I have a bumper crop of tomatoes from my garden so I’m going to make marinara sauce for the freezer. I’ve heard people suggest tossing in the left over rinds of parmesan cheese and a country rib into the pot to give the sauce extra flavor. My question is, do I cut up these items and leave them in the sauce, or is it more like a trotter that you add to a soup, but take out before serving? Thanks in advance.
What kind of tomatoes? If you’re talking basic salad/eating tomatoes, they don’t really make very good sauce. You need sauce tomatoes, the most common variety being Romas.
You can make Marinara from non-sauce tomatoes, but it’ll be watery that you’re used to. The non-sauce ones tend to separate into flesh and water, if that makes sense. It’s edible, but IMO not really all that great.
That said, to answer your question, I take the rind and the rib out. They’re not edible, but they do add something to the sauce.
Adding meaty beef ribs and a chunk of pork shoulder will add a lot of flavor. Brown them first, then add them to the simmering tomatoes. Simmer for about four hours, covered, until the meat becomes fork tender. It’s absolutely edible.
Thanks Chefguy, and the Parmesan rinds?
Parmesan rinds sort of dissolve if you cook it for 4+ hours like you should, but what’s left you should just throw away, as all the taste goes out of it.
Seconding this bit of advice. San Marzano tomatoes are really the best choice for sauce and what you will find most quality Italian restaurants using, but Romas are a good substitute.
And excuse the nitpick in advance but: Traditional marinara is not a sauce with meat in it. For a lot of Americans marinara has become the generic default term for any red sauce but it shouldn’t be much more than tomatoes, garlic, onion and spices. Maybe capers or chopped olives. It also is not a long simmered sauce since the idea is to keep the fresh acidity of the tomatoes. A great marinara sauce can be made with less than 1 hour of cooking. Sauces that are simmered for hours and that include meat or cheese or dairy have more in common with Bolognese sauce.
Just be careful, as if you are looking for honest-to-goodness San Marzanos from San Marzano, you have to be careful about reading the labels and knowing what you’re looking for.
That said, they’re not my favorite for sauce. I think, bang-for-buck, Hunts plum tomatoes are great, as well as the Red Gold Whole Peeled tomatoes (my preference is Red Gold). If I want to spend a little more, I’ve been very happy with Muir Glen. However, if I just want a thick-ish tomato sauce base without wanting to start from whole tomatoes, my favorite by far is 6-in-1 tomatoes. I don’t know if they’re a regional brand, but they are a fantastic base for American-style spaghetti sauces.
:smack:I’m an idiot. I just realized you’re talking about the type of tomato for saucing. Yes, the San Marzano variety might just very well be the best for saucing, but I’ve had good luck with just standard plum tomatoes.
Carry on.
6-in-1 is the standard unless you can get to a real honest to God Italian grocery and get Italian imported plum tomatoes, and I agree about Red Gold, I was very pleasantly surprised at how good they are for the money.
Anyway…
If you’re determined to do this with fresh tomatoes make sure to peel and seed them. The peels add nothing to the flavor and are a nuisance and the seeds are bitter. If you have a food mill now is the time to break it out.
Right: the addition of meat makes it a Sunday gravy, which is different from marinara. But since the OP was talking about adding meat to the mix, I thought he should do it properly.
Thanks again, I’m aware that I should be using paste tomatoes (Roma being the most well known), BUT as with most cooking rules, this one is, IMHO, not carved in stone. I’ve made bland sauces with store bought Romas and flavorful ones with whatever was left in my garden.
Marinara sauce is a kitchen sink recipe for me, I make the base sauce and add whatever I have on hand. This time, I happen to have some Parmesan cheese rinds and pork shoulder on hand. Here’s the basic recipe I start with: http://www.formerchef.com/2009/09/01/how-to-make-basic-marinara-sauce/
This batch will pretty much be made up of garden sweepings including Roma, beefsteak and cherry tomatoes. Pulse the cherry tomatoes for 15 seconds in the blender and don’t even try to deseed them (the cherry tomatoes, that is). I got the idea from Cook’s Illustrated, which had a recipe for putanesca sauce using cherry tomatoes in its last edition.
I make marinara sauce about 6 times every summer and then freeze the results. Sometimes I let it cook way, way down and use it for pizza sauce. This is the first time I’ll be adding meat to the sauce.
Might as well go all the way and make meatballs too. NB: you can substitute Italian sausage for half the ground beef. Also, I’d go with 80% lean on the beef.
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil.
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except olive oil by hand, using a light touch. Take a portion of meat in hand, and roll between palms to form a ball that is firmly packed but not compressed. Repeat, making each meatball about 2 inches in diameter (smaller than a baseball, larger than a golf ball).
- In a large, heavy pot heat olive oil over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add meatballs in batches. Do not crowd. Brown well on bottoms before turning, or meatballs will break apart. Continue cooking until browned all over. Remove meatballs to a plate as each batch is finished. Let meatballs cool slightly; cover and refrigerate until needed.
Yield: About 16 meatballs.
That’s pretty much my recipe except I use 3 Tbsp. fresh parsley, no basil and I double the garlic. I like to mash the garlic with a mortar and pestle with a handful of breadcrumbs to make a smooth paste.
Best thing about the meatballs is that the next day you can slice them when cold, layer across a hoagie roll, top with some of the spaghetti sauce and some provolone. Stick under the broiler for a minute or two until the cheese is bubbly, and stuff your face.
DAMN you!
Now I have to go make meatballs or I’ll never sleep tonight :mad:
So…
You’re making Seaman Sauce?
An old woman from Italy taught me to tie up pieces of chicken (usually thighs), sausage links and a couple of short ribs in cheesecloth, cook it in the sauce and it gets seriously almost liquified, then pull that out and carry on making sauce. I have always done that.
This thread finally convinced me to try making marinara sauce for the first time. I bought the tomatoes, basil, garlic, onion, and olives today, and will fire up the stove tomorrow.