Keweenaw Style Spaghetti Sauce

Italian Hall Memorial Calumet

When I was a student at Michigan Tech, I became acquainted with the local foods, such as pasties, pannukakku  and pickled eggs.   Also, I discovered the unique style of spaghetti sauce served up there...slightly sweet and spiced differently than I had back home in the Detroit area.    In the Hancock, you can taste it at Gemignani's Restaurant, or in local grocery stores up there, you can find it on the shelves as Baroni's Spaghetti Sauce or Rudy's Spaghetti Sauce.   Consulting my collection of Upper Peninsula cookbooks, I found a common theme....the U.P. style favored warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc over garlic and long cooking times

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Some Googling told me that carrots and celery and onion are also key ingredients.  So, I decided to give it a shot using some of the plethora of ground beef we have in our freezer.   We split a half steer with our neighbors this year, and with our empty nest, it will take us a long time to eat it all.   Most of the recipes I saw used half ground pork and half ground beef, which is also an option.


Keweenaw Style Spaghetti Sauce

2 T. olive oil
1 onion
2 carrots, peeled
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb.  ground beef (or 1/2 lb. ground beef and 1/2 lb. ground pork)
1 t. dried parsley
1 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. cloves
dash nutmeg
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
small can sliced mushrooms, undrained
Salt and pepper

In a Dutch oven heat olive oil.   In a food processor fitted with grating blade, grate onion, carrots and celery.   Add vegetables and garlic to pot and cook until soft.   Add ground meat and cook until brown.   Add spices and tomatoes and cook for 1-2 hours, adding water as needed.  Season with salt and pepper.    Sauce can be made in bulk and frozen.

Buon appetito