Growing up my close friend’s mother was 100% Italian.She was from the Palermo region of Italy and she brought her family meat sauce recipe with her.It is spectacular and I can closely duplicate it.I loved her and her passion for cooking!I have taken her recipe and twisted it to my liking.Very much the same way I do everything I cook.I replaced beef short ribs with 99% lean ground sirloin.That’s what I like!Rather than use salt pork, I use pork sausage.The grease in the sausage fills in the gap for the 99% lean sirloin.All the fat is rendered off later anyway.Sirloin has a special flavor and I like it in my spaghetti sauce.Rather than use any salt, I use soy.The sodium from the soy really permeates the entire pot of sauce giving it a deep, rich flavor.When it comes to herbs fresh is best…..for some.But dried herbs work very well.I use oregano, basil and bay in my spaghetti sauce.I add herbs the whole cooking process for a depth of flavor never again to be duplicated exactly.Every time I stir the pot I add additional oregano, basil and minced garlic.The smell of the cooking meat sauce as I stir in the herbs is what life is all about!All the other ingredients I add in accordance with the amount of meat I cook are, fresh onion, onion powder, fresh and powdered garlic, black pepper, tomato sauce, tomato paste, tomato juice and a little bit of honey.Did I say I stir very regularly?I used to simmer the sauce all night long, but it can be hurried.The honey takes the acid bite out of the tomato products.I am currently cooking 20 pounds of the prettiest ground sirloin you have ever seen.When you are cooking a huge pot of spaghetti meat sauce having the ability to morph with circumstances makes life easy.After I brown the sausage, sirloin and onions, I add the tomato juice, tomato sauce and soy.I also throw in my first load of herbs and spices.I do not add the tomato paste or honey until the very end.I judge the amount of paste on the look of the sauce.The beautiful thing about recipes is the fact you are free to modify anything based on circumstance. If tomatoes are cheap you are free to prep accordingly. When it comes to basil, I would prefer fresh, but dried will do. When it comes to oregano I usually go with dry. Currently I am making an 8 gallon batch.I will let is rest until cool and break it down to freeze. We use the meat sauce for other dishes like lasagna and pizza. Enjoy!
Texas Chili from scratch! Through the years many well meaning folks have tried their level best to define Texas Chili. During the heyday of chili cooking competitions, CASI (Chili Appreciation Society International) required contestants to create a stew of meat and gravy only. Fillers would disqualify you. Some so called purist would be outright mean about the whole bean and chili debate. Those same folks would be the first to open a can of tomato paste or tear into a pre-packaged commercial chili powder. I mean if you are going to claim to know Texas chili then you should know about chili peppers! Right? To this Texan, chili is a stew with a hearty meat and gravy. If you actually read the labels of some of the most popular brands of commercial chili powder they do not even mention the type of chili peppers in the pre-packaged mix. Most of the pre-packaged chili powders have loads of salt and most have MSG and anti-caking agents like sodium aluminosilic...
Seafood Gumbo Southeast Texas Style ~ I have been on a mission since I was very young to taste and record the best family gumbo recipes handed down in southeast Texas. My mom had her mom's who had her mom's here in southeast Texas. Each generation did something a little different to suit the chef. I have made a point of eating gumbo at the finest seafood places in Texas and Louisiana. I have also read reviews and visited every place in New Orleans with a reputation for gumbo. I'm dead serious and there is one gumbo that stands above the rest! Let me be the first to say, I was never totally disappointed and always loved the various chef's take on this French Creole staple. Gumbo varies across the board. I have a Lady's Auxiliary Creole cookbook from the 60's and it is powerful tool to guide methods and flavors. Back then, pork fat ruled and it still does! Pork fat and roux are a marriage made in heaven. I like a dark, toasty roux which adds a nutty depth of f...
Here in southeast Texas we take for granted the fact we enjoy the best Tex-Mex food in the world. Ask anyone who has been away from home very long what they missed the most and you will hear time and again the fact they can not wait to get their Tex-Mex fix. There is no place in the country where so many Tex-Mex restaurants doing Tex-Mex so well in so many different ways. It is truly incredible how long patronized restaurants put their signature on the basics. Family secret chili sauces smothering enchiladas are down right addicting. Many Tex-Mex restaurants have their own recipe to create ground beef in which they fill enchiladas, tacos, burritos, chalupas, tamales and taco salads. The old guard restaurants have been doing it well for decades. Patrons of these restaurants do not want them to change a thing. A discerning pallet will detect the slightest change. It is very possible to eat at different Tex-Mex restaurants for months and never have a bad meal. If you are like me, you have...
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