The Magic of Slow Simmering: How It Elevates Meatball and Tomato Sauce Flavor (2024)

FAQs

How does simmering improve flavor? ›

The long, gentle simmering process allows the herbs and spices in the sauce to release their aromatic oils and flavors slowly. This results in a sauce that's not only visually appealing but also incredibly fragrant. The tantalizing aroma that fills your kitchen is a testament to the depth of flavor being created.

Tomato sauce has an inherent dilemma: Long-simmered sauces have complex flavor, but simmering over a long period of time cooks out the very thing that makes a ripe tomato so special—its bright, sweet taste.

It's an extra step that adds hands-on cook time, but it pays off in flavor dividends. Simmering meatballs in sauce also helps keeps them tender while they cook, while imbuing the sauce with additional flavor.

Simmering in the sauce for the wrong amount of time

Nothing could ruin the dish at the last minute, right? Wrong. Homecook World explains meatballs can become overcooked if you allow them to simmer for too long.

A good 20- to 30-minute simmer will reward you with a much richer, flavorful sauce.

Not only is using the slow cooker a good choice for making dinner (for all the obvious reasons) but it also is key to the deep flavor of this tomato sauce recipe. The low and slow simmer of the tomato sauce with the butter and onion really helps to soften the acidity just enough, while enhancing the tomato flavor.

Low and slow, Bon Appétit confirms that the reason why a simmered sauce is so darn delicious is because it allows water to cook off, concentrating the umami-packed flavors of the tomatoes and balancing the levels of sugar and acidity in the sauce.

Tomato sauce deepens and intensifies the longer you cook it. Tomato sauces can be cooked in 10 minutes or for 4 hours, and they can all be delicious. Cooking sauces for a long time don't inherently make them better, but it does intensify the flavor.

Give each meatball a final roll and add them to the pot. Brown them in batches, for a few minutes on each side. They won't be cooked all the way through. Remove and set aside until the sauce is prepared, then simmer them in the sauce for 45 minutes.

What is the secret of a tender meatball? ›

Breadcrumbs: I add breadcrumbs for texture. I also love substituting them for crushed saltine crackers like we do for this meatloaf. Milk: Adds moisture and tenderizes the meat, making our meatballs juicy and tender once cooked. Egg: Adds more moisture and helps the mixture firm up once cooked.

Massage your meat

Get your hands into your mixing bowl and combine the ingredients for your meatballs using your fingers. The heat from your hands will help release the proteins in the meat which will in turn help the mixture stick together when it cooks. Don't overmix, just a few minutes will do.

Just like a sausage, a hamburger, or a steak, the hotter you get them and the longer you cook them, the more moisture they lose. On the other hand, it was undeniable that the sauce got better and better as it cooked, both by reducing and by picking up flavor from the meatballs as they simmered.

Place the meatballs into the sauce mixture. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours. Enjoy!

Simmering cooks at lower temperatures with less agitation, allowing you to slowly incorporate flavors into your dishes. A simmer allows lower heat to penetrate food more slowly and is a better choice for delicate foods that might break apart in a rapid boil.

The low-and-slow cooking method that comes with simmering water can also extract more flavor out of ingredients, making it ideal for soups, sauces, and concentrated liquids. That said, while all boiling water looks much the same, simmering water is more nuanced and can come in three stages: slow, regular, and rapid.

So, what does simmer mean in cooking? It's a technique of cooking food at a slightly lower boiling point, usually around 180 to 190 degrees. By cooking the food for a lengthier amount of time, it allows flavors to sink into the food and mix in perfectly.