Meat Sauce Sugo Di Carne Recipes

SUGO, AN ITALIAN MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Swirl a bit of oil into a deep skillet-just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium-high flame until shimmering. Add the beef, breaking it up into small bits with your fingertips. Season the meat with salt and pepper. You might need to do this in batches as to not overcrowd the pan (remember to re-season each new batch of meat). Cook, stirring every couple of minutes, until browned all over. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl.
• Lower the flame to medium-low. Add the onion to the pan. Sauté until slightly softened and golden.
• Pour in the wine, and use a spoon to scrape up any browned bit from the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high. Cook until the wine reduces by half.
• Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, and butter. Add the beef back to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, the reduce heat to the lowest setting possible. Let the sauce simmer for 3 to 4 hours, until meltingly tender. If not ready to serve when done, you can transfer the sauce to a slow cooker, and keep it on the warm setting until ready to serve.

MEAT SAUCE (SUGO DI CARNE)

Steps:

• Put mushrooms in bowl and add slightly hot water to cover. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Heat oil and butter in skillet. Add onion, celery, garlic and carrot. Cook, stirring, until wilted.
• Add pork and veal. Cook, stirring and chopping down with the side of a heavy metal spoon to break up lumps, until meats lose raw look.
• Drain mushrooms and chop coarsely. Add mushrooms to meat mixture. Add wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and cook uncovered 1 hour.
• Pour sauce into saucepan. Bring to boil and skim fat from surface. Add broth and continue cooking 1 hour.

SUGO DI CARNE (MEAT SAUCE)

Steps:

• In a large pot, preferably of terracotta or enameled cast iron, make a soffritto by gently sautéing the onion, carrot and celery in olive oil until the vegetables are very soft, taking care never to brown them. (It helps to add a pinch of salt, which draws out the vegetables' own liquids, as well as a spoonful of water from time to time. This both speeds up the softening process and helps avoid browning.)
• Add the ground pork (or beef) to the pot, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and mixing to combine it well with the soffritto. Season with salt and pepper, and let is simmer gently, stirring almost constantly, until the meat has lost its raw look. Then add a splash of red wine and continue simmering, until the wine has evaporated.
• Add the tomatoes, stir again. Then let it simmer for at least an hour, stirring only occasionally, until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened and developed a deep flavor. (You can let it go longer if you like and it will only get better the longer it cooks.) If the sauce gets too thick before you think it's done, then just add a bit of water or broth as needed.