Gramma & Grampa's Pasta Sauce

This is a family recipe that I'll wager only family members will appreciate. It isn't a 15 generation Italian recipe that came to America on a boat. Nope, it was invented right here in the states by my Mother's parents and it was born out of the necessity to feed 6 children with what little money they had. I use the term recipe loosely because they didn't really follow a recipe when they made it. They just used whatever they could get their hands on and they put it all together in the same pot and cooked it for a long time. When it was ready it always had the same distinctive taste that still takes me back 35 years today. My mother, being the oldest, remembered many of the ingredients that were gathered to make the sauce, so it wasn't too difficult to recreate. Below is our rendition of this family recipe.

Gramma & Grampa's Pasta Sauce

10-12 quarts tomatoes, skinned and cored

1 large onion, chopped

24 oz tomato paste

2 lbs chicken hearts

2 lbs chicken gizzards

1 large pork bone or boney pork chop

1 chicken back or chicken thigh with the skin

10 cloves garlic, pressed

1/4 c salt

2 tbsp pepper

1/4 c sugar

1/2 c fresh oregano, chopped

1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 c fresh basil, chopped

2 sprigs of rosemary

4 bay leaves

1/2 tbsp sage or poultry seasoning

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Heat the oil in a 15 quart sauce pot. Add onions and pressed garlic to the pot to render the aromatics into the oil. This process should only take a few minutes. Do not scorch the garlic or onions. Add tomatoes. If using fresh tomatoes, crush them with your hands in the pot after they have been skinned and cored. We actually added 2 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes to the pot because we didn't have quite enough tomatoes from the garden. Fresh tomatoes are not a must and we used them because that is what we had. Add salt, pepper, sugar and herbs to the pot and bring to a boil. Stir often to avoid scorching. Lower heat and add all the meat and bones. Make sure you count the boney things that are added so you can fish them out later. Simmer uncovered for at least 8 hours and if using fresh tomatoes, at least 12 hours is needed. Stir at least every hour. The sauce will transform from a bright red runny mixture to a full bodied dark red sauce. When the sauce is done fish out the bones, bay leaves and rosemary sprigs(if you can find them).

If dried herbs are substituted, only use 1/3 the amount listed above. Most of the moisture has been removed from the dried herbs, so volumetrically they are not compatible. I would encourage everyone to use fresh herbs as often as possible, but I understand that isn't always easy.

As you can see from the picture, we decided to can this batch. The freezer tends to get crowded and with the new canner this became an option. We ended up with 10 quarts of sauce from a beginning volume of about 14 quarts. We'll see how it holds up. Enjoy! ;-)

TTFN

B