Shelly's Recipe

ITALIAN SUNDAY GRAVY

Category: Sauces - Miscellaneous

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb sweet Italian sausage
1 lb hot Italian sausage
2 onions, chopped medium
12 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (28-oz) can tomato sauce
2 lbs bone-in country-style spareribs, trimmed of excess fat
1 1/2 lbs flank steak
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
Pepper

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add sweet sausage and cook until well browned and fat begins to render, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to paper towel-lined plate to drain, then place in crock pot insert. Repeat with hot sausage.

Cook onions in sausage fat over medium heat until well browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in garlic and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook until paste begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in wine and simmer, scraping browned bits from pan bottom with wooden spoon, until wine is reduced, about 3 minutes. Transfer to slow-cooker insert and stir in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Submerge spareribs and flank steak in sauce in slow-cooker insert. Set crock pot on LOW, cover, and cook until meat is tender, 8 to 10 hours. (Alternatively, cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.)

About 30 minutes before serving, transfer sausages, ribs, and flank steak to baking sheet and set aside until cool enough to handle. Shred ribs and flank steak into small pieces, discarding excess fat and bones; slice sausages in half crosswise. Use wide spoon to skim fat off surface, then stir sausages and shredded meat back into sauce. Stir in basil and season with pepper. Serve. (Leftover gravy can be stored in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.) Serves 8 to 10

NOTE: Most sausage has enough seasoning to make extra salt unnecessary. The hearty sauce makes a meal when paired with 2 lbs of rigatoni, ziti, or penne.

Make Ahead: The recipe can be prepared through step 2 up to 2 days in advance. After reducing the wine in step 2, add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and browned sausages to the Dutch oven and simmer over medium-low heat until the sausages are cooked through, about 12 minutes. Refrigerate the sausage and sauce mixture in an airtight container until ready to use. When ready to cook the gravy, warm the sauce and the sausages together over medium heat until heated through and transfer to slow-cooker insert. Proceed with step 3.