Beyond Pizzaiolo - A Recipe Challenge / Advice To Us All

[TomN]

From all the response to the my thread on Pizzaiolo Pizza Sauce, it is clear that many people feel that simple tomatoes with spices added to them, seem to be the best way to go. With this in mind, I am asking advice from those who have a personal recipe for sauce, take this recipe challenge / advice to all of us struggling with sauce recipes (like me). If you have already contributed on this subject on any thread, etc..., PLEASE DO SO AGAIN.  I know that it will benefit many for the many sauce beginners.

THE CHALLENGE / ADVICE TO US ALL.....

If i was to present you with a # 10 sized can of whole tomatoes (as pictured below, which I get at the Costco Business Center). For a 14" pizza, after you crushed the tomatoes, (your amount choice for the pizza), What Would You ADD to the tomatoes to make the pizza sauce taste the best. Your recipe will be a big help to me and others. Thank You in Advance from all of us sauce beginners.

PS
You can name your favorite tomato brand if you like.

[Tscarborough]

After application sprinkle a decent size pinch (maybe 1/4 tsp) of Italian herb mix then add cheese and ingredients.  That is what I have been doing lately.

[Bill 001]

For a 14" pizza, after you crushed the tomatoes, (your amount choice for the pizza), What Would You ADD to the tomatoes to make the pizza sauce taste the best. Your recipe will be a big help to me and others. Thank You in Advance from all of us sauce beginners.

Right up front I will say that taste is a really tricky sense.  What taste good (the best) to me may or may not be the same for you.  But, here goes.

Cover the bottom of a sauce pan with olive oil.  Chop half an onion (more or less onion according to your taste) and saute the onion.  in a blender, one 28 oz. can of tomatoes (whole, chopped, diced, doesn't matter),  tomato paste, oregano, garlic, brown sugar.  I like a smooth but thick sauce so after blending the tomatoes, I add tomato paste until I get the thickness I want.  Oregano, garlic, and brown sugar to your taste.  Add to the onion/oil in the sauce pan and simmer over very low heat for no more than 30 minutes.  ALAKAZAM  pizza sauce!

So, get away from the computer, go to the kitchen, get a can opener, and get busy.  But please post both your successes and failures.  We learn from both.

[scott r]

buy the bella rosa!

these tomatoes taste really good, but will be on the thin side for most applications.   Either add paste, or strain to thicken (two different flavors and you should try both)

[tinroofrusted]

I usually would just mill the tomatoes and use them uncooked as is. If I want to make a more formal sauce I would saute 3 or 4  finely diced cloves of garlic and 1 Tbsp. of freshly ground black pepper in a 1/4 cup of olive oil, just until the garlic begins to color (but don't let it brown), then add the milled tomatoes, 1 Tbsp. of sugar, 2 tsp of salt (or more to taste), and that's it.  Let it cook for 10 minutes or so and you're done.  If you want to add an herb flavor you can add chopped fresh oregano. But I don't. 

Regards, 

TinRoof

[chickenparm]

Tom,

Go to this link and read up.Theres alot of other info there for you to compare notes and ideas.

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,12927.0.html

[TomN]

chickenparm,

Thank you very much for the link. It is awesome.

TomN

[TomN]

What prompted me to start this thread is that I was committed to using Pizzaiolo, and that I had no idea that others felt there was a better way to make sauce for your pizza. I assumed (don't remind me what that means) that since Stanislaus produces some of the best tomatoes and sauces in the pizza industry, that their very best Authentic pizza sauce was represented in their can of Pizzaiolo. Also, i have enjoyed many cans of Pizzaiolo and probably will continue. HOWEVER, many of the fine Pizzerias that i have visited, due to my marketing job that takes me throughout the state, have been using crushed tomatoes and adding their own signature blend of spices (which remain their secret).

One pizzeria chef that i visited, told me he uses tomatoes right out of the can and only adds sea salt and then covers the pizza in Grande cheese. The Pizza was amazing too. (i will post a picture of the can and the Grande cheese)

This is why i am desperate to hear from others that might use ONLY tomatoes and add their own signature spices.

PS
I have NO idea what this can of tomatoes is or where it comes from. It must be an imported can of tomatoes.

[TomN]

Having made pizza dough with beer and pressing out my Pizza yesterday, I find that it is so EASY to just open a can of Pizzaiolo, add some garlic, little bit of dry basil and little bit of Italian seasonings, then toppings etc...

I will experiment more with the tomatoes, but PIZZAIOLO is a good tasting product by Stanislaus and is easy to use. Perhaps that is why many people do not go the tomato route.

My other observations are: When I visit High, Middle, or low End Pizzerias throughout my state. Nearly everyone has some kind of Stanislaus product. Whether it is Full Red, 7/11, Saporito, Pizziaiolo, Al Dente, etc..... Stanislaus is there. My Point: They make good products that save time and if most pizzaries are using them, I will too.

PS
Does anyone know anything about the Tomatoes in the photo above??

[TXCraig1]

If you like the Pizzaiolo, use it. There is nothing wrong with Stanislaus products. It's just my $0.02, but I don't think "most pizzerias are using them" or some meaningless marketing spin about being "authentic" is a good reason to use it. I'd love to hear what they think makes their sauce "authentic."

For me, whole peeled tomatoes (I prefer the Cento Italian that come in the 35oz can), run through the coarse disk of a food mill with a tsp of sea salt (and maybe a touch of sugar if it needs it) is the best sauce I know of. Simple, bright, balanced, delicious.

Craig

[Giggliato]

I like to use canned romas, unless I have fresh ones!! just add oil, salt, and oregano, and perhaps garlic.

[AimlessRyan]

To me oregano is a killer of great sauces.

[randyjohnsonhve]

I use canned crushed tomatoes, anchovies, salt, sugar and black pepper...If needed, not usually however, balsamic vinegar...It is a balance between acid, salt and a little sweet...Anchovy provides umami...You really want to taste the tomato...Let sauce meld at room temp for several hours...This provides for differences in tomato canners, and crops if you use the same tomato all the time...

RJelli

[La Sera]

Recipes are like a minefield. Everyone has their way and their way is the best, darn it! 

As time has gone on, I've found that simpler is better and less is more for me and my market.

I've simplified all the way down to mixed tomatoes with a little salt and puree to achieve a consistency I want. That's it. No cooking; it's going to get cooked in the oven. I don't want a heavy tasting sauce, I need something very light and fresh flavored to match my business model. I don't want my sauce to be the overwhelming aftertaste the customer has.

My spices and vegetables are fresh picked in the morning. I use no chemicals in my dough like large chains do. I make seasonal specials using fresh ingredients and sometimes use smoked meats and cheeses we make ourselves. I do it sparingly so they are special. The sauce is just a light tomato canvas for us. I put fresh herbs and spices on top instead of in the sauce, if I want that flavor. If I use a heavily-flavored sauce, all of my pizzas will start to taste the same.

But, that's just me. Everyone has different ideas.

[chickenparm]

To me oregano is a killer of great sauces.

I tend to agree...I will sprinkle some oregano on top of the pie when it comes out of the oven.I love oregano,but adding it into the sauce,I have not found the balance yet.Like dried basil,it can make a sauce taste like bad medicine.

[rcbaughn]

I don't know how traditional or if anyone else does this, but I always add a tablespoon of unsalted butter to my tablespoon of olive oil to sauté my onions and garlic in before I add my can of tomatoes. The butter adds a rich mouth feel and great taste to the sauce. I also hit my sauce with a stick blender right at the end so I don't get any chucks of onion of garlic in bites.

I have been recently using the Muir Glen crushed tomatoes with about a tablespoon of tomatoes paste added right at the end of my hour long slow cook. I think the secret to a good sauce though is to add a bit of anchovy paste and to sauté the crushed red pepper flakes in the oil with the onions and garlic that way you really awaken the peppers flavor. I like my sauce to have a bit of spice. I also like my sauce cooked down prior to topping a pie. I know that most people like the uncooked sauce since it cooks a bit with the pie, but I like the richness and caramelization you get from a slow cooked sauce on any style pie I make. Hopefully I won't get flamed for saying that!

Oh, and oregano has it's place in a sauce if used judiciously, but yeah, anything over the top and it turns into medicine sauce for sure. Same with basil, but I only add fresh sprigs to my sauce then pull it out at the end.

[AimlessRyan]

I know that most people like the uncooked sauce since it cooks a bit with the pie, but I like the richness and caramelization you get from a slow cooked sauce on any style pie I make. Hopefully I won't get flamed for saying that!

Aside from the fact that sauce cooks while the pizza bakes, I think most people around here (including myself) also prefer uncooked sauce because cooked sauce tastes like crap. That wonderful tomato smell that fills the house when you cook tomatoes is the smell of the taste that used to be in the tomatoes. And excluding whole tomatoes, almost every tomato product has already been cooked during processing anyway.

I think you trust Alton Brown more than you trust your taste buds. The thing is, Alton Brown doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to pizza or anything baking-related.

Have you ever even tried using a simple sauce, made of quality whole canned tomatoes, that hasn't been cooked or had anything added to it?

This is not a flame.

[rcbaughn]

Yeah, I have went both ways on the sauce recently. The first pizzas I made were with an uncooked sauce from fresh Roma tomatoes I got at Whole Foods, and I just found that they never reached the level of flavor that I wanted, and I even made a deep dish with the uncooked sauce and it just didn't really please my palette even though it cooks for a good bit longer than my usual pie. I consider myself to have a pretty developed palette for a college guy too.

But yeah, I like the flavors that the red pepper adds when you sauté it with the onions and garlic, it damn near burns your eyes if you stand over the pan. The roasty flavors you get just can't be had in an uncooked sauce, I guess because no maillard reaction occurs really unless the sauce gets hit with a broiler directly. But that is just my opinion, and it isn't that I dislike uncooked tomatoes. My favorite sandwich is a plain tomato and mayonnaise with salt and pepper, and I love them fresh on a good caprese salad.

And as far as Alton goes, I really do like his show a lot. I think that he puts a good amount of effort into what he does and is the only cook on the entirety of Food Network that is worth watching. The rest of them are nothing more than actors if you ask me. There are things that I found I disagree with, like recently him not balling his pizza dough before he bulk ferments it. But as far as his sauce goes, I like it cooked as well and reduced to a fairly thick consistency. He does do fresh "sauce" on the grilled pizza episode though, and if one uses a WFO oven I think it would be a travesty to employ a thick cooked sauce. But for my American and NY style pies I've been doing recently I enjoy it cooked. If I crack open my D.O.P. tomatoes I recently found though I may feel differently, but I am saving those for a special day.

[Giggliato]

I tend to agree...I will sprinkle some oregano on top of the pie when it comes out of the oven.I love oregano,but adding it into the sauce,I have not found the balance yet.Like dried basil,it can make a sauce taste like bad medicine.

I suppose I see the tomatoes as a topping, not really a sauce since it's not cooked. I just grab a bit of oregano from the garden and add it to the tomatoes.

[AimlessRyan]

Yeah, I have went both ways on the sauce recently. The first pizzas I made were with an uncooked sauce from fresh Roma tomatoes I got at Whole Foods, and I just found that they never reached the level of flavor that I wanted, and I even made a deep dish with the uncooked sauce and it just didn't really please my palette even though it cooks for a good bit longer than my usual pie. I consider myself to have a pretty developed palette for a college guy too.

You're talking about fresh tomatoes, not canned, right? It may seem counterintuitive, but fresh tomatoes don't make good pizza sauce. (That's merely my opinion, but I'm sure most experienced pizza freaks share my opinion.)

If you tried uncooked fresh tomatoes, that's not even close to what I was asking. I specifically said quality whole canned tomatoes. Have you ever tried quality whole canned tomatoes, uncooked and with nothing added? It sounds you haven't. You should.