What is your secret ingedient in spag bol?

[Chairman Meow]

A squirt of lemon juice adds a little something I find.

 

[cesare]

Cubed pancetta instead of bacon

 

[Orang Utan]

Cubed pancetta instead of bacon

oh yes

 

[Ms T]

Chicken livers are good as well if you've got some in.

 

[cesare]

oh yes

Pancetta rocks

Ages since I've added chicken livers but from memory they worked too, you can chuck em in from frozen at the point when you're cooking the pancetta/beef

The real secret ingredient is slow cooking

 

[Mallard]

Tabasco and some mixed herbs

 

[ViolentPanda]

A pinch of pimenton and a level teaspoon of Coleman's English Mustard powder (per half pound of meat) sprinkled over the meat as it fries.

 

[Mallard]

A pinch of pimenton

What's that?

 

[invisibleplanet]

Garlic, 2-4 shallots, nutmeg, olive oil, beef, chicken livers, 1 carrot (finely chopped), 1 celery (finely chopped), sun dried tomatoes (finely snipped into strips with scissors), flour, oregano, passata, white wine, pepper (no salt), bay.

Sometimes I replace the chicken livers with anchovies and black olives, or peppers+mushrooms, depending on how I'm feeling.

 

[kalidarkone]

I marinate the meat in red wine overnight.

 

[Juice Terry]

Star Anise

chuck it in with the onions as they're frying, absolutely fantastic combination.

I learnt this from Heston Blumingarse just after I got back from india with a big jar full of them, which was handy.

 

[Badgers]

The secret ingredient is whatever happens to be at hand.

 

[cybertect]

I never use sugar, but I'll often add a spoonful of honey.

A dash of coarse grain Dijon mustard doesn't go amiss either

 

[zenie]

tomato ketchup

 

[Pingu]

it depends on what mood I am in.

sometimes I put diff sorts of mushrooms in to vary the texture and taste a bit, I often add a hint of wostershire sauce and various herbs according to my mood.

i also sometimes add an oxo cube if it doesnt taste "meaty enough"... cheating I know but it works

 

[hiccup]

I saw Antonio Carluccio make it with a mix of minced beef and minced pork, which he said was authentic and tasty.

I put a dollop of tomato ketchup in mine - sweetens it slightly, and helps enrich the tomatoeyness.

 

[seeformiles]

Chopped lemon

 

[ViolentPanda]

What's that?

Sweet smoked paprika.

 

[susie12]

sun dried tomato paste - it has a sweet deep richness that adds flavour to lots of things

 

[Scarlette]

a small amount of liver and red wine.

it's lush...

I agree with you. The liver makes it all rich and meaty.

 

[Vintage Paw]

Lots of those actually. Mainly marmite, red wine, sugar, bisto and more garlic that you'd need to kill the entire country of transylvania

All at the same time, natch.

 

[Detroit City]

Sweet smoked paprika.

is that teh Hungarian Paprika VP?

 

[Structaural]

My tip would be don't overcook the beef when browing, undercook if anything as the simmering will cook it.

 

[beeboo]

I like to put chilli powder and balsamic vinegar in mine.

My other half is trying to make spag bol the one dish he masters, so he's been trying out various combinations, and he is approving of balsamic vinegar.

I rather like the sound of OU's tomato-less sauce though, I think that has to be worth a try.

 

[Fuzzy]

fresh chilli and bisto.

 

[sam/phallocrat]

I whack a smidgen of dark chocolate/cocoa in if I'm making proper spag bol, and I always use a slug of heinz tommy k in whatever tomato based pasta sauce I make for the sweet & acidic qualities.

The defining mark of my past sauces tends to be the insane amount of chilli I put in though, often making them fairly unpalatable to people I feed them to.

 

[Ms T]

is that teh Hungarian Paprika VP?

It's Spanish.

 

[maximilian ping]

Repost:
This is the best ever recipe for Bolognese EVER. I was initially dubious cos it only has a couple of blobs of tomato purée and no herbs in - but apparently the bolognese sauces we are all used to are in fact ersatz bolognese, like chicken tikka massala is as a curry. This is the authentic real deal, from a Nigel Slater column I think:
Tagliatelle with Bolognese Sauce

It is curious that, the world over, the best-known pasta is spaghetti Bolognese. For in Bologna, where Bolognese sauce was created, it is eaten with tagliatelle - the pasta also created in Bologna. Moreover, the true Bolognese sauce often has little in common with its international namesakes. This is the true Bolognese sauce, as it is cooked at one of Bologna's top restaurants. For 4.

500g (18 oz) tagliatelle
15g (1/2 oz) dried porcini mushrooms (optional)
60 g (2 oz) unsalted butter
60g (2 oz) streaky unsmoked bacon, finely chopped
40g (l'/2 oz) celery, finely chopped
40g (1/2 oz) carrot, finely chopped
a small onion or shallot
300g (11 oz) excellent beef mince
1½ tumblers good red wine
nutmeg, grated
1½ teaspoons plain flour
2 scant teaspoons tomato paste
a little broth
good Parmesan cheese, grated

Soak the porcini for an hour in a little warm water, if using. Melt three quarters of the butter in a casserole with the bacon. When the bacon begins to colour add the celery, carrot and chopped onion and let them soften gently. Add the beef, and brown it Pour in half the wine and cook briskly to evaporate most of it. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, sprinkle with the flour, stir, add the tomato paste, the porcini and a ladle of broth. Cover, and simmer the sauce very slowly for at least l'/2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding a little porcini liquid, strained through a muslin, or some hot broth. Towards the end add 2 tablespoons of milk, to soften the flavour, taste and adjust the seasoning. Have ready a large pan of boiling salted water. Cook the pasta al dente, place on a warm dish, add the remaining butter in little flakes, and top with three-quarters of the sauce - the rest is passed round at table, like the Parmesan.
This is the classic version, but some people add 2 tablespoons of thick cream to the sauce at the very end. In Bologna they also vary the recipe by using half beef, half pork

brilliant stuff, well found

 

[g force]

Nutmeg. Works every time

 

[Gromit]

nah only joking.

But lots of people use it in chilli con carne

I use chocolate in spag bol as well as chilli. The 75% cocca one is best. Just a small piece.