One of my most fondest and vivdest memories I have of my grandmother is her making a meat sauce to go over pasta.

A little straight up Polish lady who made pasta and red sauce often.  Her pasta of choice was rigatonis or “sewer pipes” as she called them.

Not the most attractive nickname, I know, but they are big pasta tubes so it makes sense.

The house always smelled so amazing with the sauce simmering away and it made the atmosphere warm and inviting.

Whenever I smell a similiar red pasta sauce, it brings me right back to my Grandma’s house and her telling us that sewer pipes were for dinner.

I was feeling very nostalgic one evening and decided to create my own.

Andrea’s Bison Red Sauce

• 1lb Ground Bison (Can use beef if you cannot get bison)
• 3/4 Large Onion, chunked
• 1 Green Pepper, chunked
• 1 Red Pepper, chunked
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• 1 28oz Can of Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 15oz Can of Tomato Sauce
• 1 14.5oz Can of Diced Tomatoes
• 1 6oz Can of Tomato Paste
• 1C Red Wine
• 1C Beef Stock
• Big Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
• 2TBSP of Italian Seasoning
• 1tsp Garlic Powder
• 1TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 TBSP Olive Oil

In a food processor, combine onion, garlic, and peppers and pulse until finely chopped.  In a large soup pot, add in 1TBSP of olive oil and heat over medium heat.  Add in the bison and cook for about two to three minutes, just to get some color on the meat.  Remove from pan and drain if there’s a lot of liquid in the pan.  If not, add in remaining 1TBSP of oil and the chopped veggies.

Sprinkle veggies with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.   Saute for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Let the veggies start to soften and reduce the amount of moisture they have.  Add bison back in along with the tomato paste.  Combine and saute for about 3-5 minutes.  Add in the red wine and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes.  Add in the other tomato products at this point.  Combine. Add in the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and worcestershire sauce.  Combine and then add in the beef stock.  Gently combine and bring mixture up to a simmer.

Simmer sauce for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and serve over pasta.

Oh this sauce!  It was just how I hoped it would turn out.  It’s a thick and rich meaty sauce perfect for a hearty pasta and scooping up with garlic bread.

This makes a good bit of sauce so you’ll have plenty leftover for freezing.

You can stick with rigatonis or branch out and use a ribbon style pasta.

We also had this over some fettucini and it worked beautifully!

This summer when I can get some fresh tomatos, I’m definitely making this again.  For the time being the canned tomatoes worked well.

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food!  Enjoy!