Help salty spaghetti sauce? Don’t want to waste 5 cans of tomatoes and 5 lbs of meat and 3 hrs

I started with sausage neck bones and seared with olive oil and salt and pepper. Then added a paste I made with shallots, onion, carrot, garlic, and Himalayan salt and pepper. I added my paste, wine, tomatoes paste after I seared The meat. I then added the canned tomatoes but didn’t notice the cans of tomatoes had sea salt already in it and I made the best meatballs and now my gravy is completely ruined it’s so salty help.

Jillian Schindler
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7 Comments

creamtea June 28, 2020
since it's a day later, taste to see if the flavors have blended; sometimes certain foods mellow after refrigerating overnight. If not, take a portion of the already-made tomato sauce and combine with the newly-purchased canned tomatoes. Save the rest of the overly salted sauce (labeled) to freeze and dilute another time. It may be difficult, and require quite a quantity of canned tomatoes, to properly dilute the whole batch if they're very salty.
 
Nancy June 28, 2020
Generally, the addition of potato(es) will help absorb and/or dilute saltiness, especially highly liquid dishes like soups or stews.
Need to use more than one or two for a dish of 5 lb meat and a couple lb sauce.
Other approaches - dilute or temper the saltiness with more unsalted tomatoes or other veg, addition of dairy (milk, cream or unsalted cheese), by serving in smaller amounts over low or unsalted carbohydrates (pasta, bread, rice), add smallish amount of the sauce to larger amounts of broth to make soups.
 
Miss_Karen June 27, 2020
You can add a pinch or two of sugar OR a splash of lemon juice. The acidity of the lemon juice counteracts the saltiness.
Additionally, you could put some of the sauce into a fine strainer and then rinse it. After its rinced you could just put the strained solids back into the sauce.
 
Miss_Karen June 27, 2020
You can add a pinch or two of sugar OR a splash of lemon juice. The acidity of the lemon juice counteracts the saltiness.
Additionally, you could put some of the sauce into a fine strainer and then rinse it. After its rinced you could just put the strained solids back into the sauce.
 
erin June 27, 2020
I've been told that putting a raw potato in all kinds of things will absorb the saltiness, it's something I saw my grandmother do, my mom swore by it. I have not personally done this, both are gone now so I can't ask how they came up with this. I'm sure it can't hurt.
 
Jillian S. June 27, 2020
Thanks so much for a reply. I put two potatoes in it but then read that it was a myth. Both my mom and grandma did the same too. I just sent my husband to buy more cans of plain tomatoes and lots of tuberware. Crossing my fingers that it’s all good if not then I have plenty of gravy starters in the freezer
 
erin June 27, 2020
You can never have enough sauce on hand for "whatever" day. thank you for telling me I'm not crazy, it really was a thing. Sorry, it didn't work.
 
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