TORPEDOES

Yet another coal region favorite — Torpedoes. I bet you are saying “What the heck are torpedoes?” Well, they the meat from sausages, usually hot Italian, casings removed and cooked up in a pot with spices and sauce and served on a “torpedo” roll. In our area, some of the grocery stores actually sell “torpedo rolls” which are small in size. You can do a “red” sauce or a “white” sauce. Below is the red. If you do white, use only chicken broth or chicken broth and a 4 or 6 oz can of sauce with the broth. They are not your typical hoagie roll but they are super tasty and below is my version of this wonderful treat. I sometimes bake the rolls in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 5-7 minutes resulting in a crispy outside, soft chewy inside. Hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

3 lbs. hot Italian sausage

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage (Note, if you like it less hot, switch the sausages, i.e. 1 lb. hot, 3 lbs. sweet)

3 cloves chopped garlic (2 cloves if they are large)

1 large onion diced

1 – 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes or puree

1/2 can tomato paste

1 can chicken broth

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. black pepper

Pinch nutmeg*

Pinch cinnamon*

Pinch cloves*

Hard rolls

*Be sure to only use a pinch as too much will overpower the dish!

DIRECTIONS:

To a large pot, add 1 to 2 tbsp EVOO, chopped onion and sauté 3 minutes

Add minced garlic and sauté 1 minute

Remove onion and garlic and set aside

Remove sausage from casings.

Fry sausage in large stock pot.

Do not drain. There is some great juice here!

Add your onions and garlic, crushed/pureed tomatoes, paste and chicken broth and seasonings. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer with or without lid until meat is very tender, about 45 minutes.