This recipe is from https://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/3499-italian-sunday-gravy
I had the Cook Book...so I made a few changes and this is my version...which is insanely delicious
Italian Sunday Gravy
Italian gravy is a hearty, slow-simmered tomato sauce cooked
with everything from meatballs to pork chops. We used our
slow cooker to streamline the cooking process, and we
discovered which meats yielded the best taste, texture and
convenience.
Test Kitchen Discoveries - THESE ARE NOTES FROM TEST KITCHEN AND THEY ALL WORK IN THIS RECIPE.
Tasters preferred flank steak over brisket and chuck roast
(both of which made the sauce too greasy).
Baby back ribs didn’t deliver enough flavor, but country-style
spareribs provided flavorful meat that fell right off the bone
after eight hours in the slow cooker.
Canned diced tomatoes made the sauce too watery, but a
combination of drained diced tomatoes, canned tomato sauce,
and tomato paste had the best balance of flavor and texture.
Cooking onions, garlic, wine, and oregano in the sausage
drippings built a rich flavor base that carried through to the
end of cooking. We added fresh basil to brighten the finished
sauce.
STEP BY STEP
The Meat Matters
Ask a hundred Italian grandmothers
what meat they use for Sunday gravy
and you'll get a hundred different
answers—everything from meatballs
to pork chops. For our easy slowcooker
version, we prefer the taste,
texture, and convenience of the
following combination.
ITALIAN SAUSAGES: Browning the
sausage in advance helps build deep
flavor.
FLANK STEAK: This lean cut adds
beefy flavor without too much
grease.
COUNTRY-STYLE SPARERIBS: These
meaty ribs become fall-apart tender
in a slow cooker.
Feel free to add notes...
Italian Sunday Gravy
Serves 8 to 10
Most sausage has enough seasoning to make extra salt unnecessary.
The hearty sauce makes a meal when paired with 2 pounds of rigatoni,
ziti, or penne.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 pound hot Italian sausage
2 onions , chopped medium
12 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste...I like Tomato paste in the tube
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 pounds bone-in country-style spareribs ,
trimmed of excess fat
1 1/2 pounds flank steak
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Pepper
1. 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 slow-cooker insert.
Repeat with hot sausage.
2. 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.
3. Submerge spareribs and flank steak in sauce in slow-cooker insert.
Set slow cooker on low, cover, and cook until meat is tender, 8 to 10
hours. (Alternatively, cook on high for 4 to 5 hours.)
4. 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.)
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,
