Genovese Sauce

When I saw this recipe for Genovese Sauce on Kevin’s “Closet Cooking” blog and knowing that shredded beef is one of friend, Kathy’s, favorite food, I thought it would be perfect for this week’s Friday get-together.

I have been wanting to go to Oak Ridge to try out some of J&M Butcher Shop’s in-house made sausages and since I needed to pick up something from Wende, I was able to do both and see Eliza as well, so it was a great trip.  While at the butcher shop, I realized I needed a chuck roast for Friday’s meal so I bought a 3½ pound one and after trimming, it was two pounds. 

Except for adding some garlic and parsley, I followed Kevin’s recipe ingredients as written but I changed up the directions quite a bit based upon some other recipes I read.  To get more beefy flavor, after bacon removal, I browned the meat on two sides before proceeding with the vegetables.

Kevin’s original recipe can be found by clicking on the above link.

Genovese Sauce – Adapted from Closet Cooking

The Ingredients:

4 oz. bacon, diced

3 lbs. onions, sliced

1 carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 tbsp. mince garlic (added by Larry)

2 lbs. trimmed chuck roast, cut into large cubes

1 c. beef broth (1/2 c. next time)

1 bay leaf

½ c. fresh parsley, rough chop

salt and pepper to taste

The Directions:

1. Season beef with S&P 45 minutes before cooking.

2. Cook the bacon in a large pan until crispy and set aside, reserving the grease in the pan.

3. Add the beef to the pan, lightly brown on two sides, and remove to a plate – it took me two batches.

4. Add the onions, carrot, celery, garlic to the pan, season with S&P and cook in the bacon grease until tender, about 7-10 minutes.

5. Remove the vegetables to a large bowl and deglaze pan with ½ cup white wine scrapping up the brown bits (flat ended fish spatula works well for this).

6. Return the beef to the pan bottom in a single layer.

7. Add the vegetables, bacon, broth, parsley, bay leaf and mix, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 3 hours.

8. Remove the meat to a cutting board and shred with forks.

9. Return meat to the pan and mix with the onions before seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

10. Continue to simmer, uncovered, until any excess liquid is cooked off and the onions are a deep golden brown, about an hour. (I ended up with too much liquid)

Note: There should be enough liquid left in the pan to create a nice sauce but not enough that it is a stew or a soup.

Cooking it like I did, resulted in a few more dirty dishes.

Since no one wanted the meat served over a starch, I sided it with some of my leftover cauliflower and some steamed broccoli mixed with Velveeta ala Kathy.

The Verdict:

We all thought the meat was delicious and I will definitely make it again.  Mine ended up with a little too much liquid so the next time I’ll just add a half cup of broth so it won’t have to be cooked down so long– most of the other recipes I read didn’t use any additional liquid as the onions provided a lot (The pups will enjoy the extra broth on their food). The guests also really enjoyed the cauliflower so I’ll need to make it again for Beverly.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

03/25/22 event date