# Spaghetti with bolognese sauce problems!!



## cushdee

Hey ppl just a quick question!!

The title says it all! what it is when im cooking spag bol im having some problems! i like my spag bol basic and easy i.e spaghetti some minced beef and some dolmio sauce all added together 

Right now the problem occurs when i put it on the plate the juices i.e the dolmio sauce seems to drain itself over and through the Spaghetti and leaves a nasty watery residue at the bottom of the plate and the mince all dry at the top of the spaghetti! Now i mean its basically like red water at the bottom of the plate not thick creamy sauce as it looks in the pan..

Any help or suggestion would be great 

thanks!
Dave


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## babetoo

welcome dave, gosh i have no idea. but we have lots of good cooks here and someone will come along and will know.

babe


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## jkath

First off, are you completely draining your spaghetti till it's quite dry? Sometimes pasta seems to hold in more water than you'd think!

As for the sauce, you may want to thicken it a bit more, just with some tomato paste, and then stir in the mince (ground beef) really well. Also, make sure the mince is well drained before adding to the sauce.


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## jpmcgrew

Do you use tomato paste in your sauce? That should thicken it up. Also are you draining pasta well and don't use oil in boil water or on pasta after wards it makes the sauce slide off.


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## Michael in FtW

Ditto what others have said, Dave - it sounds like your not draining your spaghetti well enough ... the water that you are not draining off before you put it on the plate is draining off in th plate. Excessive water will also cause the sauce to slide off the pasta. 

When you say dolmio sauce I assume your talking about the Dolmio brand of pasta sauce that comes in a 500g jar? I think their instructions should work - brown your 350g meat mince, drain it well, then add your jar of sauce and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Simmering uncovered will allow the sauce to reduce and thicken up a bit. Of course, if that doesn't thinken it up enough you could add some tomato paste as others have mentioned.

Of course, if you are adding a cup of wine, or some other liquid, to streatch it a bit you are also watering it down and making it thinner.


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## cushdee

THanks guys for the replies!! 

Well basically i put the mince in a frying pan with a little bit of oil and cook for about 5 or so mins until brown,Then i add the Dolmio Sauce which comes in a jar on top of the Mince. Whilst this is cooking i Boil water with a little bit of salt in the water and put the Spaghetti in then cook the meat and sauce for about 15-20 mins simmering.Then Drain the spaghetti in a sieve then i dont put all the spaghetti onto one plate i pick a handfull off the top which look pretty dry well i drain it for about 2 mins. Then put the spaghetti onto the plate and the mince and sauce on top but then in about 1 minute the sauce has gone to the bottom of the plate with some water which i can only gues has come off the pasta? i've tried draining the pasta with 2 different sieves but its still the same? It makes the spaghetti all dry on top and dripping wet at the bottom!! as u can imagine its not the best of meals! Last night i even tried using 2 pots of sauce but the thing still happened!!

HEEELP!!

Dave


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

Lightly toss the pasta.  Especially in a fine mesh colander, the past will tend to clog the holes and not drain correctly.  Toss it like you would a salad, or turn it over between two collanders.  This should promote a more een draining.  

I usually drain mine, and then invert the collander over the dry cooking pan.  I then let it sit for a moment, and plate.  People wup their own sauce on it at the table.  That way, the pasta is just a bit drier, and stickier.  The sauce then stays like a sauce, with none of the watery goop on the plate bottom.

An alternate method is to combine the sauce and pasta in a casserole dish, after it's cooked, and bake it for 10 minutes or so at 325 degrees.  The pasta will absorb the remaining water, and some of the sauce flavor as well.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## DramaQueen

*Sorry guys, but I gotta disagree. Italians almost always add some pasta water back into the pasta after draining. The starch in the water allows the sauce to stick to the pasta. Lidia Bastianich is very big on adding pasta water back into the pasta.  So was my mother. *
*This is how we Italians eliminate the waterery sauce problem: Never pour the sauce OVER the pasta after putting the pasta into a serving bowl. Pour the SAUCE into the pasta while still in the pot. Put the heat on very low and mix the pasta and sauce together. The additonal cooking on low heat (for only 1 or 2 minutes tops) evaporates the liquid in the sauce and along with the aforementioned starch will cause the pasta and sauce to become thick and rich. Try it sometime, it works for me. *


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## ironchef

Also, just as an FYI, you're making spaghetti with meat sauce, not Bolognese sauce. Bolognese is a _specific_ type of meat based ragu.


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## Jeekinz

Two problems so far.

1) When you drain the pasta, you should strain it, then put it back into the stock pot. The residual heat will evaporate any leftover moisture.  

If you insist this type of presentation, then this method will work with a thick/reduced sauce.  Strain any fqat from the meat to aid in thickening the sauce.

2) You are not plating properly. When you plate pasta, it should not be a serving of plain pasta with the sauce laying on top. The pasta should be added to the cooking sauce and combined together in a pan. It should not be left to the person eating the pasta to finish cooking it. When you add the cooked pasta to the sauce, you can then add some of the pasta water to thin out a severly reduced sauce, or to thin the sauce down for a longer cooking time.

I use a spider to transfer the cooked pasta INTO the sauce which is in an adjacent pan. Then I can control the sauce to pasta ratio as well as the consistency very easily by adding the pasta water or reducing the sauce more.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

True Jeekins, but I have found that different people enjoy different amounts of sauce.  Some just want a blush in their pasta, while others want a little pasta with their sauce.  That's why I plate the way I do, because not everyone likes their pasta served up the same way.  To me, it's not about making a traditionally perfect presentation, but rather, creating a meal that people enjoy.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Jeekinz

Goodweed,

A trick to keep your "plain pasta" from sticking and tasting bland is to add a teeny tiny bit of plain sauce to the drained pasta.  Just enough to give it a bit of flavor, then you can top it with the ragu, etc.

Or instead of using tomato sauce on the plain pasta, you could mix in some EVOO and pesto, then top with your main sauce.  Use your imagination.


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## Robo410

obviously there are many "Pasta Methods"

If you traveled to Italy you would find many regional variations
In America the methods varied from enclave to enclave of immigrants.

What passed for real Italian back in the 60s is now "so over"

I basically agree with IronChef and Jeekins. (Bastianich and Batali methods) However, if your methods are different so be it; then your sauce is too thin so add tomato paste.


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## sabixatzil1

I came across this spaghetti bolognese recipe, which looks pretty descent.
Thing is, I've heard some mixed opinions about it.
I'd like to hear some input on it.
Thanks.


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## Jeekinz

sabixatzil1 said:


> I came across this spaghetti bolognese recipe, which looks pretty descent.
> Thing is, I've heard some mixed opinions about it.
> I'd like to hear some input on it.
> Thanks.


 
For one, he didn't season anything in there! 

Season the meat and veggies and again before serving.  The pasta water should taste like sea water.

The tomato paste should be melted into the veggies just before you add the wine.

Strain off any excess fat from the meat.


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## Scan

You are not draining the spaghetti properly 
That's all


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## Margi Cintrano

Do see the traditional recipe which The Emilia Romagna Government had given Dianne, a former member of D.C. 

Her recipe is above my Grandmom´s which is almost the same ... the factor being the time frame ...

Margi Cintrano


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## Alix

OP is from 2008. Old thread.


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## jennyema

DramaQueen said:


> *Sorry guys, but I gotta disagree. Italians almost always add some pasta water back into the pasta after draining. The starch in the water allows the sauce to stick to the pasta. Lidia Bastianich is very big on adding pasta water back into the pasta. So was my mother. *
> *. *


 


Lidia adds pasta water to her *sauce*, which is a very common technique. The pasta itself she drains well.


Lidia Bastianich: The Key 3 | The Splendid Table with Lynne Rossetto Kasper | from American Public Media


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## Margi Cintrano

*Pasta Sauce: Never Water in My Sauces*

 Please see two photos ... I totally agree, that one should combine the sauce in the Pot, not the dish ...


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## Margi Cintrano

Buon Giorno, Good Afternoon,

I meant to state that I drain the water from the cooked Pasta in a colander thoroughly and then, re-place in the dried pot, add the sauce and a bit of the Pasta Water it was cooked in and tossed well. 

Have lovely August.
Margaux Cintrano.


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## angigads

Hi Cushdee

I had exactly the same problem as you, watery sauce and I can tell you exactly what the problem is! It's the Dolmio sauce and nothing you are doing. They must have changed the Dolmio recepe as it never used to happen. I use Ragu now and never have the watery sauce problem anymore.
I'm surprised that Dolmio haven't changed it back as they must have lots of complaints! 


Angie


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## CraigC

You probably won't get a response from Cushdee, they have had no activity since 7-6-08. Welcome to DC!


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## angigads

Thanks CraigC! That's the trouble with being a newbie, I didn't notice the activity dates. Wonder if they are still getting watery sauce? Lol!


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## salt and pepper

Store bought sauce? No wonder!


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## Kayelle

I'm up to my elbows today making my scratch sauce to freeze for a six month supply.  No jar sauce for me .  
At any rate Ang, we're glad you joined us. Don't sweat responding to an old thread, it happens all the time.  Few of us have been here so long we've read every single thread since this place started, so there's always something to learn here.


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