I make my own spaghetti sauce. I can make it in bulk and freeze it, so it’s a huge savings, though it is a bit of an undertaking to do it on the 2 stockpot scale that I do. This post won’t be a formal recipe, more like general guidelines. Everyone’s tastes are a little different, so you just need to think about the flavors in your favorite tomato sauce and how best to replicate them.
For those people who aren’t big on the cooking scene, this might seem like an overwhelming task. I typically save it for a weekend, mostly so that it can simmer all day without interruption. Just remember this is not a difficult task, but bringing all the pieces together can be time consuming.
It’s Time to Shop
We’re off to the grocery story – what do we need? I’m going to do my tomatoes in the quantities I use for mine but truly if you are not into making a year’s worth at once, you can scale back proportionately.
I’ve honestly never made my sauce with fresh tomatoes. I’d love to hear from some of you that have to see if it’s worth the extra work. My first stop on my grocery run is Sam’s Club. You really can’t beat their prices on the canned tomatoes. They have 102 – 106 oz. cans for less than 5 bucks each. You can also get the big (28 oz.) cans at any grocery store for a pretty reasonable price, especially if you don’t want two full stockpots of sauce. So start with 1 can each of the following items: crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes and tomato puree. I also find if you can’t get puree at a good price that you can substitute in a plain tomato sauce. Look at the ingredients – they are very similar. If you don’t bulk buy, just pick up an equivalent amount of the 28 oz. cans. Also, you want to make sure you have tomato paste. I usually pick up a box of the small cans here though you won’t use all of them in one batch of sauce. For a batch this size, you’ll use 2-3, so unless you use paste for other stuff you may be better off buying it by the can.
While I’m at Sam’s, I usually take a look at their meat prices. I tend to do about a pound of each meat because I tend to like a variety of meats. This is where you can have some fun. I always make meatballs and typically make extra because you can freeze them for other stuff too. I recommend 2 lbs of ground meat if that’s the case. Ground turkey is cheapest but sometimes I mix it up and do half turkey and half pork or beef. I also like Italian sausage and some chicken. A few times, I’ve even thrown some pork pieces in – whether tenderloin, roast or chops. It all depends on what I have in the freezer or what’s on sale that week.
Next stop is the produce department. This one can be tough if you have different tastes in your house. If there’s something you like, but your partner does not, save adding it until later to whatever dish you are making with the sauce. It’s easier to separate the sauce into two containers to heat up and customize. Quantities are difficult too just because it’s such a personal choice. I recommend any or all of the following: mushrooms, bell pepper (I prefer red), onion (I prefer sweet) and garlic. You can’t have a good sauce without garlic. I buy my mushrooms pre-sliced because the price difference tends to be minuscule and I find slicing them to be a pain. Two good sized bell peppers should do you just fine along with either 1 large onion or 2 medium ones. As for the garlic, I cheat here as well and pick up a jar of the minced garlic, usually a big one since I use garlic in everything. This way, you have the garlic pieces in liquid and you can pour both in.
Finally, we get to spice. Maybe you like it hot, maybe not. Maybe you think those store bought sauces just have no flavor. This is where the fun begins. I start with a big container of Parmesan or Romano cheese and then a trip to my spice rack. I don’t have a good rule of thumb except to tell you that I do shakes over the pots of each spice. If you’re not sure on quantities, you may want to practice first with a plain canned tomato sauce and heat it up in small amounts so that you can spice them differently and see what you like. But, if you are like me, you’ve had plenty of sauce in your life so you already have an idea of what you like. Plus, that’s a whole lot of work! The key is to trust your instincts and not over think things. I recommend the following list of spices with the caveat that if you have a good Italian sausage, you don’t really need black or red pepper in your sauce. I have found it’s way overkill!
oregano
basil
bay leaves
italian seasoning
parsley
red and/or black pepper
onion salt
garlic salt and/or powder
adobo
Are you exhausted yet? I am! Check back for part 2 where we will discuss getting all these ingredients prepped and ready to simmer on your stove for the day. Then, we will conclude with part 3 – what you do with this massive amount of sauce once it’s all ready to eat!
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