Betty Feezors Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

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On Wednesday I decided to make another batch of this sauce. So I go out and get the hamburger meat etc etc.. put it all together same as the first time into the pressure cooker. Well something went wrong with my pressure cooker I'm not sure yet and it didn't cook properly and got slightly burned on the bottom. Oh well, things happen.

So I poured it out into a regular saucepan to see if there was anyway of saving it but no.. once that burned taste gets into spagh sauce it's there for life.
I left the saucepan on the counter pushed far back again the backsplash and went out to visit mom up the street.

When I came home about 90 minutes later, there's the saucepan on the kitchen floor licked clean and only a few splatters on front of the fridge.

Ben really enjoyed it, all of it. I dare say PiP never got a taste.
 
Hans...

We made this sauce yesterday for Sunday supper. Taking the inspiration from Fred's post, I used a crock pot to make the sauce. I browned the meat in an electric skillet and put the onions in with meat while it browned. I then transfered the meat and onions to the crock pot and put in the rest of the ingredients. Didn't have any green peppers on-hand, so I chopped up some black and green olives instead. It cooked for about five hours in the crock pot.

kevin313++9-26-2011-10-01-44.jpg
 
We really loved this sauce. I was not sure how it would be without the use of some of the Italian herbs like basil, oregano, etc., but the chili powder gave it a warm flavor. I make a pound of thin speghetti and it was time to eat...

kevin313++9-26-2011-10-03-28.jpg
 
This was such a nice thick sauce. It didn't get watered down by the wet pasta, and Ralph LOVED IT because he, without fail, always gets red sauce on his shirt when eating pasta (and he had a white shirt on!). This usually has me pulling his shirt off at the table and getting out my bar of Fels Naphta and scrubbing before it sets. BUT, because this sauce was so thick, it didn't spatter! Thank you, Betty Freezor, and Hans, for this great recipe!

kevin313++9-26-2011-10-06-42.jpg
 
I'm thinking that the failure of my 2nd attempt burning on the bottom of the pc was I made it just a bit too thick. My cans o paste the 2nd time were a wee bit larger and I didn't compensate by adding a little more water so it never got bubbling around inside. Probably wouldn't have been a problem with a slow cooker but the pc heats up hot and fast.
 
A very simple sauce.

I think meat sauce is one of my favorite foods in the world, and I got a lot of them. I'm going to try Betty Feezor's recipe because it looks so interesting, and might be like the sauce I remember fondly from our school cafeteria.

 

My favorite all-time meat sauce is one that my Mother learned from one of her best friends, who was a Sicilian, Connie Fulin. Connie came from a family of great cooks and I remember her telling Mom that despite the legendary "gravies" that were tended by Nonna for hours on the stove, that she had concocted this sauce for her husband and sons for school nights when Nonna wasn't around to disapprove and it took only 30 minutes to make. This is how it was made, originally and you can certainly make substitutions, but I won't guarantee results if you do:

 

3 tablespoons of good fruity olive oil(back in the day, we used Progresso brand in the round tin can)

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 lb. ground chuck

1 small can Hunts tomato paste

2 small cans Hunts tomato sauce

1 leaf of fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste.

 

Heat the olive oil GENTLY, only till it shimmers and add the minced garlic. My mother used to do this by standing over the skillet and cross-cutting the garlic clove with a sharp paring knife and letting the tiny cubes of garlic fall into the oil. Garlic should sizzle ever so gently but not burn.

 

Crumble chuck into oil and raise heat. Brown meat over medium heat, breaking pieces apart as it cooks.

When meat is brown add tomato products and basil leaf. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes until very thick and oil separates slightly from the body of the sauce. Season to taste and serve. If done correctly, this sauce will taste slightly sweet.

 

Oh My G0d!

 

And then there's Vincent Price's Ragu alla Bolognese...
 
Pressure Cooker..

While I love a pressure cooker, this sauce is WAY too thick to do under pressure, it will stick, I use a Aristo Craft dutch oven, or my Royal Queen dutch oven, both are multi ply stainless and very heavy.
 
I made a vegan version of Betty Feezor's sauce using textured vegetable protein and it was really very good! My mom, who moved to the U.S. from Italy in her early 30's, is probably spinning in her grave over the inclusion of ketchup, but it didn't taste ketchup-y at all. It's definitely an American-style spaghetti sauce, but I'll be making it again. It was great with rigatoni.

Slight adaptations: There were two cups of vegetable broth in the fridge, so I used that instead of water, and added only 1/4 teaspoon of salt. I used red bell peppers, as I prefer their flavor to green bells.
 
Betty Sauce

I am a convert. Never buy jar sauce again. Now I have to look at the container in the freezer every time I go in there. I need to buy rigatoni at the store and thaw the rest.

Malcolm
 
I am a convert. Never buy jar sauce again.

I know that feeling. For a while, I've just defaulted to jar sauce. I've made a couple of sauces from scratch recently, and both have reminded me of the limitations of jar sauce. In fact, I've bought at least one jar recently that was a type I'd been happy with, and found that I'm not so happy now... It'll be interesting seeing what happens--the jar sauce can be a huge convenience, particularly for hectic nights. (I could freeze extra, but then I have to plan to thaw--I don't have a microwave in service.)

"Better than I usually buy" brands every now and then go on sale with a price that I'm willing to pay. It'll be interesting when that happens again to get a jar to see what I think now.
 
One possibility with jar sauce might be getting something simple, and then doctoring it up with one's own touches. This is something I've generally avoided doing--it's either something I actually cook, or else it's something I heat with minimal changes/adjustments. But I might make an exception for sauce in jars.

Of course, I realize that jar sauce is somewhat a hard sell when a better sauce can be made with only a little more effort. And certainly doctoring up a jarred sauce pretty much takes the convenience/time savings away. But one huge plus to jar sauces--and one reason I switched over (past laziness) is that the jars are glass. I'm concerned about BPA, and switching to glass for one tomato product I eat made sense. (I assume the jar lids have BPA--but I figure between limited contact area and the air gap that I'm probably ahead with glass.)
 
I think the main problem with most jarred sauces is the overwhelming flavor of dried herbs. My shortcut-to-homemade sauce is usually a can of Hunt's Traditional sauce and a 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes. The crushed tomatoes give it a much fresher taste, and it dilutes the dried herb issue. You can stir in a few minced fresh herbs (basil and/or oregano are nice) just before serving to really up the fresh factor.
 
Shamed into submission

One of the galpals at work years ago:  "You can make a souffle with ease but you use spaghetti sauce out of a JAR?"

 

My apology was that I simply cannot tolerate garlic in any shape or form.  Love it, but can't have it around.  Even the smallest dose (like salad dressing) will result in people being offended up to two days later.  I work in retail sales, so I just can't have this.

 

Look at your list of ingredients on so many things you buy, garlic is almost a common denominator. FAIL!

 

I have come to make my own Italian sauce, much like the recipes shown, just with eliminating the garlic and adding a little more onion and fresh basil, which I always have around - summer or winter.  I learned how to dry the Jersey tomatoes that my friends give me, it's that last fillip that makes a sauce so nice.

 

If there's anyone else out there who has the same "offensive" problem as I do, look for Ragu "traditional" or "old world" style in a jar - no garlic that I can detect (or my customers).
 
Great sauce!

Thank you for posting this recipe! My go-to jar pasta sauce is usually Mid's Italian Sausage, found here in Indiana at either Kroger or Marsh supermarkets. It's good, but this sauce recipe is better. I made this recipe (minus the green peppers) Friday afternoon with angel hair pasta. Loved it!

Having said that, last night I grilled some hot dogs and decided to use this recipe for hot dog sauce. FANTASTIC!
 
Betty Feezor Recipes

Hans,

Perchance do you have any other of her recipes that you would be willing to share? I enjoyed the sauce recipe above.

I researched the YouTube and Google and as you said...sadly the tapes were erased or taped over with other programming.

Thanks in advance for any further good recipes!

Mike[this post was last edited: 10/3/2011-15:52]
 

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