Spicy Calabrian Beef & Pork Sugo – AKA: Hot Calabrian (Pepper) Nights

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What’s better than a good meaty pasta sauce for any occasion?  Not a whole lot.  Cold Weather?  Check.  Hot Weather?  Suck it up you pansy…Check!  As long as you don’t bring that one vegan friend (or 8 where I live), this sauce will bring a smile to everyone’s face.

This is a good sauce that’s very easy to put together, but with one major theme.  It’s gotta be tutto Calabrese.  Calabria is a southern Italian province known for its hot summer weather, hearty red wines and spicy culinary fare.  I had the pleasure of having an extended visit to the Calabrian countryside years ago and had a great time experiencing life at a much slower pace outside of the hustle and bustle of a big city.  I’ve spent a LOT of time in nearby Napa Valley, which is absolutely fantastic in its own way.  Keep the food, wine and majestic scenery, but take away the snobby pretense of Napa and replace it with a more down-home feeling, and that’s the Calabria I remember in a nutshell.

This sauce, much like everything I like to make, is very open to modification.  There isn’t too much here to modify other than the specialized Calabrian items that can be replaced with more generic versions.

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(Serving Size: 6-8…or no more than 6 Mes)

• 1 – 28 oz. can Whole Peeled Tomatoes
• 1 – 15 oz. can Tomato Sauce
• 2 tbsp. Tomato Paste
• 1 lb. 80/20 Ground Beef
• 1 lb. 80/20 Ground Pork
• (Optional): 1 lb. Hot Italian Sausage
• 1.5 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1.5 tsp. Onion Powder
• 1.5 tsp. Paprika
• 5 Calabrian Chilies (w/seeds), diced
• 1 tsp. Calabrian Chili Oil
• 3 tbsp. Dried Calabrian Oregano, diced 
• 7 medium Garlic Cloves
• 3 tbsp. Fresh Basil, minced
• 3 tbsp. Fresh Italian (Flat Leaf) Parsley, minced
• 3 Bay Leaves
• Neutral Oil (Avocado, Canola, Vegetable…)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• Kosher Salt
• Sea Salt
• Fresh Ground Pepper

Mirepoix:

• 1 Large Yellow or Sweet Onion, diced
• 2 Cups Carrots, diced
• 2 Cups Celery, diced

Pair With:

• Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano
• Nice loaf of bread (Sourdough for me)
• I don’t drink, but if you do, a nice Calabrian Aglianico (All-ee-ON-ee-co) or Gaglioppo (Gaul-ee-O-po) would pair very well.

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Now, this can get spicy.  Ok, I’ll admit, years of spicy food have probably killed my taste buds and I’m forever chasing that dragon, so if you’re not super adventurous, feel free to use less peppers than listed here. I’ve also included actual Calabrian oregano that I bought in bushel form. Yeah, it looks like another popular herb we have plenty of around here that can alter your state of mind, make you want to buy some crystals and get your chakras aligned. I can assure you, the only thing this one will alter is your culinary satiation. Have fun with it and plan on starting your diet next week.

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To begin:

1.)  Prep your Onions/Carrots/Celery (Mirepoix).

2.) Unpack your ground beef and pork, pat dry with paper towels to remove moisture, and combine into a very large mixing bowl.  There, combine your paprika and onion and garlic powders with 1 tbsp kosher salt and 1 tsp of fresh cracked pepper and mix by hand to create one giant meatball of goodness.  You now own your own homemade pseudo Hot Italian Sausage.

(Optional): The above may be enough meat for some, but I also wanted to add an additional pound of real good “local to me” hot Italian sausage from Caggiano.  Say, Ca-JAW-no!  They make theirs with an absurdly great fat content, so if you can find it, more power to ya.

3.) Preheat a 6-7 quart stock pot or dutch oven on upper medium/high with 2 tbsp of neutral oil.  Add your giant meatball of death and break apart to brown all sides of the sausage. Mix every other minute to get all sides, about 6 minutes so as to not fully cook the meat.   Remove all contents of the pot to a mixing bowl for later.

4.) Add more neutral oil to the pot and preheat on medium.  Add your mirepoix that has been made “mies en plas” (hopefully). “Mies En Place Mirepoix” sounds like a great album name by the way. Add 1/2 tsp of sea salt and 1 tsp of pepper.  Cook for about 7 minutes, stirring well once every minute or so. Create a hole in the middle of the mirepoix and add your minced garlic, diced peppers, and tomato paste, cook for 45 seconds and then mix together.

5.) Now it comes to the tomatoes.  Now, you COULD buy a can of crushed tomatoes, but where’s the fun in that?  My job is to make your life harder, so let’s crush our own!  Empty the entire can into a large mixing bowl.  Put a paper towel over the bowl and reach under the towel and start crushing the tomatoes with your hand.  The towel is important so that as you crush said tomatoes, liquid doesn’t squirt everywhere.

6.)  Add your bowl full of browned sausage into the pot.  Mix everything up while your heat is still on medium.  Next, add the red wine vinegar and stir, scraping any tasty fond from the bottom of the pot. I don’t drink and therefore don’t like to add wine to my recipes. If you do, add 1/2 cup of full bodied red wine to your mix instead of the vinegar. Then add your oregano, basil and parsley and once again, mix.  Next, add the bowl of now crushed tomatoes, followed by the tomato sauce and guess what?  Stir it all up.  Oh, and don’t forget to add a certain secret special ingredient…the bayleaf (or 3)!  Second super secret ingredient, either 1 tsp of oil from your jar of Calabrian peppers or from a dedicated bottle of Calabrian pepper oil.  Bring everything just about to a boil and then turn down to low (2 or 3 on my stovetop) to start that beautiful simmer going. (And stir!)

7.)  You’ll want to simmer for a minimum of 45 minutes on low, stirring a bit every 5-10 minutes or so, or when you remember to while watching episodes of Sex/Life or Euphoria or White Lotus or whatever show you claim you’re never watched. Test it out at that point to see if it’s to your liking, but I’d keep going for another half an hour. 

Once done, it can be served, but like all sauces and stews, they taste better if they sit for at least an hour up through overnight.  Serve with your favorite “chonky” pasta type.  I would go with penne or rigatoni or thicker long pastas like fettuccine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle.  Even try a real fun one like farfalle that’s in the first picture.  Just don’t forget to salt your water until it tastes like the ocean!  Enjoy!