Sunday Gravy

I'm not Italian, but I can get behind the idea of Sunday gravy. We had a slider of that name from a stand of that name at Smorgasburg on Sunday and I was inspired to make my own. I gathered all the good looking meats from the store and set out for a long, slow cook. The flavor is so deep and strong and wonderful. I served it with fresh rigatoni but feel free to use your favorite pasta. Also, you can play around with the meat choices. Any traditional braising cuts of beef and pork work well, and some sausage for an extra bit of flavor.

Ingredients:

A couple of slices of thick cut bacon, chopped

Beef chuck stew meat 

1 slice beef shin

4 links Italian sausage (I used sweet but hot works too)

4 pork spare riblets

2 small yellow onions, diced

1 shallot, thinly sliced 

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Fresh thyme from 2 fresh sprigs

1/2 tsp dry oregano 

6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

3 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup white wine

1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand

1 carton Pomi crushed tomatoes

2 cups beef broth

Salt and pepper

Pasta

Directions:

Put the sausage links in a pot full of water.

Bring to a boil and simmer 5-10 minutes until just cooked through. Thinly slice on the diagonal and set aside. 

Heat a heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven over medium and add the bacon. Cook, stirring, until just crispy. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels. 

Brow the meat on medium high in the bacon grease. 

Remove to a plate. 

Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion, shallot, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt. Cool until soft but not brown. Add the garlic and stir 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook another minute. 

Add the wine and scrape up any brown bits until mostly evaporated. 

Add all the tomatoes and their juices and the beef broth. 

Add the meat and nestle into the sauce. 

Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. 

Partly cover the sauce and cook at barely a simmer for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. 

When the meat is super tender, take it out and put in a plate. (Not the sausage.)

Shred it, discarding any bones or gristle. 

Add the meat back into the sauce and season with salt and pepper. 

Unless you're feeding a crowd, you probably won't eat all of it in one sitting. Remove some to Tupperware for the fridge. Cook pasta until almost al dente and add it to the hot sauce, finishing cooking in the sauce for a couple of minutes.

Serve with some freshly grated parm or pecorino.