Lasagna Sauce

My wife won't eat lasagna without this sauce!

• Ready In: 6 hrs
• Serves: 16
• Yields: 1 large pot

Ingredients

• 1  lb  veal
• 1  lb beef steak
• 1  lb hot Italian sausage
• 1  lb lamb
• 1 (750 ml) bottle dry red wine
• 3  lbs  chopped yellow onions
• 3  heads garlic, chopped
• 1  bunch parsley, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup  chopped fresh basil
• 1⁄4 cup  chopped fresh oregano
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 1  chopped red onion
• 2 (28 ounce) cans tomatoes
• 1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree
•  salt and pepper
•  red pepper
•  sugar

Directions

1. Brown meats to a dark, but not burnt, color over a medium high heat in a large sauté pan, leave meats in large pieces.
2. Reserve fat in a separate bowl.
3. Deglaze pan with 1/2 bottle of wine, pour sauce into a large stock pot set to simmer over a low heat.
4. Add meat chunks and allow to simmer VERY slowly.
5. Over a medium heat in your large sauté pan using olive oil: Sauté onion until soft, add garlic and herbs and continue to cook until lightly caramelized.
6. This mixture will need to be stirred very often, add reserved meat juices as required to keep things from getting dried out-- add as much as possible without having extra grease collect in the pan.
7. (Depending on the size of your pan you may need to do this in several smaller batches.).
8. Add onions/herbs to simmering stock pot and bring back to slow simmer.
9. Deglaze sauté pan with 1/2 bottle of wine and pour sauce into simmering stock pot.
10. Continue to simmer and stir until onion starts to fall apart.
11. (Don't clean your sauté pan yet, you're going to need it to make the lasagna!) Crush tomatoes by hand and them and the puree to the stock pot.
12. Simmer for several hours (stirring often to keep sauce from sticking) Sauce will start to smooth out and darken in color.
13. For the most part the onion will be gone.
14. At this point taste the sauce and add salt, pepper, red pepper and sugar to taste.
15. (Depending on much sugar you're able to render out of your onion you may not need to add any).
16. You can also add more tomatoes, wine and herbs and spices at this point.
17. Continue to simmer this sauce for several more hours then turn off the heat and allow to cool.
18. Refrigerate at least one night.
19. On the day you plan on serving the sauce start the sauce cooking over very low several hours before serving.
20. Bring it to a slow simmer.
21. After sauce starts to simmer water or wine can be added to bring sauce to proper consistency.
22. About 30 minutes before serving remove the meat chunks and place in a separate serving bowl.