On Jun 6, 9:45*am, meatnub > wrote:
> So along with my homemade meatballs, I plan to make my own italian
> sauce this weekend too.
>
> Most recipes call for cooking the sauce (simmer) anywhere from 3-4
> hours and longer - even up to 8 hours. No problems there. The longer
> you cook the better it will taste and all that is what I gather.
>
> The question I have is: they say during to "stir occasionally". So
> what does that mean - once every half hour? Once an hour?

It depends on how hard it's simmering. I cook mine pretty briskly,
to reduce it. Therefore, I stir about every 15 minutes. I set a
timer
so that I won't get distracted and forget.

And when it says "stir", it doesn't mean wave the spoon around in the
upper third of the pot. You'll need to really dig down and scrape the
bottom of the pot. I usually use a stiff, square pancake turner.

> I don't plan to stay inside the house all day since I have a child,
> and have other things to do. And I'm also cooking this in stainless
> steel.

You might want to save this for a day when you don't have other things
to do.

It doesn't matter whether it's stainless steel.

> So how long can I get away without stirring? I'd like to get up and
> start cooking in the morning (7am) and have it done by lunch time or
> so, this way I can be around to stir "occasionally", but just won't be
> around every 30 mins.
>
> I'm also concerned that if I don't stir every 15-30 mins it's going to
> stick and burn to the stainless steel pot. Needless concern here?

Not a needless concern at all. If you don't stir frequently enough,
you'll
end up with a scorched sauce, and there's really no way to get rid of
that foul taste. A little brown when you're scraping up the bottom is
ok,
black is bad.

Other posters have recommended the use of the oven; I've never done
that,
but it would probably work, at a very low temperature. I'd bring it
up to a
simmer on the stovetop, and then put it into an oven at about 250 F.

Cindy Hamilton