Alton Brown's recipe from Food Network
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.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/meat-sauce-and-spaghetti-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback
