What is Sugo? 

Sugo is an authentic Italian tomato sauce that has been passed down through generations.  Sugo uses only a handful of ingredients to create a rich, flavorful tomato and meat sauce.

How would you describe the smell, the taste etc? 

The all-day cooking of meat in tomato sauce gives off a flavorful scent that fills the house with a mouthwatering, savory bouquet. Lorinda has also made a vegetarian version, which is very tasty because it uses the secret ingredient of cloves that is in the meat sauce.  It is a hearty and flavorful tomato sauce that can be used as the base for many types of pasta dishes that range from the various pasta noodles to ravioli, gnocchi, lasagne and polenta.

What does Sugo mean to your family and how long has this recipe been in your family? 

This Sugo recipe is a long standing family tradition that came directly from Italy with Lorinda’s Nonna Palmina (grandmother) and Nonno Domenico (grandfather) around 1920.  This recipe was used in her family for generations and is the tradition for the households in the town of Caparucci in the municipality of Sassoferrato, within the province of Ancona in central, eastern mountains of Italy near the Adriatic Sea.  When Lorinda visited her relatives in Rome, she verified this recipe with her dad’s first cousin, Elso, who’s mother, Santa, was her Nonna’s sister.  Their Sugo in Rome tastes exactly like the Sugo we make in the USA.

What do you feel when you think about Sugo? 

We feel a sense of nostalgia about home and family when we think about Sugo. Also, since it’s a traditional Italian family dish, we feel a deep connection with our relatives in Italy.

What is Fraboni Sausage? How did it come to be? 

Fraboni sausage actually consists of multiple types of sausage recipes that include hot Italian, garlic, plain, breakfast links, smoked polish sausages, blood sausage and potato sausage, along with many new versions created by the new owners, Mark and Wayne, who worked with Lorinda’s dad/Danielle’s grandpa since they were teenagers. We use the plain or garlic sausage for our Sugo because it doesn’t change the taste.  You can use the hot Italian, but it will change taste of the Sugo. However, even though it won’t be the authentic taste, it can be a good change of pace and add a little spiciness.

Fraboni’s sausage came to be when Lorinda’s Nonno couldn’t get work in the mines as an Italian.  Italians, the latest flow of immigrants to the US, weren’t welcome and were highly discriminated against back in the early 1920’s and 1930’s.  He had an opportunity to rent, then eventually buy a small building and opened his own small grocery store in a section of Hibbing called Brooklyn where a melting pot of immigrants lived.  He created the first Fraboni Italian sausage recipes; plain, garlic, hot Italian and the breakfast links.  They used natural casings only and still do to this day.  The rest of the listed recipes above were later created by Lorinda’s father, Leo, and his brother, Angelo when they took over the business.  

What is a fun fact you want to share about this recipe?

We use rigatoni for our Sunday meals and wide egg noodles for special occasions. This recipe also works well with Polenta.  Lorinda’s Nonna would make huge batches of Polenta and pour it about an inch thick on large bread boards situated in the center of the expanded dining room table for Christmas Eve. Once it firmed up, she would spread the sauce and meat all over it and we would cut our portions out and put them on our plates or eat right off the bread board!  My relatives in Rome did the same thing when I was there for a birthday celebration.  It’s super tasty and a fun way to eat.

Any tips for home cooks attempting this recipe?

Use only fresh ingredients and don’t get hung up on perfection. This recipe is hard to ruin. However, one time I used sausages that had been frozen for too long and it ruined the taste of the Sugo.  Also, too many cloves will hurt the recipe as they are very strong.  Use only the amount listed on the recipe for each batch. 

As far as meat goes, at Christmas time, we make about 100 to 150 Italian meatballs (pork and beef) for our large family Christmas meal.  This is in addition to the pork sausage and beef roast in the original recipe.  Make sure to brown the meatballs, drain the fat and then cover them in the Sugo and bake on 250 or 300 for no less than 3 hours.  You will need a double or triple batch for this large meal.  

One final comment… It’s fun to introduce your children early on into the process of making this traditional Italian meal. They will be grateful to be able to carry on this wonderful recipe for future generations.