Looking for the secret to Lou Malnati's sauce

[seatactony]

Long time lurker first time poster.

I've spent the last ten years trying to perfect a deep dish pie out in Seattle after moving from Chicago.  While I've got the crust reasonably close, I have not been able to duplicate Lou's sauce. 

I recently asked for some extra sauce on the side when I ordered some Lou's on a recent trip home to Chicago.  The sauce was clearly cooked and basically tasted like a very good marinara sauce.  I used the sauce on a homemade pizza the next day and, low and behold, had basically recreated a Lou's pie.

I had assumed (per most recipes) that Malnati's just used crushed, uncooked tomatoes for its sauce.  Doesn't appear to be the case given my recent experience.  Does anyone have a recipe for Lou's sauce?  Thanks.

[gatorsactions]

I was wondering about this same issue. Does anyone have a good sauce recipe for malnati's to go with the all the crust recipies?

[seatactony]

I was wondering about this same issue. Does anyone have a good sauce recipe for malnati's to go with the all the crust recipies?

I'll actually reply to my own OP, as I've learned a bit in the past months.

My problem was with the type of canned tomatoes that I was using, not the descriptions of the sauce contained in the various Lou's recipes on the forum.

After not receiving a reply to my post, I plunked down some $$ and bought every brand of canned tomato that I could find in Seattle.  Spent an hour testing each can vs. the extra Lou's sauce that I had on hand.

The variations in flavor were remarkable with no correlation between $ and quality.  While I was unable to find the brand most on the forum recommend (6 in 1s), I was able to basically replicate the flavor of Lou's sauce by adding a tsp of sugar to a can of Whole Foods' store brand (365) whole organic tomato's (save the puree in the can, crush and drain the tomatoes, add the puree and sugar and hand squeeze/mix the tomatoes chunks and puree).  Perfect.

[Randy]

Great work.  You can order the 6in1 on line unless they have stopped that.  Give them a try.

Randy

[seatactony]

Great work.  You can order the 6in1 on line unless they have stopped that.  Give them a try.

Randy

While I intended to try that, the WFs brand was literally leaps and bounds above any of the 20 or so other brands that I tried.  I truly have a hard time seeing how the 6 in 1s could be much closer to Lou's.  While it is not a factor for me when it comes to pizza (quality over price any day of the week), the fact that the WFs store brand is so cheap doesn't hurt either.

I should also note that, having finally figured out the sauce, my statement in the OP about Lou's appearing to be cooked was incorrect.

[Randy]

I will sure give them a try next time I go by that store.

[Randy]

What dough recipe are you using?

[seatactony]

What dough recipe are you using?

Modified DKM's (tbsp of corn meal and a pinch of salt).

[Randy]

Great recipe, I use it myself and Loo's which is very close to DKM's.  This may seem absurd but try the crushed tomatoes under the walmart store brand.  Not as good as 6 in 1 but a very close second.

[seatactony]

Great recipe, I use it myself and Loo's which is very close to DKM's.  This may seem absurd but try the crushed tomatoes under the walmart store brand.  Not as good as 6 in 1 but a very close second.

I've only used DKM's.  Which would you say is closer to the actual Lou's?

[Randy]

I can't say even though I have tried both recipes having not had the opportunity to try  Lou's deep dish first hand.  I have to depend on the lucky few like yourself that have actually eaten in the restaurant. If you have not tried Loo's I would suggest you give it try then tell us your opinion.  It's mighty good.

Randy

[seatactony]

I can't say even though I have tried both recipes having not had the opportunity to try  Lou's deep dish first hand.  I have to depend on the lucky few like yourself that have actually eaten in the restaurant. If you have not tried Loo's I would suggest you give it try then tell us your opinion.  It's mighty good.

Randy

If you've got these crusts down, you really aren't missing anything.  Visited Chicago last week and had Lou's 3 nights in a row (for research purposes, of course).  First pie was undercooked, crust on second pie was uneven and the store in question had added paste to its sauce on that day.  Tasted horrible.  Was so disappointed that I actually ordered thin (gasp) crust on the last night.  Came home to Seattle and made a pizza for Monday's bears game a couple of days later that was honestly better than what I'd had a Lou's earlier in the week.

Moral of the story:  you are most likely enjoying pizza better than Lou's.

[Randy]

Speaking of thin crust give DKM's cracker crust a try.  When I came to this site when there was just a few people I had never had a cracker crust or deep dish and now I am hooked on both.  Steve the owner of this forum was the leader in cracker crust development for a long time then DKM came along with his recipe that Steve experimented with. 

Had a piece of Loo's deep dish today for lunch.  Took it from the freezer to a cold oven then set for 375.  Man it was good.

Randy

[loowaters]

The ingredient list on the Lou-to-go packaging (that I like to reference for things like this) indicates that the sauce is tomatoes, tomato juices, salt, and citric acid.  I've been using Cento Italian Style whole peeled that I hand crush and de-seed, I've had a great run with them lately.  I just add some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and get it in the fridge for a day.  A sweet combination that I went with was draining a can of 6 in 1's and then adding a couple cans of , drained,hand crushed, peeled tomatoes.  This gave me the chunky sauce that Lou's has.  The odd thing is that it really didn't matter what type of whole tomatoes I used for this combo because the sweetness of the 6 in 1's overpowered them.  Hunts, Progresso, Muir Glen, it didn't matter.  In fact, those tomatoes may have cut the sweetness of the 6 in 1's a touch that I think are a bit too sweet by themselves.    That's right, I said it. 

Without sounding too arrogant about it, I'm with seatactony.  The pies that I've been making have been better than what I've received from Malnati's the last few times I've had it but reminiscent of what they once served.  Now my Gino's recipe...I think we're running neck and neck.

Loo

[Randy]

Loo, did you see the post on the waffle recipe Gino tie?  I thought since this guy said his waffle recipe reminded him of Gino's pizza, you might give you some ideas for experimenting.

Randy

[loowaters]

Randy, response posted in the thread you started over on the Chicago Style page.

Loo

[Mahoney]

After not receiving a reply to my post, I plunked down some $$ and bought every brand of canned tomato that I could find in Seattle.  Spent an hour testing each can vs. the extra Lou's sauce that I had on hand.

The variations in flavor were remarkable with no correlation between $ and quality.  While I was unable to find the brand most on the forum recommend (6 in 1s), I was able to basically replicate the flavor of Lou's sauce by adding a tsp of sugar to a can of Whole Foods' store brand (365) whole organic tomato's (save the puree in the can, crush and drain the tomatoes, add the puree and sugar and hand squeeze/mix the tomatoes chunks and puree).  Perfect.

Much Thanks!!  I know everyone has a slightly different sauce they are aiming for, but this is great to me.  If you have a Whole Food's nearby, I'd suggest to plunk down $1.29 to try this approach - even if it just a base for you to add additional spices to. 

Thanks again,
Bob