From Garden to Kitchen and Back Again: Steak Sauce

Today I am making my steak sauce. I use this for any kind of pasta and it can be used for lasagna or anything else you need a tomato meaty sauce. This is different from a Bolognese sauce as we are not using mince meat. However you will use it just like a Bolognese. Its more like a Ragu, it will be thick and meaty.

What you will need

Things you will need.

1.2kg Steak – choose a slow cooker one like chuck steak (can use Beef, Pork or lamb)

1 onion

Garlic (the amount is up to your taste)

Olive oil

2 bottles of tomato passata or pomodoro (it’s just a tomato puree)

Salt to season

Onions ready, garlic just went in

First chop the onion, you can do this finely, wedge shaped or roughly. Most of the time mine is rough but I think I managed to keep it pretty much the same today.

With the garlic you can smash it in a pestle and mortar or just chop it up.

Put a decent amount of oil in the pan and fry your onions, don’t add the garlic straight away or it will burn, when the onions are half done add the garlic, turn down the heat.

Now we are ready for the steak, I am using Beef as it’s what I had in the freezer. Trim all the big pieces of fat off, you don’t need them. I chop up the fat and off cut meat and feed it to my chickens, they love it, I also give a little to my dog Zena, there’s no way I could feed the chickens and not her! If you don't have the garbage disposals I have then into the bin it goes.

When the meat is ready for the pan, don’t chop it up, just through it all in so it all touches the surface of the pan. Cook it until it browns and then turn it over and let it cook again, all up about 5-7 mins I think.

frying on the other

frying on one side

fill it 1/3 with water

When you’re ready, pour in the tomatoes, don’t waist what won’t come out the bottle, put some water in one of the bottles about 1/3 of the way up and swish it round, pour it into the other bottle and do the same then pour it in the pan with the rest of the tomatoes. Give it a bit of a stir (which won’t be easy due to the steaks) and let it cook.

Mmmmm

I put a lid on and turn down the heat. Mine cooked for about 2 hours but you need to check it as it depends on your stove etc. After about half the cooking time taste and add salt to your liking.

Using 2 forks, try to pull the meat apart gently, if it’s ready it should come apart with no effort at all.

Now let it cool for a bit so you can get your hands in it, yes your hands. When its cooled down, it can be warm just don’t burn yourself if it’s too hot; pull the meat out of the sauce and put it in a dish. Using your fingers press into the meat (like your pinching) and pull it all apart, as you do this put it back into the sauce. If you really don't want to get your hands dirty, you can use a knife.