Best Tomato Sauce With Meat Recipes

TOMATO SAUCE WITH GROUND BEEF (AND VARIATIONS)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large heavy saucepan; add onion; sauté over low heat, stirring, until tender and golden, about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic, sauté 1 minute.
• Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a skillet, stirring to crumble meat; drain off fat; add the onion mixture.
• OPTIONAL: now is when you would add the mushrooms, vegetables or red wine.
• Sauté until tender or until the wine is reduced by half.
• Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste, 1 tsp salt, the basil, oregano, pepper and bay leaf.
• Heat over medium-low heat to simmering.
• Simmer, uncovered, over low heat, stirring occasionally until sauce is thickened and flavourful, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

ITALIAN MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion until translucent. This should take 5 - 8 minutes. The longer you cook the onions, the sweeter they become.
• Add garlic and cook just until fragrant.
• Add the beef and veal (if using) and cook until it's browned. I use lean meat which means there's little fat left in the pan. I don't bother draining it. If you find a lot of fat you can remove it using a turkey baster or skim it off the top later. Don't mistake water for fat. I've found lesser grades of meat release more liquid than say Angus. If that's the case, cook and stir a few minutes and it will evaporate.
• Sprinkle in the granulated garlic, salt and pepper and stir.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it loses its bright red color.
• Add the ground peeled tomatoes and the tomato puree, sugar and basil.
• Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened about 1 hour. Taste and adjust for more salt and pepper.

MEATLOAF WITH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside
• Lightly spray broiler pan; set aside
• Lightly beat eggs in a bowl; set aside
• Preheat oven to 375°
• Combine all meatloaf ingredients into big bowl; with clean hands, mix ingredients until combined; do NOT overwork the meat
• Place beef mixture onto counter and shape into a rectangular loaf
• Place on lightly oiled broiling pan and bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes, or until meat has reached 150° internal temperature
• After it has reached 150ºF, remove from oven, pour some tomato sauce over the top and return to oven
• Bake until internal temperature reaches 160ºF and tomato sauce is thickened
• Remove from oven; allow meatloaf to sit for a few minutes, then slice and serve

LASAGNA WITH MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Meat Sauce: Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add beef, sausage, onion, carrots, celery, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up meat into bite-size pieces, until vegetables soften and meat has browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red-pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add tomato paste; cook 2 minutes more. Puree tomatoes in a blender or food processor; add to pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened slightly but still very loose, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Cheese Mixture: In a large bowl, whisk together ricotta, milk, eggs, 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 1/2 cups mozzarella, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Assembly: Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, preferably ceramic or enameled cast iron. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce (space noodles evenly; they will expand as the lasagna cooks). Spread 2 cups cheese mixture over noodles; top with 3 more noodles. Repeat layering of meat and cheese mixtures between noodles twice more. Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly over top layer of noodles. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Loosely cover with parchment-lined foil and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake until noodles are tender but still al dente (easily pierced with the tip of a knife), 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover; continue baking until bubbly and puffed slightly along edges and golden brown in places on top, 20 to 25 minutes more. (There may appear to be a lot of liquid in the dish. It will be absorbed as the lasagna cools.) Transfer dish to a wire rack and let cool slightly and set, about 20 minutes; cut into squares to serve.