Consistency of spag bol

corblimey

Made bolognaise yesterday and while it was delicious, I think it was a little watery. I ended up straining the meat through a colander before popping it on some spag. The only liquid going into the recipe with the 500g of mince was 2 tins of chopped tomatoes and 2 tins of water. Should I have continued cooking until all the liquid had been absorbed by the meat and veg? Or is that too much liquid to begin with?

enda1

You added a litre of water and are wondering why its watery??

Making it myself I'd use milk not water and only enough to ensure a moist texture (not dried out). Also I use tomato concentrate, not chopped tomatoes.
Also how long are you cooking it for? Needs a good 2-6 hours. Big margin here yes I know. 2 hours in a rush but about 6 for best results.

In straining it you will lose such a huge amount of flavour!!

Remember, its supposed to be a meat sauce, not a tomato sauce.

Nevyn

I have never heard of anyone adding that ammount of water to it.

corblimey

It's a Jamie Oliver recipe from Ministry of Food. 2 tins of chopped tomatoes then fill up both tins with water and plop them in. I've not got the book with me right now, so maybe someone can confirm.

Edit:

enda1 wrote: »

Needs a good 2-6 hours. Big margin here yes I know. 2 hours in a rush but about 6 for best results.

Ok, so I had cooked it for about 90mins (the recipe calls for "about" an hour, btw), so it probably could have used some more time, but what happens in that extra 4 hours? If there's liquid in the pan, won't you just end up boiling the hell out of the meat and veg? I guess I don't understand to bolognaise that you leave on the stove for half a day?

enda1

Well you're not boiling it firstly. Its gonna be a very low simmer. The liquid should only be added gradually so that there's never anything resembling a soup, more a porridge I guess.

Add more liquid in bits as required stirring only when you check it (every 20/30 mins).

I sometimes use the oven too (depending on whether the pot I use can go in the oven), where I put it in at low heat so it cooks evenly and doesn't burn/stick.

I don't know the recipe you use so sorry about confirming that or not.

The Sweeper

I usually use about 750g of mince, one tin of tomatoes, a tin of tomato puree which adds up to about two to three tablespoons, a glass of red wine and about 200ml beef stock. If it's too dry I'll add more stock.

enda1

The Sweeper wrote: »

I usually use about 750g of mince, one tin of tomatoes, a tin of tomato puree which adds up to about two to three tablespoons, a glass of red wine and about 200ml beef stock. If it's too dry I'll add more stock.

That reminds me, I'd add some white wine too. A small glass perhaps.

The Sweeper

Yep white wine and tomato puree give a very, very different flavour to the robustness of red wine and beef stock and so on. I love to use a white wine and tomato sauce when I'm making meat balls, it just really seems to work, sets them off lovely!

bonkey

corblimey wrote: »

It's a Jamie Oliver recipe from Ministry of Food. 2 tins of chopped tomatoes then fill up both tins with water and plop them in. I've not got the book with me right now, so maybe someone can confirm.

Just had a look and he does indeed say that. 2 x 400g tins, throw in the tomatoes, the fill with water and throw that in too....all for only 500g of mince.

Gotta say, I find that a bit excessive on the liquid front...not surprised it turned out liquidy for you.

A quick google suggests that others have had this problem too. The only comment I've seen that maybe explains it (other than it being just plain wrong) is that with more expensive tinned tomatoes, the sauce in the tin can be quite thick, which could use the water....whereas with cheaper tins, the sauce is waterier to begin with.

irish_goat

Leave it cooking longer and maybe whack it up to a higher temperature and keep stirring to boil a bit of the excess water off.

You can always add a bit of cornflour to thicken it up too.

corblimey

bonkey wrote: »

Just had a look and he does indeed say that. 2 x 400g tins, throw in the tomatoes, the fill with water and throw that in too....all for only 500g of mince.

Gotta say, I find that a bit excessive on the liquid front...not surprised it turned out liquidy for you.

A quick google suggests that others have had this problem too. The only comment I've seen that maybe explains it (other than it being just plain wrong) is that with more expensive tinned tomatoes, the sauce in the tin can be quite thick, which could use the water....whereas with cheaper tins, the sauce is waterier to begin with.

Since this thread veered wildly off in a scary direction (not blaming anyone, good to see good ol' spag bol still raises some excitement levels) I had done a few searches and like you say, it would appear to depend on the quality of the tinned tomatoes. I use Roma which I always thought were fairly high quality, but judging from the wateriness, perhaps not. I'm sure I cooked this before and didn't have the same consistency, but can't swear to it.

Tks, bonkey. Next time I'll use maybe only 1 tin, and cook it for longer til it boils off. I do believe I'm losing some of the flavours by chucking the liquid down the sink.

Sparks

bonkey wrote: »

Gotta say, I find that a bit excessive on the liquid front...not surprised it turned out liquidy for you.

A quick google suggests that others have had this problem too. The only comment I've seen that maybe explains it (other than it being just plain wrong) is that with more expensive tinned tomatoes, the sauce in the tin can be quite thick, which could use the water....whereas with cheaper tins, the sauce is waterier to begin with.

Did he expect the sauce to be boiled/simmered for several hours in an open pot? I could understand front-loading with water if that was the case. Or did the original recipe use whole tinned tomatoes and the OP use chopped tinned tomatoes which have a lot more liquid?

To be honest though, I'd cut way back on the liquid and cook it in a pressure cooker. An hour in a pressure cooker is going to give you a seriously nice ragu for your spag bol.

Sparks

corblimey wrote: »

good ol' spag bol

No such thing btw. Spag Bol is a bit of an abomination unto dog. Ragu bolognaise served with tagliatelle, that's quite nice - but spag bol is a whole other animal (in fact, given the way it's made in some places, it might well be a different animal, such as cat...):

Ragu bolognaise with tagliatelle:


Spag Bol:


Seriously. Ugh. How's that sauce meant to stick to the spaghetti? And what's with the almost-whole carrots?

lucylu

well said Sparks

Dizzyblonde

corblimey wrote: »

Next time I'll use maybe only 1 tin, and cook it for longer til it boils off. I do believe I'm losing some of the flavours by chucking the liquid down the sink.

I use one and a half tins of tomatoes per pound of mince with no added water, then simmer it for 3 hours (partly covered until the last half hour) and I reckon the consistency is just right.

I use Napolina tomatoes when I can get them, although lately Shamrock brand have been really good too. I also add a huge dollop of tomato puree.

olaola

Napolina are very good, but I think Lidl whole plum tomatoes are also ace. And 35c a pop. Recessiontastic!

The Sweeper

Sparks wrote: »

No such thing btw. Spag Bol is a bit of an abomination unto dog. Ragu bolognaise served with tagliatelle, that's quite nice - but spag bol is a whole other animal (in fact, given the way it's made in some places, it might well be a different animal, such as cat...):

...

Seriously. Ugh. How's that sauce meant to stick to the spaghetti? And what's with the almost-whole carrots?

Ah yes, but there are plenty of recipes out there that don't stick to the original plan. The question is whether or not they, in themselves, taste good.

Examples would include spaghetti bolognaise, chili con carne, irish stew, paella, cassoulet and beef stroganoff to name but a few.

Interesting you found the two worst pictures ever to contrast there. I wonder if you used the ragu sauce in the first pic and put it over spaghetti, instead of whatever abomination of regurgitation passes as a sauce in the second picture, would it look better?

One of my favourite meals is an Indian curry from a British Indian Restaurant - namely lamb madras, steamed rice and a saag bhaji. I was interested to discover, on that basis, that me ordering that dish, while it would never be available in India - if I put a naan bread with it, it's like going into a carvery and asking for a plate with roast beef, fish, chips, mashed potato, mushy peas, gravy and cauliflower cheese, all heaped up together.

But whatever about its authenticity, it still tastes great. I think that's probably the best approach to take when considering what you're eating, versus what it's supposed to be in the classic sense.

Sparks

Granted; when it works.
But spag bol is just a bad idea from the get-go. For a start, it's american, not italian, and it's a made-up dish which was made up to sell spaghetti, not to taste good.
And secondly, it's a heavy sauce so it won't ever stick to spaghetti, even if it's spaghetti made with bronze dies. It needs the larger pastas to work at all.
And thirdly, whenever you see it served up in cafes and the like, it looks... well, like that photo above. Bleh. Which, granted, says more about cafes than anything else, but still. Bleh.

The Sweeper

That second picture really does look hideous. I can just picture it, sitting on a plate of badly drained spaghetti, in a puddle of water flecked with globules of orange oil, and the whole thing slides from side to side precariously as it's carried to the table - stop suddenly and it'll be dinner a la floor...

That's nice looking tagliatelle in the first picture. Making my own pasta is something I've never tried. I don't enjoy the fresh egg pasta I buy at the store, and it subsequently puts me off trying to make my own fresh pasta. Perhaps I should give it a go...

bonkey

Sparks wrote: »

Did he expect the sauce to be boiled/simmered for several hours in an open pot? I could understand front-loading with water if that was the case. Or did the original recipe use whole tinned tomatoes and the OP use chopped tinned tomatoes which have a lot more liquid?

No and no.

The recipes called for the cooking time mentioned in post 4 (about an hour), and tinned chopped tomatoes.

Can't pretend to understand it myself.

dillodaffs

h... i use passata to make my spag bol, used to used tinned tomatoes but prefer passata, use it for my chilli to.