Sunday Gravy
Sugo della Domenica: The Sacred Sunday Dinner
By six on a Sunday morning, you drop the bone-in pork ribs into hot oil and sear them until the edges crisp, listening while the wooden spoon scrapes every browned bit from the pot. This isn't the quick marinara or the minced-meat Bolognese you grew up seeing in commercials; true Ragù Napoletano requires whole meats braised slowly in a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes and deeply caramelized onions—no garlic, no celery, no shortcuts. Leave the lid cracked, keep the flame low, and have the bread ready.
Before you start
Ask your butcher to separate the spare ribs.
Getting the pork spare ribs pre-cut into individual ribs saves time and ensures the marrow and bones properly infuse the sauce during the long simmer.
Ingredients
- beef top round1 lb
- garlic2 med clove
- fresh flat leaf parsley1/4 cup
- Pecorino Romano cheese3 tbsp
- pine nuts2 tbsp
- raisins2 tbsp
- kosher salt1 tsp
- black pepper1/2 tsp
- extra virgin olive oil1/4 cup
- beef chuck roast1 lb
- pork spare ribs1 lb
- sweet Italian sausage links1 lb
- yellow onion2 large
- dry red wine1 cup
- double concentrated tomato paste5 oz
- San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes84 oz
Method
- 01
Assemble the braciole flavor bombs.
Lay the thin beef slices flat on a cutting board and season generously with salt and pepper. Scatter the minced garlic, parsley, Pecorino Romano, pine nuts, and raisins evenly across the meat. Roll the beef up tightly like a cigar, keeping the filling tucked inside, and tie securely with kitchen twine in three or four places.
- 02
Brown the meat to build the foundational crust.
Place a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Working in batches so you don't crowd the pot, brown all the meats—the chuck roast, pork ribs, sausages, and braciole. You want a deep mahogany crust on the meat. As they finish browning, remove them to a large platter.
- 03
Melt the onions into a golden paste.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the finely chopped onions to the shimmering fat left in the pot. Sauté slowly, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon, until the onions are incredibly soft and translucent. Resist the urge to add garlic here; let the onions shine.
- 04
Deglaze with red wine and toast the tomato paste.
Return all the meats and their accumulated juices back into the pot and pour in the red wine. Let it bubble until the smell of alcohol has completely cooked off and the liquid reduces to a rich syrup. Stir in the tomato paste, letting it toast for a few minutes until it turns a rusty brick red.
- 05
Add the tomatoes and establish the gentle puff of the pippiare.
Pour in the hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring the pot just to a gentle simmer. Do not put the lid tightly on the pot; instead, place your wooden spoon horizontally across the rim and rest the lid on top. Turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting so the sauce emits only tiny, rhythmic bubbles—a process Neapolitans call pippiare, meaning 'to puff like a pipe'.
- 06
Let the sauce simmer untouched for six to eight hours.
Stir occasionally, taking care not to break up the meats as they become increasingly tender. You will know the sauce is ready when it has reduced significantly to a dark, rich crimson, and the oils have separated slightly to pool at the surface.
- 07
Serve the pasta and meats as a traditional two-course Sunday dinner.
Carefully remove all the meats to a serving platter and snip the twine off the braciole. Toss your favorite al dente short pasta with several ladles of the thick red sauce, serving the pasta as the first course with grated cheese, and presenting the platter of meats in the center of the table as the second course.
Notes
The weeknight secret is in the leftovers.
This is a weekend project that pays dividends all week long. The leftover sauce deepens in the fridge, allowing you to throw together a luxurious meal on a busy Wednesday in the ten minutes it takes to boil dry pasta.
From Cook Italian in America.