Meat Sauce and Spaghetti

Alton Brown

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2009

Show: Good EatsEpisode: American Classics: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Picture of Meat Sauce and Spaghetti Recipe Photo: Meat Sauce and Spaghetti Recipe
Rated 4 stars out of 5
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  • Read 101 Reviews
Total Time:
5 hr 45 min
Prep
45 min
Cook
5 hr 0 min
Yield:
6 to 8 servings
Level:
Easy
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Ingredients

Meat sauce:

  • 6 ounces thick sliced bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 large onions, finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1 whole star anise pod
  • 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, 3 minced and 2 sliced
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 8 ounces coarsely ground beef chuck
  • 8 ounces coarsely ground pork butt
  • 1 1/4 cups white wine, divided
  • 3/4 cup evaporated milk
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 1-ounce dried porcini mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan

Pasta:

  • 1 gallon water
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 pound dry spaghetti

Directions

For the meat sauce:

Place an 8-quart Dutch oven over low heat and add the bacon. Cook slowly until the bacon is crispy and has rendered its fat, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan for another use. Add the onion, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Place the clove and star anise into a small spice bag, add to the Dutch oven and stir to combine. Cook, uncovered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions caramelize, 45 to 60 minutes. Add the celery and the 3 cloves of minced garlic to the pan and continue to cook over low heat until the celery is semi-translucent, approximately 30 minutes. Remove the spice bag from the pot.

Meanwhile, place a wide 4-quart saute pan, over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and once it shimmers, add the beef chuck and the pork butt and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is well browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the meat to a colander to drain. Return the pan to high heat, add 1/2 cup of the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Transfer these bits and any remaining wine to the Dutch oven along with the meat.

Add another 1/2 cup of the wine, evaporated milk, beef broth, and mushrooms to the Dutch oven and stir to combine. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 hours.

Once the sauce has been cooking for 1 1/2 hours, place the 4-quart saute pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once it shimmers, add the 2 cloves of sliced garlic and cook for 30 to 45 seconds or until fragrant. Do not allow the garlic to brown. Add the tomatoes, oregano, basil, and marjoram and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, approximately 30 minutes. Add the remaining 1/4 cup wine, tomato paste, ketchup, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Increase the heat to medium high; add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer the tomato mixture to the meat mixture and stir to combine. Simmer the sauce, uncovered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, while preparing the pasta.

For the pasta:

Bring the water and salt to a boil over high heat. Carefully add the pasta, stirring quickly to separate. Cover and return to a boil, being careful that the water does not boil over. Once boiling again, uncover and continue to cook until slightly less than al dente, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain in a colander.

Add the pasta to the meat sauce and cook, over low heat, for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Add the Parmesan cheese and toss to combine. Transfer pasta and sauce to a serving bowl or individual bowls and serve.

Print Recipe

Wine Suggestion for This Recipe

Sangiovese

Sangiovese

Bright, fruity Italian red wine

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Newest Ratings and Reviews

Read all 101 reviews

  • on January 05, 2012

    Flag

    This is by far the best spaghetti my hubby & I have ever eaten! The only problem I had was with the tomato paste - my can of it had sprung a leak and my tube was used up last week with some other yummy concoction. I substituted anchovy paste as I had just the right amount of it left in the tube, and it actually turned out fabulously! I will try again with tomato paste to compare, but we both loved it just as it was. No problems with curdled milk or grainy texture - our meat browned into lovely little crunchy bite-sized morsels that were perfection in suspension : For us it was worth the long wait - most of the time was spent doing exactly that anyway. And yes, there are lots of ingredients and 2 pans to deal with, but it was not difficult at all to contend with those issues. All in all, it was great and we cannot wait to serve it to guests.

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  • on January 01, 2012

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    The recipe was easy, nothing complicated and the finished product was tasty but I was disappointed that, in spite of following the recipe exactly and carefully monitoring my heat, the milk did leave my sauce with tiny curdles throughout. Again it tasted great but I would NEVER serve it to guests. Next time I will omit the evaporated milk and hope for a much better outcome in terms of appearance.

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  • on December 31, 2011

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    tastes great! but maybe not six hours great.

    people found this review Helpful.
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