[ARCHIVED THREAD] - First time making a lasagna (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 10/12/2014 7:02:47 PM EDT
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What do I need to know?
In other words, how can I possibly fuck this up ? 
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Patience
Keep as much moisture out as possible Good cheese please mozzarella ricotta and parm Practice man, just like your mom did. A little sauce in the bottom of the pan before your base noodles Oh and let it set up a bit out of the oven before serving Pics when ur done, Quohoaug! |
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Pretty hard to fuck this up. Not as good as homemade but it'll make a turd. |
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For the love of God, please use Rocatta cheese, not the redneck version of Cottage cheese. Oh, meatballs are the special ingredient, cut them in two and layer; pre-made are fine. F*ck that shit, bechamel sauce with cheese added is best lasagna white sauce. |
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Fennel seems to be my favorite ingredient in my meat sauce.
1 pound ground beef 1 pound itialian sausage Cook, drain and set aside Add the ingredients below in an oven safe dish Fresh tomatoes, quartered Garlic Onions Put in oven set to broil Do not leave the room, it may take 30 minutes, but God help you if you leave the room. Surf ARFCOM, but don't leave to room. Stick blend when the tomatoes break apart easily with wooden spoon. Add meat to tomato sauce. Add fennel. SAUCE!!!! |
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I have to make one this evening as well. I use homemade sauce with ground beef and Italian sausage. I don't pre-cook the noodles. Sauce first (less meat) Layer of noodles Ricotta Cheese (mixed the way you prefer) Sauce Shredded Mozzarella Noodles Repeat until the top layer of noodles is reached. Layer of sauce with some more Mozzarella on top with some Parmesan sprinkled on too. |
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Quoted:
Fennel seems to be my favorite ingredient in my meat sauce. 1 pound ground beef 1 pound itialian sausage Cook, drain and set aside Add the ingredients below in an oven safe dish Fresh tomatoes, quartered Garlic Onions Put in oven set to broil Do not leave the room, it may take 30 minutes, but God help you if you leave the room. Surf ARFCOM, but don't leave to room. Stick blend when the tomatoes break apart easily with wooden spoon. Add meat to tomato sauce. Add fennel. SAUCE!!!! I haz no fennel. 
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Make it using ravioli. First, make up a meat sauce, with onion, garlic, mushrooms, and sausage. Put a layer of sauce in bottom of pan. Lay on a layer of cheese ravioli. Add some mozzarella, followed by another layer of sauce, ravioli, and cheese. Repeat as many times as necessary, given the size of your ravioli. Pop in a 400-degree oven for about an hour. Pull out when the center is about 170 degrees. Eat.
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I don't pre-cook the noodles. |
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The best Lasagna recipe is the one on the back of the Barilla Lasagna package. Just add extra sauce and make sure you have a large pan so nothing leaks and makes a mess of your oven.
ETA - The Barilla Tomato & Basil spaghetti sauce is decent. DON"T CHEAP OUT ON INGREDIENTS! If you use crappy ingredients, your lasagna will taste like crap. Use decent cheeses and meat. ETA2 - And like others said, don't over cook your noodles. Cook them enough so they bend without braking. |
Appreciate the help, I'll half cook the noodles. Got fresh ricoota, fresh mozz and fresh parm. The beef is fresh, and the venison was provided by a fellow Arfbuddy. 
Thanks Andropos. 
Sauce is simmering in the cast iron dutch oven for an hour and a half. Looks like I'll be assembling the final details during the new Walking Dead.
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Go to food network.com and get Giadas' recipe.It's not any better than any other recipe - but..... http://m4.i.pbase.com/g9/72/325172/2/153939274.176FKYvK.jpg 
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Use fresh red kidney beans.
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Cook it yesterday and eat it today. That's how I prefer doing it. I'll make it the day/night before, put it in the fridge overnight, take it out of the fridge at least 1-2 hours before dinner the next day and throw it in the oven. It just firms up and tastes better the next day. Don't over do the eggs and ricotta, or it'll be runny. Sometimes I'll throw some sliced fresh tomatoes or cut up Italian sausage on the top layer |
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Quoted:
Patience Keep as much moisture out as possible Good cheese please mozzarella ricotta and parm Practice man, just like your mom did. A little sauce in the bottom of the pan before your base noodles Oh and let it set up a bit out of the oven before serving Pics when ur done, Quohoaug! Just made lasagna for the first time. Pretty damn pissed now. Guessing this was my problem. Also why put sauce down first? Thats what the recipe said too and I called bs. |
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Quoted: So, as far as reducing moisture, the simmering sauce is very wet with about 45 mins to go. I guess I should drain it before use? |
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Quoted:
Just made lasagna for the first time. Pretty damn pissed now. Guessing this was my problem. Also why put sauce down first? Thats what the recipe said too and I called bs. Quoted:
Quoted:
Patience Keep as much moisture out as possible Good cheese please mozzarella ricotta and parm Practice man, just like your mom did. A little sauce in the bottom of the pan before your base noodles Oh and let it set up a bit out of the oven before serving Pics when ur done, Quohoaug! Just made lasagna for the first time. Pretty damn pissed now. Guessing this was my problem. Also why put sauce down first? Thats what the recipe said too and I called bs. noodles don't stick to the pan |
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consider dumping your meat into the sauce Quoted:
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So, as far as reducing moisture, the simmering sauce is very wet with about 45 mins to go. I guess I should drain it before use? consider dumping your meat into the sauce The meat is in the sauce. I'm definitely draining it. Or I'll remove the cover for awhile during the simmer... |
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Make a quick and easy version.
Get some Zitti or similar pasta, marinara sauce (or your own), ground beef and or Italian sausage, ricotta cheese and or cottage cheese and a couple packs of shredded mozzarella. Cook your meat and pasta. Drain each and dump in a large ovenware dish. Add 1 pack of cheese, 16 oz ricotta, marinara to the meat and pasta and mix. Add the last pack of cheese on top of the mixture and bake until the cheese melts. This will not have the layers but its easy and fool proof and tastes the same as if it was layered. |
| Use Ricotta cheese and I like to cook the noodles then rinse them in cold water and leave them in the cold water until ready to build the lasagna. Finally, don't use cottage cheese and make the bottom layer light sauce to help get it out of the pan easier. If you start with noodles you will have issues cleaning up and a harder time serving nice looking hunks. |
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Quoted:
I have to make one this evening as well. I use homemade sauce with ground beef and Italian sausage. I don't pre-cook the noodles. Sauce first (less meat) Layer of noodles Ricotta Cheese (mixed the way you prefer) Sauce Shredded Mozzarella Noodles Repeat until the top layer of noodles is reached. Layer of sauce with some more Mozzarella on top with some Parmesan sprinkled on too. 
How long do you cook it for? Do you let it soak/sit before baking or something? |
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Quoted: http://img.pandawhale.com/60602-Is-such-a-thing-even-possible-oViF.gif How long do you cook it for? Do you let it soak/sit before baking or something? Quoted: Quoted: I have to make one this evening as well. I use homemade sauce with ground beef and Italian sausage. I don't pre-cook the noodles. Sauce first (less meat) Layer of noodles Ricotta Cheese (mixed the way you prefer) Sauce Shredded Mozzarella Noodles Repeat until the top layer of noodles is reached. Layer of sauce with some more Mozzarella on top with some Parmesan sprinkled on too. http://img.pandawhale.com/60602-Is-such-a-thing-even-possible-oViF.gif How long do you cook it for? Do you let it soak/sit before baking or something? I normally cook it at 350 for 45 mins covered in foil, and then remove the foil for about 30 minutes, or until I think the top is done the way I like it. The noodles absorb the excess moisture from the sauce so they are cooked thoroughly, but it won't be watery. |