Home Made pizza sauce....

[LMAJ]

What's your favorite recipe and why?

 

[leanza]

If I told you I would have to eliminate you. :wink:

Because it's that good. Really.

 

[icemncmth]

It depends on what type of pizza I am doing. I make a lot of pizzas on my egg most just use a simple recipe..

1 large can crushed toms. I add to that some garlic, dried basil, oregano, a little S&P. I pinch of sugar if need...This is not a cooked sauce it is used for my Neapolitan style pizzas. I want a "fresh" tasting sauce not a cooked one.

If I am doing a cooked sauce I buy 2 large cans of crushed toms. In a pan I saute an onion, 6 cloves of garlic then add the toms. I let that simmer and taste. I add Salt Pepper and some dried red peppers. I add oregano during each step.

Now the important part. I taste the sauce. If it tastes good from the spoon I add more spices. The reason is most people don't think about the fact that the sauce needs to have a good full flavor or it will get lost in the toppings. One favorite trick of mine is to add anchovy paste to the sauce for some good depth. If you really want people to scratch their head cook some pepperoni and sausage in the sauce and remove it before cooking. Gives the sauce a nice flavor..!

I also like to spice up all my toppings including fresh veggies. I will take tom's and slice them, sprinkle salt and pepper on them and lay them between a lot of paper towels to absorb the moisture.

Remember one thing...Layer your flavors!!!!!

It is like a pot of stew you can throw everything in the pot at one time and it may look like a stew but it will be bland. If you brown the meat and ad spices then brown some onions..etc you "layer" your flavors..

Do the same thing with a pizza and people will love your pizzas.

 

[BobBrisket]

Ragu...................er, ok, maybe not the kinda answer you were looking for.:sad:

No set recipe, but I like to start off by sauteeing onions then finely sliced garlic and then toss in crushed maters or better yet from the garden when I have them and then go from there. Fresh basil, oregano, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. Oddly, I add smoked oysters and or chopped sardines and capers since we like a Putanesca type of sauce. And one thing we must have is chopped hearts of palm. Don't know why, but just tried it once since we had some leftover from a pizza night and loved em. Then of course some shrooms too.
All over some angel hair. Some reason, angel hair pasta is our fav too. I can't wait to see where this thread goes.

 

[Blackened]

 

[Brauma]

I'm going to take my 1st whack at pizza on the Egg this wknd. Buying all the goodies today. Thanks for starting this thread.

I plan to buy my own sauce this go 'round. I saw a canned sauce in the Whole Food Market that looked promising. It was an old school looking can with the ridges, mostly yellow, I think it has a pizza man characture on it.

Gotta love Google. Here it is:

I went into Whole Foods to find the dough that Rick's Tropical was refering to. I think I found it. It was just a big, raw dough ball. $2.99 for 22 oz of dough. I think it should make 2 medium sized pies. I plan to get 2 dough balls.

I'm sure to report in how it goes. I've got my Red Stripe and ready to emulate Rick!!

 

[IronStomach]

I've been making deep dish Chicago style pies for over two decades now, one thing I never change is the sauce. It's simple: for two pizzas I take three 28oz cans of peeled tomatoes (with or without basil added), drain them really well, break up the tomatoes and drain that. Throw in a bit of sugar and some oregano and mix it up. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes and drain once more before putting the tomatoes on the pie.

Sauce always goes on top of the cheese and ingredients, some parmesan on top of the pie and the rest is magic.

I use this recipe for 12" deep dish pies (EDIT: measured my pans, they're 14"ers, heh). Like I said, the sauce is the only thing that never changes, it doesn't have to, I've changed everything else about my pizzas over the years to get to where they're at now, and the sauce is the one part I've never felt needed to be different. I always get the perfect tangy taste of tomatoes on my pies, and they're not watery, which is amazing since I use at least a pound of mozz per pie. Sweated mushrooms and onions and bell peppers go really well with this. As does just cheese and a pound and a half of cooked italian sausage. Used two half lb Armadillo Eggs on a pie recently, been saving that for another post with pics, was inspired by Rick's Tropical Delight. But the sauce went well with that too.

Tomatoes on top of veggies, 2lbs of sweated mushrooms, 1.5 lbs of italian sausage, 1 lb of mozzarella:

Tomatoes on top of two half pound Illinois Armadillo Eggs (BBQ rubbed, 2/3 pork sausage, 1/3 ground chuck, 1 big jalapeno stuffed with cheddar) on top of 1 pound of mozzarella:

Everyone I've made these for (friends and relatives birthday parties usually) claims they're the best pizza they've ever had. They probably haven't eaten as much pizza as I have, but they're happy.

 

[LMAJ]

Yes Char - Come for dinner....

 

[BBQchef33]

Mines a simple uncooked sauce.

first I heat some good olive oil aand add some(4-5 cloves) fresh garlic put thru a press. Then 2 cans of D.O.P San Marzano tomatos and a small can of tomato paste. A handful of fresh chopped basil, tablespoon of oregano and tablespoon italian seasoning. Salt and black pepper to taste. i dont cook it, just let it sit for about 20 minutes.

 

[MilitantSquatter]

Mine is close to Phil's but I don't use the fresh garlic & I don't add tomato paste

olive oil and and fresh basil applied after pizza is cooked only..

uncooked DOP certified San Marzano tomatoes (strained) .. very gently pulsed in blender for about 5-10 seconds at most.. I crushed by hand too in the past but I prefer less chunky (but still textured) for pizza sauce. I then add a small pinch of salt, pepper, garlic powder & oregano..

 

[GreasePig]

Here is my favorite. We use this for more a lot more than just pizza.

1 (4-ounce) can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Mix together the tomato paste, water, and olive oil. Mix well. Add garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, oregano, basil, and rosemary. Mix well and let stand several hours to let flavors blend. No cooking necessary, just spread on dough


Really good pizza sauce! If you like Rosemary you'll like this. Be sure and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. We make it the day before and let it sit overnight.

 

[LMAJ]

I am liking the looks of the not cooked ones - I was wondering how that would work - thanks folks!

 

[BBQchef33]

Vinnys right with the addition of fresh basil AFTER the pie is cooked. Thats a must in my book. (but i still add some chopped to the sauce). Also some red pepper flakes if the mood calls for it. Whats good about the uncooked sauces is that you can make them in the amount of time it takes to heat the egg and stone.

Vinny.. I was taught that putting the tomatoes in a blender grinds the seeds and could give it a bitter aftertaste. Have u ever noticed and/or compared.? I never used the blender just based on moms words. I put it thru a collander or crush by hand. (or buy them already crushed)

And u folks that add sugar! c'mon.. sweaten it with some shreaded carrot if needed.. or vidalia onion.. not sugar!

 

[IronStomach]

And u folks that add sugar! c'mon.. sweaten it with some shreaded carrot if needed.. or vidalia onion.. not sugar!

What's wrong with sugar? It's not like it's MSG.

I usually use my canned tomatoes, and if I don't add sugar, I'd have to cook them down for three hours to cut the acidity. No where near enough sugar that you can taste on the tomatoes, but wow on the acidity if it's not there!

EDIT: definitely agree with you on crushing by hand, gives a better presentation anyway and you can easily control how fine or course it is. I doubt a blender's blades would be able to cut the tiny seeds of tomatoes though.

 

[MilitantSquatter]

With standard whole peeled canned tomatoes, I agree on the seeds.. I've actually attempted to remove the seeds on a few occasions.

but with the D.O.P. San Marzano, there are actually very few seeds so the blender works perfectly to make a good pizza sauce consistency. They are literally in the blender for 5-8 seconds so I don't think it has time to have any noticeable negative effect.

The San Marzano tomatoes are generally sweeter and less acidic. No need for sugar with them (or any sauce I make).

Phil makes a good point on the red pepper flakes as it relates to the "mood calling for it".. Just becuase we all do something one way most of the time, doesn't mean it has to be all of the time.. A little variation from time to time makes it interesting and fun with a good foundation/base.

 

[Moose]

Here's what I've been using of late:

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions
Over medium heat, heat oil in a saucepan until hot. Saute garlic until done, then add all ingredients, cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, lower heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool before you apply to pizza dough.


This is a good full flavored sauce for traditional type pizza, but not Chicago style pies. For that, I use something similar to IronStomach's. You can also use whole canned San Marzanos and puree them in the blender before you cook the sauce.


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[LMAJ]

Mines a simple uncooked sauce.

first I heat some good olive oil aand add some(4-5 cloves) fresh garlic put thru a press. Then 2 cans of D.O.P San Marzano tomatos(on edit, 2- 28 ounce cans) and a small can of tomato paste. A handful of fresh chopped basil, tablespoon of oregano and tablespoon italian seasoning. Salt and black pepper to taste. i dont cook it, just let it sit for about 20 minutes.

How many pies do you make with this?

 

[BBQchef33]

What's wrong with sugar? It's not like it's MSG.

I usually use my canned tomatoes, and if I don't add sugar, I'd have to cook them down for three hours to cut the acidity. No where near enough sugar that you can taste on the tomatoes, but wow on the acidity if it's not there!

EDIT: definitely agree with you on crushing by hand, gives a better presentation anyway and you can easily control how fine or course it is. I doubt a blender's blades would be able to cut the tiny seeds of tomatoes though.

LOL.. It depends who u ask. If you ask my stubborn old italian grandma about sugar in the sauce, she will flash you the stink eye, throw up the horns and start yelling in italian something about making her turn in her grave. :tongue::wink:

Shaved carrots or vidalias just take out the bitterness without adding sweetness or chaging flavor. Its more like a neutralizer.

i have found(and as vinny eluded too) that different brands have different levels of acidity. There are some brands that I avoid all together(red pack for instance) becase the tromatoes are very bitter compared to others. Rienzi, Centos, Luigi Vitelli, Nina, and the D.O.P san marzanos will yield a sweeter sauce than most store brands or domestic. Also, if you break the sauce by allowing it to come to a rapid boil will also make it bitter.


I have started liking the precrushed tomatoes lately.. i like the consistancy for a pizza sauce. if I want it to be chunkier, i will add one can of whole tomato crushed by hand and drained to the alredy crushed can, or do like diFara does and add a few hand crushed tomato right on top of the pie.

Also since I add a can of paste, that may also negate the need for adding sugar(or carrot:wink. I find whe i add the paste it gives it a deeper flavor and without the paste, you have a lighter sauce.

 

[Bride of Roo(BQ'n)]

Yes Char - Come for dinner....

Maybe I can get the pilots to over-fly Denver by 1700 miles (not infeasible these days)....and Ill see you at 7:wink:

 

[BBQchef33]

How many pies do you make with this?

That depends. But making a traditional thin crust NY sytle I would say 3 or 4 22 inch pies.

Sometimes I go thin crust, light on the sauce where its almost translucent and you can see the dough, and other times when im making sicilian style thick crust, I go heavy on the sauce where the dough is completed covered with a layer of sauce.