Mama Braun's Spaghetti Sauce

This is not a weeknight sauce. This is a full-day, two-pot, fill-the-freezer operation that Mama Braun clearly designed to feed a family for months. Fifteen pounds of ground beef (or a beef-lamb mix), pounds of blended onions and bell peppers, gallons of tomato paste, and a long, slow simmer create a deeply concentrated spaghetti sauce with serious body.

The secret weapon is the chicken necks and backs boiled down into a rich stock, plus the beef juice. That double-stock foundation gives the sauce a savory backbone that tomato paste alone can’t deliver. Blending the onions and peppers breaks them down completely so they melt into the sauce and thicken it rather than floating around in chunks.

The finishing step is genius. When you thaw a container to serve, you blend garlic with wine and brown sugar and stir it in fresh. This means every serving gets bright, sharp garlic and wine flavor instead of the muted, cooked-out version you’d get from adding them at the start of a 12-hour simmer.

Pro Tips

• Freeze in measured portions (about 1 ½ quarts for four servings) so you can thaw exactly what you need.
• Use sherry or burgundy for the finishing wine. Each gives a different character, so try both.
• The all-day simmer is the point. Reducing that much liquid concentrates the flavor dramatically. Don’t shortcut it.
• Flat freezer bags stack better than jars and thaw faster.

Variations

• Use half ground beef and half Italian sausage for a spicier, more complex base.
• Add crushed red pepper flakes during the simmer for heat throughout.
• Use the sauce as a base for lasagna or baked ziti straight from the freezer.