Tips for a Good Spaghetti Sauce

There is a common misconception in this country that if it comes out of a jar, then it's no good. This is specifically so for pasta sauce. I mean who among us wouldn't choose a properly made sauce over one out of a vacuum sealed jar, unless the sauce were made by Hannibal Lecter. Hell, even I'm a purist when it comes to pasta sauces. Yet, when you don't have time, and this is a common occurrence in the world today, a jar of Ragu is just easier than waking up early to carefully watch a pot of homemade sauce all day long.

Yet there is still no getting around the taste. Those people who had never had real homemade sauce may wonder what's the big deal. They've eaten sauces out of a jar their whole lives and the taste has never turned them off. Well to those people I suggest getting some real stuff and then saying what's the big deal. Still, my article wants to focus on dealing with that jarred pasta sauce.

There are things one can do to make a jar of Ragu end up tasting similar to mama's homemade sauce. First of all, don't just dump it into a pot with some frozen meatballs and precooked sausage and consider yourself a culinary genius. If you want it to taste something better than just "edible" than you do have to sacrifice a little time. First of all, you need to brown some real sausage. In my opinion, the best is called Florio's Italian Sausage.

After you brown the sausage, put it into a big empty pot and just let it sit there and cool down. Now the next thing you have to do is make real meatballs. All you need are bread crumbs, an egg, 1 pound of ground pork and another of beef, some seasoning and real garlic and roll it all into a ball. Now the pain is having to fry them and make sure they turn out just right. Well, it would be better if you just bake the meatballs. They come out just as good as fried and they're healthier because a lot of the excess fat bakes out.

Now after you've done that, dump the meatballs into the same pot as the sausage. Now here comes an important part. You must skim at least a quarter of a cup of fat from the bottom of the baking pan and put it into the sauce. This is the key to making the sauce taste more homemade like. Once you've done that, stir in the jar of Ragu or whatever else you happen to be using.

Now these are the final important steps. Add a tablespoon of sugar; most jarred pasta sauces are overly salty and acidic and the sugar acts to against that and lightens the taste of the sauce. Then the same seasonings you used in making the meatballs, you have to add to the sauce. Finally, let it all cook for at least four hours in a large pot. It'll take about an hour and a half that way, but it'll be worth it and it is still significantly less time than doing the whole sauce routine.

Personal note: if you don't like certain things, then don't follow this recipe. Hell, it's not even a recipe, these are just tips. Use your imagination!