smoked spaghetti Archives - Life's A Tomato

I could not be happier that I made this smoked spaghetti sauce. I always keep spaghetti sauce on hand for those nights when I don’t have time to do anything fancy for dinner. Smoking the ingredients for the sauce really adds a totally different twist to a (somewhat) traditional Italian dish. I did not add a lot of smoke out of fear that it might be overwhelming. After all, I was making spaghetti sauce, not smoked brisket chili!

Destined For Greatness

I wouldn’t normally put partially cooked meat next to vegetables on my smoker (or anywhere else for that matter), but I was only trying to infuse a slight smoke flavor into all of the ingredients. They all go into a pan later to finish cooking.

Got Room? Add More Garlic.

I recommend adding more garlic to the smoker if you have space. Keep the smoked bulbs on hand for any dish that calls for garlic. Like smoked salt, smoked garlic really adds a great twist to any garlic dish.

I prefer to use fruit or nut woods when I smoke unless I want a heavier smoke flavor. Pecan, apple or cherry are my favorites. I used apple for this sauce.

Weber Pecan Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Weber Apple Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Weber Cherry Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

This smoked spaghetti sauce is fantastic in my million dollar spaghetti.

Print Pin

5 from 1 vote

Smoked Spaghetti Sauce

Course Sauce

Cuisine American

Keyword sauce, smoked, spaghetti

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 30

Servings

Calories 166kcal

Author Based on a recipe from The Cookshack

Ingredients

For the smoker

1 pound ground beef
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces mushrooms whole
1 head garlic add more for other recipes
1 green bell pepper halved, seeds removed
1 medium onion skin removed, halved

For the tomato sauce

2 28 ounce tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

For the smoker

Fire up your smoker for cooking at 225 F. Do not add much wood if any. The charcoal itself should add enough smoke.
Season the ground beef and add it to the smoker along with the remaining ingredients.
Smoke for 45 minutes. You aren’t cooking the ingredients completely, just adding smoke flavor.
Remove from the smoker and let cool slightly.
Chop the ingredients, except for the mushrooms, which are sliced.
Note: I found that rough-chopping everything and then pulsing the ingredients a few times in a food processor to work the best. Chopping the smoked vegetables was challenging and the food processor lets you control the texture more easily.

For the tomato sauce

Add the sauce to a large sauce pan or pot.
Add remaining ingredients plus the smoked meat and vegetables.
Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve with pasta or on sandwiches as sloppy Joes.