Homemade is always better
- Carbohydrate 19.4716509005312 g
- Cholesterol 40.8233133 mg
- Fat 29.2375444178996 g
- Fiber 4.86198139835272 g
- Protein 12.7772600830739 g
- Saturated Fat 6.87156340780821 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (442g)
- Sodium 712.029985182761 mg
- Sugar 14.6096695021785 g
- Trans Fat 2.18423567601628 g
- Calories 378 calories
Step-by-step
- Use large pot, fry sausage in oil until brown.
- Remove meat and most of oil.
- Brown onions, add water, tomato paste, tomato sauce and tomatoes.
- Add seasonings, replace sausage, bring to boil and simmer 2 to 2 1/2 hours stirring every 15 minutes with wooden spoon.
Long-simmered sauces require precise heat management during the initial browning phase to build proper depth. Start by frying the sausage links in oil inside a heavy-bottomed pot until the exterior develops a deep, caramelized crust. Removing the excess rendered fat before cooking the chopped onions prevents the vegetables from boiling in grease instead of sweating and browning properly. Leaving a thin coating of fat behind provides enough medium to soften the onions until translucent without scorching them.
Tomato paste needs direct heat before the liquids enter the vessel to eliminate its raw, metallic edge. Stirring the paste into the onion mixture for two minutes caramelizes the natural sugars and concentrates the umami compounds. Pouring in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water immediately after halts the cooking process and deglazes the bottom of the pot, incorporating any browned protein bits directly into the liquid base.
Maintaining a bare simmer over two to two and a half hours requires strict adherence to burner output. The liquid should produce an occasional, lazy bubble rather than a vigorous roll, which causes solids to stick and burn on the bottom of the pot. Stirring every fifteen minutes with a wooden spoon ensures that the thick starches do not settle against the hot metal. A wooden implement allows cooks to scrape the bottom cleanly without scratching the cookware surface.
Allowing the sauce to cook down concentrates the acidity and marries the spices into a cohesive profile. Dried Italian seasoning benefits from this extended exposure, as the fat-soluble compounds in the herbs disperse fully into the tomato matrix. Once the cooking time concludes, the bay leaf must be retrieved and discarded to prevent bitterness from overtaking the balanced profile.
