Sunday Sauce aka Bolognese
Sunday Sauce, also known as Bolognese, is a meat sauce used in Italian cooking with pasta or polenta. It's called a Sunday Sauce because it cooks for a long time in the oven. And usually you only have time for cooking like that on a Sunday. While the cook time on this recipe is a long one - the process is very easy and straightforward. You will definitely taste all the extra love and care infused in this pot of gold. Once you taste this - you'll never want any other kind of meat sauce again.
3 lb ground beef
2 lb ground sausage
olive oil
4 slices of thick cut bacon, chopped
1 large white or yellow onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
3 ribs of celery with the leaves, diced
8 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
4 Tbs tomato paste
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups white wine
2 large cans whole, peeled tomatoes (I like San Marzano tomatoes)
2 cups whole milk
Preheat Oven to 225
To make the meatballs:
Take your ground beef and sausage and season liberally with salt and pepper. Mix it together with your hands, and then form large meatballs. Set the meatballs aside on a sheet tray.
Heat a large 8qt dutch oven over medium high heat with 4tbs olive oil. When the oil is hot, work in batches to sear the meat balls on all sides to form a crust. Don't worry about cooking the meatballs all the way through, just brown them enough to create a nice crust all around, and set aside on a sheet tray. Be careful not to overcrowd your pot, allowing steam to escape so the meat doesn't just brown but forms that crust.
When all the meat balls are seared and set aside, reduce your heat to medium, and pour off about 1/2 of the rendered fat in your pan from the meatballs. Reserve the other 1/2 to continue cooking. To the pot add the chopped bacon and saute until the bacon has rendered all of its fat and is turning crispy. Use a flat edged wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot, making sure to re-incorporate all those bits that have been developing flavor. When the bacon is crispy, use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and set aside with the meatballs.
Next, add your onion, carrots, and celery to the pot of rendered fat. Saute and allow the vegetables to cook, but not all the way to tender. While sauteing, use the steam from the vegetables to help scrape up any bits that have been sticking to the bottom of the pot while cooking the meatballs and bacon. A LOT of flavor is developing in those bits, and we don't want to let it scorch. Season your vegetables with salt and pepper. When the vegetables have cooked and are almost fork tender add the sliced garlic. Continue to cook the garlic for about a minute until very fragrant. Add your tomato paste, and continue to cook. Make sure to distribute the tomato paste through the whole pot and allow it to caramelize on the bottom of the pot. Using the flat edge of your wooden spoon, scrape the tomato paste up off the bottom, stir it around, and spread it back over the bottom of the pot. Continue to do this until the paste doesn't want to scrape up anymore. To the mixture, add chicken stock, and white wine. Stir to combine, and scrape the tomato paste up off the bottom of the pot. Add your cans of whole, peeled tomatoes, pouring them into your hands and crush them as they go into the pot. Add the whole milk, stir and return to a simmer.
Once the sauce has returned to a simmer, slowly return the bacon and the meatballs to the sauce, until all the meat is in the pot and covered by the sauce. Make sure to add any juices that have collected on your sheet tray back to the pot. Once the mixture comes back to a low simmer, put the lid on (keep it slightly ajar), place your pot on a rimmed sheet tray (to catch any drips) and place it on the middle rack of your preheated oven at 225 degrees for 4 hours. Come back after 1 hour to check and make sure the pot is at a very slow simmer. If not, increase the heat of your oven slightly.
When the 4 hours of cooking time has elapsed, take your Sunday Sauce out of the oven, and return to the stove. Using a potato masher, or wooden spoon, mash down into the sauce to break down the meatballs and incorporate the meat all through the sauce. Continue to do this until the vegetables and meat are broken down and well incorporated into the sauce.
You're done! Enjoy this bolognese over pasta, or in a beautiful lasagna.
