Smokey spaghetti sauce

There’s not many of us, but I’m one of those people who sometimes lights the grill to make spaghetti sauce. This is a sauce that uses smokey pork as the base flavor, and then I enhanced it with some bones from barbecue ribs, which I had in the freezer.

This sauce actually started Friday afternoon. I had a big porterhouse steak that I was going to grill for dinner. I also bought some country style ribs which was essentially chunks of fatty pork. What I did, was I started the grill a couple hours early for dinner, and smoked the pork off to the side of the charcoal, until it was fragrant. I let that cool, and then grilled my steak. Then yesterday, I made the spaghetti sauce with the smokey pork. Here’s how.

1-1/2 lb. country ribs

Cajun seasoning

Garlic powder

Onion powder

A handful of barbecue rib bones

1-1/2 quarts of water

1/2 cup of dried onion flakes

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. oregano

2 bay leaves

6 oz. can of tomato paste

28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup red wine

Louisiana Hot Sauce

Preparation

One or two days before, light a charcoal grill. Set the country ribs on a cast iron pan, and season them on all sides with cajun seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder. Let those cook on the grill, not over the coals, for at least two hours, until they are golden brown and fragrant with smoke. Let them cool, and place them in a ziplock bag in the fridge until you are ready to make the sauce.

I’ve said this before, but never throw away beef, pork or chicken bones after dinner. Instead, save them in little ziplock bags in the freezer. I pulled out a handful of bones from a dinner of barbecued baby back ribs. There was no meat on them, but they still had lots of flavor to offer. Place the country ribs, and the rib bones, in a large pot. Cover with water, I’m guessing about a quart and a half. Add the onion flakes, oregano, thyme and bay leaves. Bring that to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and let that simmer for at least two hours.

By now the house should smell wonderful. Add the tomato paste to the broth, and stir to dissolve. Add the can of crushed tomatoes and stir. Let that simmer, uncovered for at least an hour. Stir often. You will notice that the meat from the country ribs is starting to fall apart. By the time the sauce is ready, there will be no chunks of meat, just shredded pork suspended in the sauce. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. You are ready to serve.

Serving

I served my spaghetti sauce over bow tie pasta, with a shower of grated Parmesan cheese. I also had a wedge of Asiago cheese to nibble on, as well as a bowl of olives and a bowl of fresh blueberries. I opened a bottle of California Zinfandel to wash everything down.