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An aerial view of two bowls of Rigatoni with a red meat sauce. A small bowl of tomatoes, freshly grated Parmesan, candles, and red wine can be seen.
Sacha Hirschfeld

Meat Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes

This Meat Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes has a robust flavor guaranteed to keep you coming back for more! Bonus: it's freezer friendly and a make-ahead all-star!
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 50 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 55 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Pastas
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • ½ lb thick-cut smoked bacon or pancetta; thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil or butter
  • 1 onion diced
  • 6 garlic cloves sliced
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 tbsp beef Better Than Bouillon optional, but makes for a richer sauce
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup dry red wine see notes
  • 1 ½ lb fresh small variety tomatoes the sweeter the better; may sub 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes
  • 1 ½ tsp dried oregano
  • 1 ½ tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • ½ tsp red chili flakes less if you're really sensitive to heat
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1 ½ cup whole milk
  • stock or water only if you need to thin out the sauce while simmering, I normally don't
  • 1 tbsp Vietnamese Fish sauce I use Red Boat; see notes
  • Parmigiano Reggiano
  • sugar or baking soda potentially; see notes

Equipment

  • 1 wide and deep, heavy-bottomed skillet (with lid) or Dutch oven
  • 1 chefs knife
  • 1 cutting board
  • measuring spoons ½ tsp, 1 tsp, 1 tbsp
  • measuring cups ½ cup, 1 cup
  • 1 wooden spoon
  • box grater to grate the cheese
  • 1 large pot to boil pasta
  • 1 large glass bowl or stainless steel; to toss the pasta
  • 1 pair of tongs to toss the pasta

Method
 

  1. Heat olive oil or butter in a large Dutch-oven or wide, deep, and heavy bottomed skillet (make sure it has a lid for later) over medium-high heat. Add thinly sliced thick-cut bacon or pancetta; cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has mostly rendered but bacon/pancetta has not yet started to brown, about 8 minutes. 
  2. Add onion and garlic; stirring regularly, until softened, about 3 minutes
  3. Crank the heat up-to high and add the beef, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Add the beef Better Than Bouillon (if using) and continue cooking until beef is no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
  4. Add red wine or beef stock; cook for 1-2 minute(s), scraping the bottom of the pot, until significantly reduced and the alcohol smell is gone.
  5. Add tomatoes, seasonings, and milk; give it a good stir. Mostly cover the Dutch-oven or skillet, leaving about a 1 " gap; simmer over low heat for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so. I like to cover during this process because as the tomatoes burst and break down, they can create a bit of a mess.
  6. Stir in fish sauce and a good handful of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano; turn heat up to medium and simmer (uncovered) for 20 minutes, stirring constantly to thicken the sauce and emulsify. Taste; season with salt and pepper, as needed. 
Toss with Pasta:
  1. This batch of pasta if good for 2 lb of pasta, about 6 large and 8 decently-sized portions. Unless you have a big family, you don't want to use this entire batch of sauce at once.
    Cook pasta as per package instructions in salted water until 1 minute shy of al dente. Reserve ½ cup of starchy pasta water and drain the pasta.
    Add a few ladles of hot pasta sauce to a large glass or stainless steel bowl. Transfer the drained pasta to the hot bowl and toss with the sauce, using a pair of tongs. Add starchy pasta water 1 tbsp at a time, as needed. Serve with finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Storage:
  1. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze for up to 2 months.

Notes

Non Alcoholic substitutions for red wine:
This was the first time I used a non-alcoholic wine for one of my recipes, and it was fantastic! I used: J. Lohr | Ariel Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. It's guaranteed to be under 0.05% alcohol and really tastes like the real thing, not like a weird grape juice!
You can also use beef stock for a non alcoholic alternative.
An easy swap for all the individual spices:
I wrote this recipe so you can use common spices you already have in your pantry, in reality, I use 2 tbsp of Stonehouse Olive Oil North Beach Blend. It's comprised of all the spices listed in the recipe with the addition of sun-dried tomatoes. If you buy this online, you can skip oregano through ground pepper. 
Won't fish sauce make make my sauce taste fishy?
I promise you it will NOT make your sauce taste fishy whatsoever. Fish sauce will just make your meat sauce taste meatier and add the umami factor which we all adore! 
My brand of choice is Red Boat. In my opinion, the taste is superior to others I've tried. Red Boat Fish Sauce is made on Phú Quốc Island in Vietnam. This family-owned company uses traditional methods to make the fish sauce.
What can I do if my sauce tastes too acidic?
There are a couple of options if your sauce is too acidic. The first and most common is to add a little sugar. This will add sweetness but it won't address the acidity issue. 
Another option is to add a small pinch of baking soda. Baking soda chemically neutralizes the acidity of the tomatoes but it doesn't add sweetness.
Here's the deal; it depends on what your particular problem is and this can vary depending on the tomatoes and other ingredients in the sauce. If your sauce needs just a bit of sweetness, add the sugar. If your sauce is so acidic it's almost better, go for the baking soda. You can also add a small pinch of each. 
Be sure to cook the sauce a few minutes longer, after adding the baking soda or sugar (if using).