Old School Italian Gravy Recipes

ITALIAN SUNDAY GRAVY-RECIPE HANDED DOWN FROM NONNA.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 large, rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil. Brush the foil with olive oil.
• Arrange (in a single layer) pork neck bones or country-style ribs on one baking sheet and the Italian sausages on the second baking sheet. Brush the tops of all the meats lightly with olive oil.
• Cook meats in the preheated oven, until deep golden brown on all sides, turning as needed to cook evenly. Allow approximately 1 hour for the pork necks and ribs and 40 minutes for the sausage. Set cooked meats aside.
• Meanwhile, in a very large, heavy-bottomed stock pot, brown ground beef and pork, over medium heat, crumbling into small pieces. Remove ground meats to plate and set aside.
• Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan. Add onions, minced garlic, and carrots and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes until they soften and begin to caramelize.
• Add the wine to the pot and cook, scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Continue to cook until the wine is reduced by half.
• Add whole tomatoes with their juices, tomato paste, water, bay leaves, oregano, fresh basil, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
• Add the browned grounded meats, pork necks or country style ribs, and sausages back to the pot. Bring the gravy to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer.
• Simmer, uncovered for about 3 1/2--4 1/2 hours. If you have the temperature right, you should see a cheerful little bubbling on the surface of the gravy. Moderate the heat to maintain this gentle simmer throughout out cooking time.
• Stir occasionally so the meats don't stick. If the gravy becomes too thick as it simmers, add water. (If it's simmering gently, you shouldn't need to add any extra water.)
• While the sauce simmers, make the meatball. After the sauce has cooked for 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 hours and is nice and thick, give it a very good stir, digging down to the bottom of the pot, then add the meatballs. Continue to simmer the gravy without stirring for another 30-40 minutes, or until the meatballs are hot and the flavors marry. Remove bay leaves. You're READY to Serve. Mangia! Mangia!

OLD SCHOOL ITALIAN GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat a large stock pot over medium high heat and add in the olive oil. Once the the olive oil begins to shimmer, add in the beef bone and cook till browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.
• Add in the chopped onion and saute for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions become translucent and start to brown.
• Next, add in the garlic, herbs and tomato paste and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes while stirring.
• Deglaze the pot by pouring in the red wine and scraping the bottom of the pot to remove any bits stuck to it.
• Add in the beef broth as well as all of the tomatoes (whole, crushed and puree) and stir to thoroughly combine. Reduce heat to medium low.
• Continue to simmer the sauce for a minimum of 1 hour, but 4-6 hours is preferred. Make sure to stir the sauce every 30 minutes or so to make sure everything is combined and nothing burns.
• Once the sauce has been cooked down, remove the beef bone and season with salt and pepper, if needed. The sauce can then be used immediately or cooled completely to be frozen or canned. For a smoother texture, use an immersion blender to blend to the desired consistency.

OLD WORLD ITALIAN SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large stockpot on low-med heat add your olive oil and saute your onions for about 4 minutes,then add your crushed garlic,cook for 2 minutes longer. Then add your water,and tomato products. Be sure to mix everything very well.Add in your spices,and cheese. cook for 2 1/2 hours covered.Then add in your wine, and cook 30 minutes longer. Sauce will be thin on first day.Also if you use meat it will alter thickness.The second day this turns into a nice thick sauce.

GRANDMA'S OLD ITALIAN SPAGHETTI SAUCE WITH MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in the bottom of a large saucepan, and fry the garlic cloves 5 to 8 minutes, until brown and fragrant. Remove the garlic cloves and set aside. Place the pig's feet and pork neck bones in the saucepan and fry, turning occasionally, until the meat and bones have browned, about 15 minutes.
• Return the garlic cloves to the saucepan, and stir in the tomato paste and 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, and pour in the tomato puree. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 3 hours, stirring from the bottom often to prevent burning, until the pig's feet are tender and the mixture begins to thicken. Stir in the sugar, pepper, and baking soda. Continue to simmer while you prepare the meatballs.
• Soak the torn bread with 1 cup of water in a bowl. Squeeze excess water out of the bread, and place the bread in a large bowl with the 6 beaten eggs, ground pork, ground veal, and ground beef. Mix thoroughly and form into 24 meatballs about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, stir in the minced garlic and chopped fresh basil, let them cook for about 1 minute, and then add the meatballs. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and fry them on all sides until brown, about 15 minutes, working in batches, if necessary.
• Place the browned meatballs, along with the oil, garlic, and basil from the skillet into the sauce, stirring lightly to avoid breaking them. Add the whole hard-boiled eggs, and simmer for about 1 1/2 more hours, until the meatballs are cooked, the sauce is thick, and all the flavors have blended.

HOW TO MAKE SUNDAY GRAVY

Steps:

• For the meatballs, mix the ground beef, ricotta cheese, parmesean, bread crumbs, egg, milk, 1/3 cup fresh basil and salt together. Knead the mixture with your hands until thoroughly combined. Roll into 2 inch meatballs and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven at 400 until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• In a large pot, pour in the strained tomatoes, wine/sparkling grape juice, sugar, dried chilies and salt. Bring to a small boil.
• When the meatballs are cooked, stir them in the gravy.
• In a frypan, heat the oil and cook the sausages until they are cooked mostly through. Stir them in the gravy.
• In the same frypan, sear the ribs for a few minutes on each side. Stir them in the gravy.
• In the frypan, add the onions, sweet red pepper, celery and garlic. You may need to add a bit more oil if the pan is dry. Also, as the veggies are cooking, this is a great opportunity to 'deglaze' the pan. There are a lot of great flavours on the base of this pan and they need to get in the gravy. Pour in a little bit of water (1/2 cup) and scrape the bottom of the pan to pull up all the bits that are packed with flavour. Once the veggies are soft, pour it all into the gravy.
• Cook the gravy at a low to medium simmer for about 4 hours, or longer.
• Cook the spaghetti or other pasta according to directions on package
• Serve the Sunday gravy with the cooked pasta.

ITALIAN GRAVY

Steps:

• Cover the bottom of a 10 quart pot with olive oil and set over medium heat. Add short ribs, oxtails, country style spare ribs and beef neck bone and brown them with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon granulated onion, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Cook until both sides of meat are browned. Remove meat to a bowl and set aside. In the same pan add the sausage and ground beef. When ground meats are cooked through, drain grease and oil from pan. If there are any large pieces of the ground meats, break them up or pulse in a food processor. Add to bowl with other meats, set aside. Pour 1/4 cup olive oil into pot and saute onions, Italian parsley, garlic, shallots, jalapeno peppers, and pesto. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic and 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion. When onions are limp, add all of the reserved meats. Over medium heat, add 2 cups red wine. While this mixture is cooking, in a separate saute pan, add 1/4 cup olive oil and over medium heat saute mushrooms. Raise heat to medium high and add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 granulated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon sugar. When mushrooms are browned add them to meats along with the tomato puree, tomato sauce and stock. In a food processor pulse stewed tomatoes with tomato paste until smooth and add them to the pot. Add allspice, Italian seasoning, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon granulated garlic, 1 teaspoon granulated onion. The gravy must cover the meat and come close to the top of the pot. Reduce heat to the lowest simmer and cook uncovered for approximately 4 to 5 hours. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When meat on oxtail is tender, take all of the whole meats out of the pot, leaving the ground meats in. To complete gravy, add 1 tablespoon granulated garlic, fresh basil and cream sherry. Serve the meat with gravy and pasta. Remove the rest of the gravy from the heat and let cool for 2 hours at room temperature then divide into pint containers and freeze.

MARIE QUATTRUCCI'S SUNDAY GRAVY WITH MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Sauce.In a large Dutch oven heat the olive oil over high heat. Brown the sausage and the pork ribs over medium-high heat; don't crowd the pan and do it in batches, if necessary so meats brown well and evenly.
• When the meat is browned on both sides, move to the side of the pan and lower the heat to medium low. Add the tomato paste. Mash the paste down with a fork so it's a thin layer on the bottom of the pan and add the black pepper, garlic salt and powder and minced garlic. Simmer the paste for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, making sure that the paste does not burn.
• Add the crush tomatoes. Stir to combine. Rinse down the sides of the crushed tomato cans adding about 1 4/ to 1/3 can of water to each can and add to sauce. Rinse down the sides of the cans of tomato paste by filling each to the top with water and then add to the pot. Stir well until the sauce and meats are combined.
• Bring to a slow boil and then immediately lower the heat and simmer very gently for 3 to 4 hours, partially covered. Periodically check the pot, stirring the sauce and adjusting the heat, if necessary. Simmer until the sauce is thick but still creamy, about 3 to 4 hours. If it gets too thick, add small increments of water. Let the sauce cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight. Reheat the sauce very gently over low heat, adding water if it's too thick.
• Meatballs. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl combine the meats using your hands, squeezing through your fingers to combine the meats thoroughly. Add the eggs, breadcrumbs, garlic, black pepper, salt, Parmesan and chopped parsley. Mix together with your hands, squeezing through your fingers. Form into 2- inch balls and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until the meatballs are browned but not crusty. Drain on paper towels and add to the simmering sauce. Cook in the sauce for the last 45 minutes of simmering the sauce, adding small amounts of water if the sauce gets too thick. Serve over pasta of your choice such as pappardelle.