This sauce is outrageously good. Part of the secret is San Marzano tomatoes — plum tomatoes grown in the San Marzano region of Italy. The rich volcanic soil at the base of Mount Vesuvius gives them a sweet flavor with low acidity.
This recipe makes a Grandma-amount of sauce — feel free to halve. Freeze flat in ziplock bags for an easy meal.
GRANDMA'S BOLOGNESE
Serves 10-12
1 pound mild Italian sausage, removed from casing (high quality, not generic store brand)
1/4 cup first cold-pressed olive oil
2 pounds ground veal
10 cloves garlic, minced
2 large yellow onions, chopped
3 x 28-ounce cans whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes (I like the Bella Terra organic brand)
6-ounce can tomato paste (I like the Amore brand)
32 ounces organic grass-fed beef stock (pref. from good butcher or the best quality you can find that gels when chilled, like the Bare Bones brand)
1 bottle red Burgundy, Bordeaux or Chianti Riserva wine
Dried oregano
1-ounce package fresh basil with stems removed, julienned
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
In a large saucepan (at least a 12-quart), heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and brown, chopping into small pieces with wooden spoon, until well-browned. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside in a medium bowl, leaving any residual juices.
Add the veal to the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper and cook until browned. Remove veal with a slotted spoon into to the sausage bowl, leaving any residual juices.
Add the garlic and onion to saucepan and sauté for 3 minutes.
Add the reserved sausage, veal, and any juice that may have seeped from it, and the wine, back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until the wine evaporates, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes one at a time, hand-crushing each one. Add the juice from each can. Add the tomato paste, beef stock and basil. Add a sprinkling of dried oregano over the top of the sauce. Mix well.
Turn down heat and simmer about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then simmer another hour.
It’s even better the next day, so cover and refrigerate overnight.
