What Kind of Meat to Use to Make a Italian Beef Sandwich
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08/24/2003
Simply terrific!! I'm from a long line of great Italian cooks, but I haven't been one of them. My sauce was never as good as "the grandmas", but since I tried this recipe, thats all changed, everyone loves it, (including grandma)now I get to make the sauce every Sunday. Only change I made was I use 2 cups of red wine instead of 3. I used a Cabernet Sauvignon.
07/28/2006
I give this one a five after I made some changes. I liked how the seasonings were in this, unique and fresh, I left out the rosemary and added fresh basil although I made sure not to add more basil than I did oregano. My sauce was a bit salty, so I added probaby 4-5 tsps of sugar, I think the saltiness comes from canned tomato. In the future I may use a can of crushed tomato which I think would create a consistency I prefer. For heat I added some sliced up italian sausage which I added raw to the sauce and let cook along with a little crushed red pepper. I used two cups of red wine, that was plenty. Simmer it an hour at night, and then leave it over night to simmer another few hours the next day. Went great over Rigatoni.
07/11/2000
My husband and I thought this recipe was good. Very meaty and thick! One word of caution, if you don't like the smell and flavor of red wine it's not for you. Even after being fully cooked down and 3 full days of the flavors blending the wine taste and smell was still strong with your first few bites. (until you get used to it again) We only made it once so it's possible that a wine less body would be al that is needed. Thanks for giving us this new recipe to try.
03/04/2011
this sauce is exceptional!!! I used half ground beef and half bulk italian sausage. For the wine I used Cab Sav from Barefoot. For the people who found the sauce a little "winey", the key is to let the wine reduce when adding it to the sauted vegetables. I also used 1 large can of tomato sauce, 1 large can of tomato puree and 1 large can of crushed tomatoes, just to get some different textures. I also used fresh thyme, rosemary and oregano, which I put in with the wine. Towards the end of the simmering, I added some cumin, crushed red pepper flakes and a pinch of cinnamon. It makes a ton of sauce, but freezes well :)
08/09/2009
This is a really goody recipe. My wife and I vary it per the ingrediants we have on hand, sometimes using italian sausage or sometimes using only ground beef. If we don't have fresh herbs we'll just use Italian Seasoning. Either way it's always dependably good. I especially like using this sauce when I'm making the Baked Ziti 1 recipe on this website, which uses provolone and sour cream. Absolutely delicious!
01/22/2006
Excellent! Cut recipe in half and found it quite tasty! Added in more garlic though and used crushed tomatoes.
12/15/2008
This is a 4 star recipe but has 5 star possibility with some changes. But still a great sauce! I made it the night before and left it in fridge overnight before reheating it on the stove. I also didn't use any wine.I thought it also only needed 1 onion and 1 lb of mushrooms instead of 2. Instead of using 3 cans of tomato sauce I tried cans of italian peeled tomatoes and adding a green pepper.I made meatballs for the sauce too and let them simmer and thought it came out excellent.Next time I will try some Italian sausages.
03/01/2002
This sauce was great, exactly what I was looking for. I subbed in some ground Turkey to make it a little healthier, and added some sugar and nutmeg to the sauce which really rounded out the flavor and made it truly delectable. I will make this again.
07/21/2000
This is truly an authentic recipe. My family enjoyed the unique flavor. Keep in mind, however, the taste of wine is powerful. A recipe you should avoid if you are do not like wine.
03/19/2011
Another fantastic recipe. I wanted to try something a little different and I'm so glad I did. Got me a bottle of red wine and got straight to work. You know, I make a pretty good home made meat sauce, but after this I don't think I can ever go back. Just WOW!!
06/26/2012
This sauce was awsome. I only changed the amount of mushrooms to half. Everyone raved and wants recipe. Never made sauce without adding any salt and sugar. You would never know. Flavor is perfect! I didn't think wine was too much like other reviews. Making this again.
12/08/2011
Absolutely amazing - I couldn't be happier - only thing I did much different was reduced the wine by a cup. It's still very wine'y with 2 cups, so if you prefer a little less, you could cut back to 1 1/2 and still get some of that flavor. WE LOVED IT!!! OUR NEW RED SAUCE!
08/15/2011
This was the most incredible sauce I've ever had.
08/14/2011
My Italian/German husband said this is the best sauce he has had in years (I am not Italian, so I felt great to give him an Italian meal he truly enjoyed)! I only used 1/2 cup of wine, omitted the paste, and added fresh tomatos, fresh red pepper, crushed red pepper, and easily doubled the herbs. I also added a dash of Kosher Salt and garlic powder and significantly more fresh garlic (We love garlic in this household). We used ground turkey and hot italian chicken sausage for the proteins. It was a great combination of heat and savory flavors with great texture. This is a great base recipe that you can build upon to meet your family's needs. Wonderful recipe!
08/10/2010
I made this and we absolutely loved it. This is for those who don't like the sugary way some restaurant sauces taste. Eating this sauce it is easy to imagine yourself in a little Italian home where people are warm and loving. Thanks for the recipe!
01/13/2011
this was my meat sauce for our timpano dish, and it was delicious.
06/29/2015
I followed the recipe to the letter and am receiving kudos from our diverse little group. I did use home canned San Marzano tomatoes and my own version of tomato paste along with fresh herbs. This is so easy and so good, it may replace my mushroom and meat sauce for good. I agree with the comment regarding reducing each wine addition to let the flavors develop. I did use all the wine this recipe called for and with the reductions, the wine was not overwhelming. Served over fresh pasta with grated Asiago or Romano, mixed green salad and hot from the oven focaccia, we are talking heaven.
01/13/2016
This is a great recipe. This is the second time I made it so, I made some changes. I used 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and one can of diced tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. It gives the sauce a richer texture. Also, I used Italian sausage instead of beef and pork. 1/2 sweet and 1/2 hot. It is amazing!! Add a little green pepper with the onion and garlic, double the garlic and double the Italian herbs. Add a Bay Leaf. Also, cut the wine in 1/2. Way too much wine in this recipe !! Honestly, you can't go wrong. Experiment!! Its amazing!
03/16/2007
This was a hit Christmas of 2006! Absolutely delicious! Guests loved the authentic taste. What few leftovers there were, I froze and it was still wonderful 2 months later. I used angel hair pasta a homemade garlic bread for a truly authentic Italian meal.
02/03/2013
Very good. I made it just as the recipe indicated, I just backed down from the amount of wine called for ( per the reviews). I made it in the crockpot on low for several hours instead of the stovetop for convenience sake. It will be my standard meat sauce recipe now,
08/26/2004
Made this the night before serving it. Worked out so much better. Hearty and tasty. Enjoyed by all.
09/26/2011
Loved it! Made this tonight for my boyfriend and I. We both liked it a lot. I cut the ingredients in half and there is still tons left. Freezing some of the sauce for next time we want pasta. I saw on the reviews that the wine might be too much. I used 1.5 cups of cab and it was fine.
05/09/2006
I would give this more stars if I could! This is now our staple meat sauce. It may take a little while, but it is more than worth it! A+++++++++++++
05/01/2011
This sauce is just what I was looking for, thanks. This barely fit it my big le creuset pot, so we only added 1c wine and then simmered it uncovered, ate some for dinner after 1h, and then added a bit more wine to the rest. Delicious!
07/31/2009
loved it, the second time i made it though i threw some italian sausage in there to spice it up a bit.
10/16/2004
excellent. I aded some red pepers like it hot, dont be affraid to try it.... best I had
02/26/2016
This sauce was phenomenal. I tweaked to personal preference after simmering 2 hours adding 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, and 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce. This sauce really stands up to the noodles. Thank you!
10/25/2012
Just a followup to my earlier review, I did try this in my slow cooker and it turned out great by the time I got home from an 8 hour shift at work. Just AWESOME!
12/21/2004
Have my whole familly on this sauce now :P Well done!!
10/16/2008
wow, this is an amazing sauce.
08/09/2014
This sauce is wonderful. Just smelling it all afternoon was pure torture. All 4 kids kept begging for dinner because the house smelled so delicious. I could not resist "taste tests" every 20 min or so. We've been cutting the fat in our diets, so I used ground turkey in place of the beef and pork, and no one noticed. For myself, I used this on spiralized zucchini noodles, and I was in heaven. I didn't miss the pasta at all. This is an absolute keeper!
06/05/2014
Ms Debbie; you brought back a taste and texture that I have searched for. Greek, Italian and Turk restaurants use this basic mixture for almost anything they serve over pasta; any style you wish... Lost the recipe years ago, and have searched... Thank you for sharing this version... Of course, it can be tweaked to anyone's taste, but you have supplied the basics and that is exactly how I will fix our first batch... Again, thank you...
03/13/2017
Wow this was so easy and it's a hit! Freezes well. My new go to
12/31/2018
Every time I make this sauce and make pasta or lasagna for company they rave that it is better then a restaurant! My kids say I make the best meat sauce around! Thanks to this recipe!
07/11/2007
Never really used wine in my sautsbce. It was different but good. I added 2 tsb of sugar and a 1 tsb of basil. I like my sauce a little sweet. Changed taste ever so slightly.
03/31/2014
Made this yesterday and it was great. I used variations based on other reviews and used 1/2 of the wine and three times the garlic. I did't have rosemary but substituted Italian seasoning. Looking forward to the leftovers!
11/30/2008
This is a phenomenal sauce. I used a nice bottle of red wine and used a can of crushed tomatos. Great flavor!
10/17/2000
Very good basic sauce, open to endless personal variations. I found it excellent for all types of pasta. Make sure to use a good red wine!
09/07/2011
Great meal. but only use half the wine.Also half the mushrooms.
09/19/2018
This has become my go to meat sauce. Its great as it is, but I've modified it slightly a couple of times over the years. In place of ground pork, I've substituted a combination of hot and sweet Italian sausage removed from the casings. I usually add some chopped fresh basil. I've used merlot and other dry wines, but prefer a slightly sweeter sauce, so I've also tried marsala and port, both of which gave me the sweetness I was looking for, while still retaining the wine flavor and heartiness I was looking for. Overall, this is a terrific recipe to work with.
07/12/2010
Loved the recipe, made a few changes followed advice of others and decreased the wine to 1 1/3 cups in the end, also used dry oregano instead of fresh and decreased it accordingly. In the end after simmering the last 2 hours I thought the sauce seemed a little thick, so I added an additional cup? of tomato sauce and a can of stewed tomatoes (It's all I had) and the sauce turned out great! Had my mother and sister over and they raved!
10/17/2013
I did this in a hurry using a bit of red wine vinegar in splashes when it called for wine, balanced it out with a spoon of brown sugar, canned mushrooms, and just dried spices. My five roommates loved it!!
12/10/2016
did use about 1/2 the wine. Will make this again. Loved it and very easy to make.
10/07/2009
Well you know it's good when the person sitting next to you enjoying a meal you've cooked says "this is fantastic". I have to agree. Of course I altered slightly based on other reviewers comments; reduced the amount of wine significantly, used dried herbs and omitted the tomatoe paste. Fabulous sauce! Thanks for sharing Debbie!
02/22/2007
I thought this was pretty good but it didn't 'wow' us. Although I did like the red wine in it, I'll keep looking for that 'OMG' sauce:)
03/28/2016
amazing. tastes just like the sauce you would get from an old italian lady.
01/12/2015
If I did this in a crock could I just add all ingredients with the browned meats? Or would I have to add the ingredients in stages? I plan on adding green pepper too.
05/12/2008
I've been trying to perfect my speghetti sauce for years. This recipe has helped me in a huge way.
11/04/2013
Not bad. For those complaining about the wine taste, it is more than likely the quality of wine you are using. If it's not worth drinking, it's definitely not worth cooking with. I also used both ground beef and Italian sausage. Also with the onions, I threw in some caramelized onions (I always keep some on hand) for depth of flavor.
07/25/2017
easy sauce to make, great flavor !!! went well with 4 cheese tortellinni and a nice spicy Malbec red wine. I will be making this again !!
04/08/2007
Compliments to the chef! This was a great authentic spaghetti sauce. I didn't use as much wine as it called for, only because I wanted to save it for the meal ; ) I did sweeten mine up with some brown sugar and ketchup (just can't help myself). I love the rich flavor that the wine brings to the sauce.
03/02/2015
What a great sauce! I made a few changes due to what I had on hand and the recipe was still family pleasing. Instead of pork I had Italian sausage and ground beef...loved the flavor the Italian sausage added. And we omitted the mushrooms due to personal preference, I also cut back on the wine a bit. I don't mind wine in my dishes but I felt the 2 cups more before you simmer seemed a bit much. The sauce was still so hearty and flavorful. I think this will be my go to meat sauce recipe. YUM!
02/21/2010
Reading this I immediately knew it called for too much wine. I used 1/2 cup of wine. This is a very good recipe overall.
11/10/2008
This was excellent. I had fun making it too. I love the taste the wine brings. The only change I made was my family doesn't like mushrooms so I left those out, and I didn't have any fresh herbs so I used dried. It worked out fine. We ate on this for days and there was nothing left over. Will be making it again.
01/17/2009
I thought this was a little too "heavy" with all the wine in it, but my husband loved it. I will maybe cut down a little on the wine next time.
08/05/2016
I replaced the ground beef with ground turkey and reduced the wine down to only 2 cups.... it came out delicious! I took notice there's no salt or pepper or other seasoning being used which was great.... if you grate a really good Parmesan cheese ... it is all the seasoning you will need that compliments the sauce perfectly! Really great meat sauce, ground pork really makes a difference and it's a large, large batch that you can freeze some if you need to.
08/21/2017
I liked this recipe very much. It reminds me of the one my mother taught me as a child. I made a large batch, substituting basil for rosemary and a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar to cut the acidity a little, and simmered for 5 hours. I used a cabernet, half as much, so I could add more at the table if needed for the food I am cooking. I then canned it in quart jars so I would have plenty for several months. Processing time in the canner is 75 minutes. I have used it on fresh ravioli and on a baked pork mozerella recipe. Excellent. I like a thick, robust sauce and this is it. Perfect for canning too. Go for it. It is an all day affair but worth it.
06/27/2007
it wasn't bad but did not wow me or my family. i personally thought it had too much oregano.
08/15/2019
You can feed an army with this one, and they will appreciate it!!! I loved this one, a lot of room for you to make it yours over time. I was very conscious of the remarks about the Wine and personally thought 3 Cups was too much, so I used 1/4 C, 1/4 C and 1/2C. The wine came through but but didn't steal the show. I will be making this again! Thanks for the great recipe!
06/19/2020
While this is good, there's no salt in this recipe. My girlfriend complained that even though there was so much in it, it seemed to be lacking flavor. We could mostly taste the wine, but everything was bland. Had to add our own salt and pepper after it was already on our plates. Besides that, it's a good base recipe that you could add to.
03/14/2018
I didn't follow the recipe but I used it as a guide. I used 5 cloves of garlic, part of an onion, no wine, used the recipe as a guide for seasoning with the herbs. Used 1 TBS of sugar. Used hot and mild Italian sausage and 2 country style pork ribs. The sauce came out like authentic Northern sauce that I was taught to make by a first generation Northern Italian in the US. It was great!!!! The best I made. My previous mistake was using Italian Seasoning. I used a little more herbs than this recipe calls for. And I used organic Italian tomatoes and tomatoe puree with one can paste. Tried to get away with using only half a can of paste, but it wasn't right until I added the rest and some salt.
05/19/2019
Loved this! We didn't have pork on hand so just increased the beef a bit. And the portobellos I had on hand gave it a nice texture and flavor.
12/11/2017
I found this to be entirely average. Not bad but not worth 4 hours of waiting. I suspect that the extended simmering time only serves to drive off some of the subtle flavors and that half the cooking time might be adequate.
02/13/2018
Great flavor and easy to make. I made a few changes based on my preferences. I halved the red wine and mushrooms, added chopped green peppers and substituted 2 cans of crushed tomatoes for tomato sauce. My family went crazy for it!
12/31/2019
This is an amazing, basic pasta sauce. I love the flavor. My adjustments were less wine & only used ground beef. My additions are celery, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, extra mushrooms, and more Italian seasoning. I made baked cavatappi with it and it was delicious!
01/08/2020
I had to make an account for all recipes just so I could rate this sauce!!! My 5 year old butter/cheese/noodles boy actually ate this sauce and wanted more!! I decreased the wine by 1/2 cup and decreased the mushrooms by 8 oz. Like others said, you have to let the wine reduce so that is doesn't taste "winey". I let it simmer so that the wine can cook, especially while everything tenderizes before adding the tomato sauce. I also diced all of the mushrooms in my food processor in fear that people wouldn't eat it seeing sliced mushrooms. The mushrooms came out to the same consistency as the chopped meat, so it all blended in. Like any sauce, this takes time to simmer so that all the flavors can marry, and it is better the next day. The sauce wouldn't taste right if you mixed all the ingredients and ate in 2 hours, so let this recipe simmer and take your time. Perfect!!!!
02/05/2017
Without sugar, theres no way I could eat this sauce. It was way too tart. I free poured white sugar in until it cut out all that vinegar tartness. One onion was enough for sure.
09/04/2013
I was looking for a great meat sauce that my 10 & 7 year old would enjoy. They do not like tomato chuncks, sausage or mushrooms in their sauce. I cut out the mushrooms, and bought an genuine Italian made spaghetti pasta from a market, the kind that is air dried. When the pasta was done al dente, I poured one cup of ice water into the hot pasta water to slow the cooking of the pasta. I also added some grated Parmesan to
11/20/2009
It was good but suppose I didn't choose a very good wine for cooking. The sauce had a much too strong wine taste to it, and it wasn't a very good taste either.
08/03/2016
This recipe is so good and easy to make. Only change I made was using hot Italian sausage and ground beef and only 2 cups of wine.
09/20/2014
I threw this together in 20 minutes using canned mushrooms and dried spices....bellisimo!
05/25/2018
Really good and hearty
01/22/2019
First of all the prep takes 1.5 - 2 hours - not possible to even clean 2 lbs of mushrooms in 30 minUtes, never mind the rest. I started out following the recipe except for using all dried herbs and adding basil but could tell as I tasted that it needed more herbs/spices, garlic and less wine. I stopped after 2 cups of wine, which was fine and sauce had a nice consistency. However, despite basically doubling the herbs, it was still bland. We ate it over spaghetti with lots of Parmesan (the recioe mentions a little but never says what to do with it?) and afterwards I added a lot more herbs. Hoping that after I freeze and reheat it will be worth the effort and high end ingredients when we have it a few more times or use in lasagna. I regret making the full recipe, which I did based on stellar reviews that I don't understand.
09/15/2021
This is ok, but a little heavy on the wine. I used half and used chicken stock for the rest of the liquid. Absent from this recipe that I added is some fennel, a touch of cayenne, and a little chili flake to wake it up, and a little basil because why not. I highly recommend browning some of the pork (I used plain breakfast pork sausage) to breakfast ready crispy edge doneness to get some kind of meat Maillard action in the mix for real meaty flavor. Otherwise, it'll taste like boiled mince.
02/22/2007
when I'm in the mood for Italian food I love to cook this.
08/14/2019
Easy to make. The flavour was just right. Added some Parmesan cheese on top and it was perfect.
01/18/2017
I didn't use red wine, instead I used sherry cooking wine. I wonder if that affected my flavors. It didn't feel balanced, and it came off as too strong. I would have preferred a thicker, milder flavor. I also didn't cook it for the required time (I didn't realize it was 3-4 hours of simmering). I used my instant pot for 30-40 minutes instead. I may try this again and be sure to use red wine, and perhaps I'd try making the whole thing on my instant pot.
02/09/2022
great
04/05/2022
the best!
12/21/2020
Delicious!! I used 1/2 cup wine and 2 1/2 cups beef broth, doubled the herbs, added an entire bulb of garlic and simmered with a parmesan rind.
01/18/2022
Supper yummy!
11/12/2020
Good recipe , I added a little red chili flakes and a little brandy flambé
04/21/2013
I only simmered it for an hour, and it came out great. I used hot turkey sausage as the meat, and added some finely chopped carrot and celery in step 2.
05/11/2020
I used ground spicy Italian sausage, instead of plain ground pork. Parsley. A few drops of Tabasco every hour. It's very good!
05/12/2020
OMG! This takes me back to my childhood in the 50s in Denmark. Only change I made was adding a big dollop of "Better than Bouillon" as this delicious dish does need some more flavor.
01/30/2021
Love it!
11/08/2020
I had to add lots of baking soda to reduce the acidity of the abundance of wine, and I used a decent wine.
Source: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17151/old-italian-meat-sauce/
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