All day spaghetti sauce

If you have the time, you  really can’t beat spaghetti sauce made with pork neck bones. The bones add a richness to the sauce that just shouts comfort food. There are lots of different ways to do this, but this method is one of my favorites. 

First the bones are roasted for a couple of hours. Next they simmer for hours to make a broth, and finally they merge with the tomatoes. I got lots of complements on the sauce, including a big one from myself. Here’s how I made it.

1-1/2 lb. of meaty pork neck bones

Cajun seasoning

Onion powder

Black pepper

Lots of water

2 tsp. thyme

1 bay leaf

1/3 cup of onion flakes

1 tsp. garlic powder

Adobo seasoning

6 oz. can of tomato paste

2 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. marjoram

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 cup of red wine

Few dashes of Maggi seasoning

28 oz. can of San Marzano tomatoes

Preparation

You’ll have to start cooking this sauce in the morning. Season the neck bones on all sides with lots of cajun seasoning, and a dusting of onion powder. Set them in an enameled dutch oven. Grind on some black pepper. Set the pot in a 350º oven. Let those roast for at least two hours.

When the bones have roasted, set the dutch oven on the stove and add enough water to cover the bones by a couple of inches.  Add the onion flakes, one teaspoon of thyme, a bay leaf, and a heavy sprinkle of adobo seasoning. Bring that to a boil, and reduce it to a simmer. Let that simmer, partially covered for at least three hours. Stir every so often as it simmers.

After three hours on the stove, the liquid will have reduced so the top of the bones are sticking out of the broth. Stir in the tomato paste, add a teaspoon of the basil, the oregano, marjoram, and the Italian seasoning. Stir to dissolve the paste, and add the wine. Let this simmer very gently for a couple more hours, but stir often.

By now you will notice that most of the meat has fallen off the bones, and the bones have separated. Use a set of  tongs to remove the bones from the sauce and pull of any remaining meat off the bones, to return to the sauce. Let this continue to simmer.

One half hour before serving, place the San Marzano tomatoes in a bowl, and break them up by squeezing them with your hand. Add those to the sauce, along with the remaining thyme and basil. Give the sauce several dashes of Maggi seasoning and stir. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. You don’t want to cook the flavor out of the tomatoes, so just bring it to a very light simmer for no more than thirty minutes.

Serving

We served this sauce over lots of thick spaghetti, along with a huge tossed salad, plenty of olives and some homemade bread. I was very pleased with this sauce.