SAUCES

Mamma’s Meat Sauce (with Ground Turkey)

Mamma's Meat Sauce (With Ground Turkey)
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Mamma’s Meat Sauce (With Ground Turkey)

Recipe by thesal28_wpCourse: Dinner
Servings

8

servings


We all know that once you put something on the internet, it’s never really yours again. As such, I dragged my feet sharing this recipe. It is very special to me because I developed my red sauce recipe in 2005, when I was a baby chef, working as the Executive Chef at a Banquet Center. And it has a secret ingredient! Nope, not sugar. That’s not secret. Every Sicilian grandmother I knew growing up in New York put sugar in their sauce.

The secret ingredient is Worcestershire Sauce! I know, seems odd, but it works. Among other ingredients, Worcestershire Sauce contains anchovies, which impart a flavor profile called umami. Umami is known as the “fifth taste”, (sweet, sour, bitter, salty are the others). It is characterized by a savory “meatiness”. It is naturally occurring in mushrooms, tomatoes, and many other fermented foods, as the flavor comes from the presence of glutamate, an amino acid.

A small amount of Worcestershire sauce used in tomato sauce heightens the naturally occurring umami flavor of the tomatoes, which really boosts the flavor. I cannot wait for you to try it and tell me what you think!

Also, a word on tomato product. Growing up, my mother always used canned whole tomatoes in her sauce. I prefer tomato passata (sometimes sold in the US as strained or pureed tomatoes) because I believe that a smoother sauce clings to pasta and meatballs better.

This recipe makes a little more than 2 quarts of sauce, enough for about 8 servings.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 tsp grapeseed or other neutral oil (You could use olive oil, but if you do, heat it over medium. Olive oil has a low smoking point and the flavor changes when used in high heat cooking.)

  • 1 medium onion, finely diced

  • 1 rib celery, finely diced

  • 3 garlic cloves, minced or sliced thinly

  • Kosher salt

  • 2 lbs. ground turkey

  • 36 oz. tomato passata (also sold as “strained tomatoes” or pureed tomatoes)

  • 2-3 tsp Italian seasoning

  • 1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

  • 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

  • 1/2 tbsp sugar (I sometimes use less- depends on the natural sweetness of the tomato passata)

  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions

  • Over medium high heat, heat oil in a 5-6 qt stock pot until shimmering. Add the onions, celery, garlic, 1/4 tsp Kosher salt, and stir. Reduce the heat to medium. Sauté the onions, celery and garlic, stirring occasionally, until softened and slightly browned at edges, about 10 minutes.
  • Scrape onion, celery and garlic mixture out of the pot and into a heat safe bowl. Heat another tbsp of grapeseed oil over high heat in the same pot you used to cook the onions, celery and garlic. Sprinkle 1 tsp Kosher salt over the ground turkey and carefully add it to the pot.
  • Press the ground turkey into one large meat disk, covering the entirety of the bottom of the pot. Do not stir it. Allow the turkey to cook until a fragrant crust develops. Once this occurs, break up the turkey to cook the remainder.
  • Add the tomato passata, Italian seasoning, 1 tsp Kosher salt, pepper, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar and black pepper to sauce. Stir to incorporate. Cover and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.
  • Simmer the sauce, with the lid on, but slightly tilted, for at least one hour and up to 4. Stir occasionally to ensure that the sauce doesn’t stick to bottom of the pot. Serve with your favorite pasta.

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