CONEY SAUCE, LIKE LAFAYETTE’S
By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes© Book (Secret RecipesTM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 42)
THE SECRET IS SIMPLE. You brown and crumble the beef and then put half of it into your blender with only enough liquid to cover the blades. Blend it until it is the consistency of cement mortar. Jack McCarthy of Detroit’s Channel 7 (WXYZ-TV) confessed to me, once, was the real secret to good, authentic, Greek style coney sauce.
He had come to our house on Christmas Eve years ago to do a film about us. Apparently, Jack was a gourmet cook and loved good food! When he traveled, he would take a lot of kidding, about carrying with him, what most people would think is a tennis racket, when it was actually a crepe pan in a tennis racket cover.
Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of ingredients! It is one of those everything-in-one-kettle type of recipes that can’t go wrong.!
INGREDIENTS:
2½ to 3-lbs ground sirloin
2-tsp ground cumin
Few grains cayenne [pepper]
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp crushed oregano leaves
3-TB beef bouillon powder
6-oz can tomato paste
3 cups hot, black, strong tea
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 TB chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic salt
3-TB packed brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
6-oz V-8 Juice
½ tsp Kitchen Bouquet (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
In lightly greased Dutch oven, on top of stove, over medium-high heat, brown the sirloin until all pink color disappears, crumbling it with a fork until it looks like rice. Add to it all but the hot, black tea. Put the tea in your blender with half of the sirloin mixture and blend briefly, until smooth, returning it to the rest of the mixture in the kettle…
Allow to cook at a low simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Then turn heat to lowest possible point and cover kettle with lid, letting it heat gently about an hour before serving. To serve – spoon mixture into split hamburger buns or over grilled hot dogs in buns…
GREAT CHILI CON CARNE
Add to meat mixture [above] 3-lb can chili beans, in chili gravy, and heat gently to serve… in bowls. Serves 8 and it freezes beautifully, in smaller portions, to use in a few months.
See also…
Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Take The Junk Out Of Junk Food
