Red Sauceitalian 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!

HOMEMADE ITALIAN RED SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic in hot oil until onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Add water, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, baking soda, and sugar; season with salt and pepper. Stir mixture, bring to a simmer, and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 2 hours.

WEEKDAY ITALIAN GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and then the sausage; cook, turning occasionally, until brown all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer the sausage to the slow cooker. Pour off and discard all the oil in the skillet and return it to the heat. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until brick red, about 1 minute. Add the water and bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up the browned bits. Pour the mixture over the sausage.
• Add the beef shins, crushed tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, onion, garlic, Italian herbs, bay leaf, salt, and pepper to taste. Set the slow cooker on LOW for 8 hours, cover, and cook until the beef is very tender.
• When ready to serve, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 10 minutes. Transfer the sausage and beef to a cutting board, slice into serving portions, and arrange on a serving platter. Drain the pasta and toss with some of the sauce; transfer to a serving bowl.
• Serve the meat and pasta separately with sauce on the side. Freeze any leftover sauce for up to 3 months.

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN AMERICAN MARINARA SAUCE/ RED GRAVY

Steps:

• Rough chop onion and garlic.
• Heat up a large pan on medium heat.
• Pour in all of olive oil.
• Dump in onion and sauté until soft.
• Add garlic, bay leaf, oregano, salt and pepper.
• Stir all together into a mess and continue to cook, if it seems to hot, turn down the heat, you don't want to burn anything.
• Once everything is well mixed and cooked, turn up the heat for about 1 minute. I tell you to do this as you are about to add the balsamic vinegar to "deglaze" and you will want the pan hot.
• Add balsamic, stir quickly while hot steam rises. the vapors should make you eyes water, and nose run, so be careful to remain hygienic. when vapors stop remove from heat.
• Open all the cans of crushed tomato.
• Stir in one can at a time with wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
• Once all cans are in, stir well again so you don't see any oil on the top of sauce. return to heat. Cook on low heat uncovered, stirring whenever you walk into the kitchen for some other reason. You don't need to stir it every hour, but do it whenever you get around to it. although you do need to stir it from time to time.
• Cook for at least five hours. If you want to do this while you go to work, you can transfer everything to a crock pot, but you must start in a big metal pot. Your choice.
• Serve over your favorite pasta, or use to cook my meatball recipe, which is highly recommended ( look at the reviews). doing my meatballs is particularly easy if you have transferred gravy to a crock pot, but if you do you may need to remove some sauce to fit the balls in the sauce.
• Freeze left over sauce, just pour cooled sauce in zip-lock bags and throw in freezer.

CONFORTI FAMILY RED GRAVY (SPAGHETTI SAUCE)

Steps:

• 1. This is a double batch. The single batch always gives me enough sauce for 2 dinners, so I double it and freeze the extra.
• 2. Use a large stock pot. (I've used a 6 qt. crock pot and without the meat added, it filled it right to the top!)
• 3. If adding meat, fry the sausage or meatballs until nice & browned. De-glaze the pan with a little wine to get all those browned bits. If NOT adding the meat, just add a little wine to the sauce.
• 4. Add all the ingredients into the pot with the seasonings being added as below.
• 5. ** For the seasonings, My husband's grandmother taught him to add the seasonings in this order as a boy. I thought it was cute. - First you see the grass grow (this is the oregano, basil, parsley); - then the snow falls on the grass (parmesan cheese); - then you see some frost on the snow (this is the sugar) Then, of course, you mix it all in. :)
• 6. Cook at a low boil for 8-10 hours. I replace the pot lid with a flat slotted pan (like a pizza pan) to allow moisture to escape. The sauce needs to cook down a bit and thicken.
• 7. ** Note: You can cook this recipe all day on LOW in a 6-quart or larger crock pot.