat and add back browned meat.

Pour in as much liquid as possible from can of Peeled Tomatoes (be careful of steam). Mix in quickly with spatula. Reheat to low-medium.

Finely strewn in Tomatoes using hands, mix with spatula. Use the can to add a can (28 fl oz) of water and mix. Turn heat up to medium.

Add entire contents of two 5.5 ounce cans of Tomato Paste, add two of these cans full of water to the pot, mix with spatula. Add another two cans of of water.

Adjust heat so that sauce it is at a slow boil.

Add Bay Leaves, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes and Salt & Pepper and Sugar. Stir in gently.

Add dried Oregano, activating by a pinching rubbing motion using fingers and thumb or by rubbing and dropping it in using the palms of your hands.

Stir in entire contents of sauce using spatula.

At this point, one can add in roux in the form of some leftover well-seasoned sauce from a previous batch if available.

Bring sauce to a nice rolling boil, uncovered, with occasional stirring as needed. Use a splatter guard if necessary. Sauce should try to spit out a bit but not be at a full rapid boil. Cook sauce with stirring for at least a half hour to one hour.

Cover pot with lid, maintain at very slow but bubbling while boil covered, with occasional stirring for 3 to 4 hours. Heat should be adjusted so the sauce cooks for the necessary length of time while not becoming too thick.

Serve sauce on dish of choice. Enjoy!!!

Sauce should be stored in pot in refrigerator and reheated using the stove top as long as there is enough sauce to cover the bottom of the pot. Flavours with saturate and improve with each reheating.

Notes:

- One should add an appropriate amount of initial seasoning in the beginning to taste. Season more as needed. Flavours will come out as sauce cooks.

- Pasta of choice is Penne Zite or Penne Rigate cooked al dente. Don't drown the pasta in sauce, it should cover nicely but remember it is very flavorful.

- When made correctly the sauce should require no seasoning at table. Adding seasoning is a sign of disrespect!

- The only prefered topping is freshly grated Pecorino Romano. Again, this is not a overly spicy Tomato sauce. The addition of additional Crushed Red Pepper Flakes is frowned upon.

- "Henry says don't let the sauce stick. - I'm stirring it."

- Market ingredients can be substituted if one is so inclined. For example, freshly Peeled Roma Tomatoes can be used.

-Pasta and sauce is traditionally served a Red Vinegar & Olive Oil dressed Green Salad. Traditional Sicilian (i.e. no butter) Garlic Bread is also a nice addition. Properly Grilled Italian Sausage is a perfect addition as an extra protein.

- This sauce can be used in a variety of recipes including: other Pasta dishes; Stuffed Peppers, Chicken Catetori; Sausage, Peppers and Onions sandwiches; and even as a Pizza Sauce.