Mark Carey’s Spaghetti Extravaganza
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb of bacon
- 2 small shallots or 1 large shallot
- 1 Tbsp of minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
- 3 stalks of celery
- 1/2 lb of ground beef
- 1/2 lb of Italian sausage
- 1 spice bag
- 1 star anise
- 8-10 cloves
- 1 bottle of Ragú Traditional Spaghetti Sauce
- 1 Tbsp of Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- 1 Tbsp of sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 gallon of water with salt to taste like sea salt
- 1 lb of dry spaghetti
- 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cut bacon into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook on medium heat (works best in a cast iron pot/Dutch oven) until half way done
- Mince shallots and add to pot along with minced garlic, red pepper flakes and chopped celery stocks. Cook until shallots caramelize and bacon is cooked.
- Add ground beef and Italian sausage. In a spice bag, put star anise and cloves. Close and tie bag, then pound once with your fist and throw in with the meat. Brown the meat and drain the liquids (leave in spice bag). Continue cooking until meat is slightly seared.
- Add Ragú Traditional Spaghetti Sauce as well as Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, sugar, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and then cover. Cook between 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In the meantime, add 1 gallon of water in a pot with salt to taste like sea water. Bring to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook until almost done.
- Drain spaghetti. Remove bay leaves and spice bag from sauce. Add spaghetti to sauce and mix. Cook for 3-5 additional minutes until spaghetti is fully done cooking. Add Parmesan and stir to combine
- Serve and enjoy.