Saturday, July 9, 2011

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce



It's another Dishboy takeover today and I'm happy, because along with you, I now have this recipe too! The only thing I'd add is to not let the condensation fall back into the sauce from the Slow Cooker lid. Occasionally, as the sauce simmers pull off the lid and shake the water into the sink to prevent the sauce from becoming too watery. ~Laura

"Hello...“Dishboy” Scott again. To those old timers who know and love “Dishboy”, I send warm greetings! For those of you who are newer and are wondering who this strange poster is…well you can read more about me by clicking up there in the “Favorites” navigation link at the top of the page.

Anyway, I just love being able to just jump in occasionally and ride on the coattails of someone else’s hard work and talent. Thanks, Laura, for letting me “guest blog” today. I am happy to be able to visit with you all again.

Laura has been waiting (semi-patiently) for me to post my spaghetti sauce recipe for some time now. I think I’ve been promising her that I would post this recipe for at least a year. Well, here it finally is! This sauce recipe is quite yummy, and very easy. If you want this recipe to turn out like it is intended, you MUST remember this key thing: There is something special that happens when you cook tomato-based sauces all day. I’ve mentioned this to you before, and it is critical as you cannot duplicate the taste any other way.

I strongly recommend that you make this as I do, by cooking it all day in a slow cooker. The goal is to cook it long enough that you are getting a heavily caramelized sauce sticking on the side of your Crock-pot. I use an oval 5.5 quart Crock-pot, and this starts to occur when it has been on high for around 5-6 hours (although I have noticed that some slow cookers don’t get as hot as mine and it takes longer for this stage to occur).

Please do not be afraid of this caramelized residue…it is the secret of this sauce! Once it starts forming, I scrape the sides with a rubber spatula and stir this back into the sauce. I try to do this several times, once more caramelized residue has formed."

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
Printer Version
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound ground hot Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
3 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 heaping teaspoon oregano
½ heaping teaspoon basil
3 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
salt, to taste

1. In a large skillet, cook the meat and onions until the meat is brown and the onions are tender. Add the minced garlic near the end of this step to prevent it from burning.

2. Place meat mixture (without draining) and all other ingredients into a large crockpot. I like my spaghetti sauce less thick, so I do not drain the tomatoes. If you like a thicker sauce, then I would recommend draining them before adding.

3. Cook on high for at least 5-6 hours, or low for 10-12 hours, stirring caramelized sides back into the sauce. As the sauce is nearing completion, it should be easy to skim off any fat with a tablespoon, as the fat will pool on top while it simmers.

4. When complete, stir well, and serve on top of your favorite pasta.

Recipe by Scott Bader. Picture by Laura Flowers.


14 comments:

Mary said...

I make my sauce almost identical to this one, all day long in the crockpot is my favorite too! We use meatballs versus ground meat, but the basic sauce is delicious. This looks great.

Krysta said...

This looks amazing! I think I'm really hungry

Mak anak tiga said...

great! just love spaghetti...never cooked it's sauce in a slow cooker before though~

fittingbackin said...

I LOVE using the slowcooker to make spaghetti, and the idea of combining beef and sausage is awesome - great recipe!

Veronica said...

It's been WAY too long since your last take-over, Scott! Welcome back. :) You've convinced me and I will be making this, but I was wondering about not draining the fat before adding to the crockpot. If you skim it off after cooking, wouldn't it just be easier to do it before?

notyet100 said...

Ummm this looks so delicious

Scott said...

Veronica,
The reason that you skim the fat off at the end is: 1) if you drain the fat when you cook the meat, you will invariably get some of the meat juices (ie flavor) as well and that is not ideal. 2) when you cook the sauce for a very long time, it will cook more of the fat out of the meat, and you'll end up skimming at the end anyway. So, just do it all at the end. This way you can also choose to leave some of the fat in the sauce and just stir it in (if you want more flavor). Hope that makes sense!

Joanne said...

I would not have thought that a slow cooker could turn sauce into something so magical!

Betty @ scrambled henfruit said...

I bet this makes your kitchen smell heavenly all day long! This sauce sounds perfect for a leisurely day in the kitchen, and I need to try it soon. :)

Anonymous said...

Hay woman!! I so love spaghetti sauce in the crockpot. I think it's the aroma drifting through the house and the anbticipation of the meal later on. Have you tried roasted garlic ??? Oh ... yes!
I think i'll make sauce tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I USE CHICKEN THIGHS OR COUNTRY STYLE RIBS. I PUT A LENGTH OF CHOPPED CELERY, 1 GRATED CARROT, MUSHROOMS, AND 1 SLICE OF BACON. AT THE END FRESH PARSLEY AND STINKY CHEESE. TRY IT. YOU WILL WANT TO MARRY ME!!!

Desserts In My Kitchen said...

This looks absolutely amazing. Yummy!

Monet said...

Good to hear from you! I'm working A LOT more these days, so I need slow cooker recipes like this. Thank you for sharing it with me. I wish I had a plate of this tonight instead of my boring peanut butter and banana sandwich!

Anonymous said...

I made this sauce for supper last night and it was delicious. So much so that my husband who typically stays away from spicy food said he didn't mind the heat whatsoever and I could definitely make it again! Cooked it on low for four hours and it started to boil so I moved it down to simmer for an additional six hours. I froze the leftovers for future use.
Thank you for posting a great recipe!

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