Meat Sauce Recipe - Pasta Sauce - Sunday Sauce - Red Sauce

ground beef

🥗Healthier: ground turkey

💰Cheaper: ground pork

Ground turkey is lower in fat, while ground pork is often less expensive.

pork sausage

🥗Healthier: chicken sausage

💰Cheaper: bulk sausage

Chicken sausage is leaner, while bulk sausage can be more affordable.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated cheese blend

Nutritional yeast is a lower-calorie option, while a cheese blend can be more budget-friendly.

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Drizzle olive oil in a roasting pan and add the beef shank, pork ribs, and chicken thighs.

Roast the meat in the oven for about 20 minutes until well browned.

While the meat is roasting, crush whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes in a bowl with your hands to make a puree.

Once the meat is browned, set it aside and heat a large saucepan on medium heat with olive oil.

Add the diced onion and a pinch of salt to the saucepan and sweat for about 5 minutes until translucent.

Add chopped garlic to the onions and cook for about 1 minute.

Pour in the crushed San Marzano tomatoes and add a couple big spoons of tomato paste for flavor and body.

Add some water to the saucepan and stir.

Add the browned meat to the pot and deglaze the roasting pan with a splash of water, scraping up the browned bits, then pour that into the sauce.

Season the sauce with freshly ground black pepper, a little extra salt, and red pepper flakes.

Once the sauce comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to very low and let it simmer uncovered for 3 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water if it reduces too much.

After 3 hours, add any extra browned Italian sausage to the sauce and let it simmer for an additional hour for a total of 4 hours.

Remove the meat from the sauce and reserve it separately.

Adjust the sauce's texture by simmering it longer if too thin or adding water if too thick.

Taste the sauce for seasoning using Italian bread, and adjust salt if necessary.

Serve the sauce over pasta, optionally mixing the meat in, and garnish with grated parmesan cheese.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

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