Knowing how to create aclassic spaghetti sauceis essential for any at-home chef’s repertoire. It’s delicious when made correctly, and it’s the kind of meal even a picky eater won’t be able to turn down.

This spaghetti recipe can be a go-to for effortless, weeknight meals, and you likely have most of the ingredients already in your pantry. The addition of red wine is optional, but highly recommended.

Properlybrowning the meatwill make this red sauce shine. You can make this recipe with pretty much any wild game, and it’s an ideal recipe for meat that needs to be cooked through, like bear or hog. The longer it simmers, the better it gets.

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1. Preheat a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan and brown the ground meat. Work in batches if needed and remove when finished. Season with a few pinches of salt and cracked pepper.
2. Drizzle more oil in the pan if needed. Add the diced yellow onion and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute until fragrant.
3. Deglaze the pot with the red wine, scraping up bits of fond (cracklings) at the bottom. Let the wine boil to burn off the alcohol. Pour in the cans of crushed tomatoes and return the browned meat. If desired, you can add another can of crushed tomatoes, which will stretch the meal further.
4. Reduce the heat to low to allow the pasta sauce to simmer. Cook for at least 30 minutes, longer if you have time to develop the flavor. While you wait, you can boil water and cook the pasta.
5. Taste and season the pasta sauce with salt and pepper. Serve over the cooked pasta with parmesan and basil if desired.

*For a dairy-free alternative to parmesan, grate a salt-cured egg yolk as shown in cover image.