Backcountry Notes

Jay’s Marinara Sauce

Caution - this recipe makes a major amount of marinara sauce; enough for 12 - 15 servings.  Divide the amounts for smaller batches.  

You will need a big pot to make the full recipe.  I urge that you NOT cook Italian food in stainless steel pots or pans, ever; stainless steel damages the flavor of onions, garlic, and tomatoes, which make up the bulk of the marinara sauce recipe.  I use and recommend seasoned cast iron, enameled cast iron, enameled steel, and (if you must) teflon-coated aluminum.   

Purchase the best brand of tomato puree, etc., available where you live. No cheap stuff; has to be packed in enameled cans or glass jars; this is a lot of marinara to come out tasting metallic.

INGREDIENTS:

/ / 3/8 cup olive oil

/ / 6 - 8 cloves of garlic, crushed (use a wooden “mushroom” garlic crusher or the back of a wooden spoon)

/ /1 large yellow onion, peeled, chopped very fine

/ / 2 teaspoons of dried basil

/ / 4 (four) 28-ounce cans of tomato puree

/ / 2 (two) 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes

/ / 2 - 3 Tablespoons tomato paste

/ / 2-1/2 cups chicken stock

/ / 1 - 2 Tablespoons sugar (I use Demerara or Turbinado)

/ / 3 - 4 cups of water

/ / salt to taste

PROCESS:

Heat the olive oil in a proper pan (preferably cast iron).  Cook the onions and garlic in over a low heat.  When the onions begin to clarify, add the basil; continue to cook until the onions have clarified.

Pour and scrape the contents of the pan into a stock pot; add the tomato products, chicken stock, and water.  You can vary the amount of water depending on whether you want the marinara to be thick, thin, or medium; I use 3-1/2 cups of water.  Add 1 T of sugar and taste.  The idea of the sugar is not to sweeten the sauce so much as it is to offset the acidity of the tomatoes; if the first T of sugar leaves the sauce too acidy, add another.

Add salt to taste.  This can be a dicey process, as tomatoes will absorb a lot of salt and after simmering it may be too much.  I add sea salt in 1/8 teaspoon increments; when I get to the point where there is almost enough salt, I stop there.

Cover and simmer the sauce over low heat for 60 to 90 minutes.  I store the sauce, with or without additions, in wide-mouthed Mason jars in the refrigerator.

This marinara can be used by itself or with additions.  My favorite additions are Italian meat balls (see separate recipe),  Italian sausage, and Rosemary Sausage (see separate recipe).  Other additions: sun-dried tomatoes; mushrooms; olives.