Aurelios pizza sauce

[mkvilla28]

I am wondering if anyone knows the secret to Aurelio's pizza sauce.  They have a very sweet sauce that I crave for.  I worked at Aurelios when I was in high school and know that all of their sauce comes from their own supplier.  They have a great sauce for a thin crust pizza.  Just curious if anyone has a great recipe for a sweet sauce similiar to Aurelios?

[BTB]

I don't have a recipe, but someone here once mentioned that Pastene's brand tomato sauce with a little brown sugar added was remarkably similar to Aurelio's, which was one of my favorites when I lived nearby the original Homewood, Illinois location.                       --BTB

[mkvilla28]

Were can I purchase Pastene's tomato sauce from? I usually use 6 and 1 tomatos but I am always up to trying something new.  Thanks for the advice.

[BTB]

Check for sources at www.pastene.com, altho I once found it at an Italian deli in the Tampa area.  I trust that you've checked out this thread:  http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,4084.msg34118.html#msg34118

[mkvilla28]

Thanks for the thread.  Very interesting.  I must say that I will be trying the Chellino cheese everyone raves about.  I live in Manhattan IL., that is and the plant is right down the street from me.  I use to work at the New Lenox Aurelios when I was in high school.  I wish I paid atttention to the secrets back then.  I do remember that the manager made the dough  in a commercial mixer.  I love to order aurelios pizza with canadian bacon and pinapple with extra sauce.  That combo is soo good.  One day I might ask Joe for a little help on his secret ingredient that he puts in the sauce.  The sauce was pre made from some store that we would get in bags.  Some nights we made over 200 pies!

[HandsomeG]

I worked at Aurelio's in Oakbrook Terrace way back in 1980/81.  As I recall it, the sauce consisted of tomato paste, water, sugar, salt, maybe some garlic powder or garlic salt, oregano and... BEER!  I was underage at the time, so a waitress would bring two pitchers of draft beer and poured them into the batch for me. I think the brand was Old Style or Miller High-Life, but can't be sure as I never dispensed it.  I have made a similar sauce for my own use that comes pretty close, but I would sure like it if someone could recall the exact mixture.

[BTB]

As I recall it, the sauce consisted of tomato paste, water, sugar, salt, maybe some garlic powder or garlic salt, oregano and... BEER!

Beer has a pretty distinctive aroma/flavor and I think I and others would have noticed that if that were possibly the case.  I wonder if you haven't been hitting the beer when making your recollection.

[Pete-zza]

Contrary to public opinion, alcohol in a dish does not all burn away during cooking (there was a recent program on the FoodNetwork on this topic). I would think that all restaurants, especially those that serve children and teetotalers and recovering alcoholics, would be sensitive about using beer or any other alcoholic beverages in their dishes. It's hard to imagine that using beer in the pizza sauce was Aurelio's standard operating procedure. They wouldn't dare do it today.

Peter

[mkvilla28]

I don't recall beer being a part of the recipe when I worked there.  I would have definitely remember that, not to say maybe that restaurant did.

[HandsomeG]

I agree with all of you concerning the use of beer these days in a family-style restaurant recipe, however, I am quite certain it was contained in the sauce 29 years ago when I worked there.  In proportion to the overall size of the batches of sauce, the amount of beer was very small, but it was in there.  I have recently wondered how they get away with it these days and since nobody of more recent employment recalls it, it would not surprise me if they removed that from the recipe years ago.  I do use it in my own recipe (1/6th of a cup to about 12 ounces of tomato paste and 12 ounces of water plus the rest of the stuff) and it does not produce a distinct beer flavor.  The sugar really is the key to the taste and back then it was normal cane sugar, not brown sugar, but again, the recipe could have been fine tuned in the last three decades.  However, if your attempts to recreate the Aurelio's taste continue to fail, you might consider adding a little brewski to the mix.  Besides, there's always O'Douls or Sharps.  Heck, that might even be what they use these days!

[HandsomeG]

I moved away from Chicago 20 years ago and the thing I miss the most is Aurelio's Pizza.  Even though I worked there and ate so much of it I should be sick of it for life, instead, it is still absolutely my favorite pizza in the world.  Since I can't call them up anytime I want and get a takeout pie anymore, I just want to fine tune my home recipe to approximate the experience.  I don't expect anyone to give the exact recipe, just looking for some ideas...

[zaza]

I worked at Aurelio's from 1991 until 1996 and I can tell you that it is a simple recipe.  Although they used to make it by scratch it now comes in foil packs already made.  Those ingredients are as follows:  Full Red Tomato Puree which is a Stanislaus product, water, oregano, basil, black pepper, white sugar and iodized salt.  That is it.  I wish I could remember how much of everything went in but I remember there being almost as much sugar as salt in the recipe.  Something like 1 1/4 cup salt to 1 cup sugar per 4 #10 cans of sauce and one #10 can water.  Sorry I can't be more help.

[mrmojo1]

sorry just found this discussion, been talking about it on the chicago pizza pages.  when you say red puree do you mean paste?  the puree i buy(no salt added) already is pretty watery? i cant see adding more.  but your simple recipe of puree water oregao basil sugar salt pepper is very similar to what another cook said to me who worked at the same oakbrook terrace aurelios i worked at.  he was a cook, i was 14 and was a dishwasher/busboy(wish i had paid more attention!!!).  lots of white sugar is what he remembered most.  i can see cutting paste with some water but puree? how much do you think you would add to a standard what  is it 24oz can of puree?  thanks for the help. sorry to exhume this discussion but replicating aurelios sauce is a mission im committed to now living in Idaho....sorry i got distracted a tumbleweed just blew by......

[Chicago Bob]

I worked at Aurelio's from 1991 until 1996 and I can tell you that it is a simple recipe.  Although they used to make it by scratch it now comes in foil packs already made.  Those ingredients are as follows:  Full Red Tomato Puree which is a Stanislaus product, water, oregano, basil, black pepper, white sugar and iodized salt.  That is it.  I wish I could remember how much of everything went in but I remember there being almost as much sugar as salt in the recipe.  Something like 1 1/4 cup salt to 1 cup sugar per 4 #10 cans of sauce and one #10 can water.  Sorry I can't be more help.

zaza,
Have you been able to recall anymore details to this recipe?  Thanks!

Come back zaza...you were jus online a min ago.....