In the realm of Italian-American cuisine, few dishes hold a place as cherished as Sunday gravy. This hearty, slow-simmered sauce, typically made with pork, beef, and veal, is a labor of love that fills homes with its rich aroma and brings families together around the dinner table. Rachael Ray's version of Sunday gravy is a flavorful and accessible take on this classic dish, featuring a combination of ground beef, Italian sausage, and pork ribs. Served over a bed of macaroni and spaghetti, this comforting meal is sure to become a Sunday tradition in your own home. Alongside the main recipe, this article also includes a variation using braciole, a savory Italian beef roll, and a delightful side dish of pan-fried polenta. Whether you're a seasoned cook or just starting your culinary journey, these recipes offer a taste of authentic Italian flavors that will tantalize your taste buds and warm your soul.
Check out the recipes below so you can choose the best recipe for yourself!
ITALIAN SUNDAY GRAVY-RECIPE HANDED DOWN FROM NONNA.
Italian Sunday Gravy will get your family to the table like nothing else. Rich, hearty tomato sauce spiked with wine, succulent cuts of pork and meatballs.
Provided by Kathleen
Categories Main Course
Time 3h20m
Number Of Ingredients 19
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!
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 1 /12 of the recipe, Calories 768 kcal, Carbohydrate 35 g, Protein 40 g, Fat 48 g, SaturatedFat 15 g, Cholesterol 288 mg, Sodium 1434 mg, Fiber 5 g, Sugar 19 g
RACHAEL RAY'S SUNDAY GRAVY AND MACARONI (SPAGHETTI, REALLY)
This originally was a Rachael Ray recipe with a few modifications from me. Rachael states that she created from her Grandpa Emmanuel whose recipe was an all day event. She wanted to cut it down to 30 minutes. I will tell you that I am pretty sure I couldn't put this recipe together in 30 minutes... More like an hour, but you can cook it longer as I do to get better flavor. Rachael Ray says: "He would toss spaghetti, which he referred to as macaroni in English, with half of the remaining sauce and add lots of cheese to it. The extra sauce would be ladled on top of dinner plates of meat and macaroni. This recipe is all I can do to imitate Sundays with Emmanuel, in 30 minutes." Serve with a crusty loaf of garlic bread to soak in the sauce and you have a great meal! MY COMMENTS: Made as originally written in the recipe there was barely enough sauce for the pound of spaghetti soI increased the amount of sauce. In addition Rachael says it serves 4 Big Servings, but it would have be 4 REALLY big, hungry people as in my family it serves 8 without a problem It is delicious though and this is my version with just SLIGHT changes.
Provided by Sooz Cooks
Categories Spaghetti
Time 1h
Yield 8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 22
Steps:
- Heat water for pasta to boil. Salt and cook pasta 7 to 8 minutes, to al dente.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Sauce: Heat a deep skillet or medium heavy bottomed sauce pot over medium high heat. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Quarter the sausages. Add 1 tablespoon, 1 turn of the pan, extra-virgin olive oil to pan or pot. Place chops in pan or pot and brown 2 minutes on each side, remove. Add another tablespoon oil, 1 turn of the pan, and sausages. Brown sausages 2 minutes on each side and transfer to plate with pork. Add pepper flakes, chopped garlic and onion to the pot and sauté 1 minute - be very careful as the pepper flakes will burn pretty quickly.
- Add broth to the pan and scrape up drippings. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, water, sugar and herbs and bring sauce to a bubble. Add meats back to the pot and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer sauce until ready to serve, 12 to 15 minutes (this is the spot where you could really simmer the sauce for a couple of hours more or less if you wanted to).
- Meatballs: Combine ground meat, egg, remaining 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1/3 cup cheese, and bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper and roll into balls, 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Place balls on nonstick cookie sheet. Roast meatballs 10 minutes, then slide into Sunday sauce and turn off oven.
- To serve, place pork, sausages and meatballs on serving dish. Pour 1/2 of the sauce into a serving dish to ladle over pasta and meats at the table. Toss cooked spaghetti with remaining sauce in sauce pot, adding a few handfuls of grated cheese to the pot as you toss it. Transfer pasta to a serving dish.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 599.4, Fat 24.9, SaturatedFat 7.2, Cholesterol 82.7, Sodium 1139.8, Carbohydrate 64.5, Fiber 5.6, Sugar 10.5, Protein 29.9
BRACIOLA AND SAUSAGE SUNDAY GRAVY
Provided by Rachael Ray : Food Network
Categories main-dish
Time 3h
Yield 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 28
Steps:
- Sprinkle the meat on both sides with salt and pepper. In a bowl, combine half of the cheese, the breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup parsley, pine nuts, lemon zest, salami, minced garlic and the finely chopped chile pepper. Top the steaks, leaving a 1-inch border. Roll and tie the meat.
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of EVOO in a pot over medium-high heat. When the oil smokes, add the meat bundles and brown. Remove the meat bundles, then add the sausages and cook until brown, then remove. Add about 1 tablespoon of EVOO and reduce the heat to medium, then stir in the fennel seeds and cook for 15 seconds. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, then add the tomatoes, bay leaf, carrots, celery and halved onion. Break up the tomatoes, and add the passata, then stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Slide the meat and sausages into the sauce and bring to a bubble, reduce the heat and simmer partially covered for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally.
- In a skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, then add the sliced onions, cubanelles, red bell peppers and sliced chile pepper, and cook to soften, stirring frequently, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the stock, the remaining 1/4 cup parsley, tomato paste and season with salt and pepper. Simmer 15 minutes more.
- For a make-ahead meal, cool the sauce and meat and refrigerate. Reheat over a medium-low flame on the stovetop until warmed through. Store the onions and peppers separately and reheat over medium-low heat in small skillet.
- To serve, bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt the water and cook the spaghetti to al dente.
- Place the meat and sausages on a serving platter. Remove the onions, carrots, celery and bay leaf.
- Add about 1 cup of the starchy cooking water to the sauce, then put half of the sauce in a gravy boat. Melt the butter into the remaining sauce and toss with the pasta and cheese. Serve the pasta alongside the meat roll and sausage. Top the pasta and meat with more sauce and cheese, and serve the peppers and onions on top of the sausage.
SOPRANO'S SUNDAY GRAVY (SPAGHETTI SAUCE)
Badda-bing badda-boom. Its a thing of beauty. This recipe is not a fast one, its an all afternoon dinner; But it is definitely worth it. From The Soprano Family Cookbook
Provided by Lightly Toasted
Categories Sauces
Time 2h15m
Yield 8 cups
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.
- Pat the pork dry and put the pieces in the pot.
- Cook turning occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until nicely browned on all sides.
- Transfer pork to a plate.
- Brown the veal in the same way and add it to the plate.
- Place the sausages in the pot and brown on all sides.
- Set the sausages aside with the pork.
- Drain off most of the fat from the pot.
- Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes or until golden.
- Remove and discard the garlic.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
- With a food mill (I use a Braun hand blender) puree the tomatoes, with their juice into the pot.
- Or for a chunkier sauce, just chop up the tomatoes and add them.
- Add the water; and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the pork, veal, sausages, and basil and bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Partially cover the pot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours.
- If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water.
- Meanwhile, make the meatballs: Combine all the ingredients except the oil in a large bowl.
- Mix together thoroughly.
- Rinse your hands with cool water and lightly shape the mixture into 2 inch balls.
- Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet.
- Add the meatballs and brown them well on all sides.
- They will finish cooking in the sauce.
- Transfer the meatballs to a plate.
- After the sauce has cooked for its two hours, add the meatballs and cook for 30 minutes or until the sauce is thick and the meats are very tender.
- To serve, remove the meats from the sauce and set aside.
- Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce.
- Sprinkle with cheese.
- Serve the meats as a second course, or reserve them for another day.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 798.5, Fat 39.1, SaturatedFat 12.9, Cholesterol 169.4, Sodium 1276.4, Carbohydrate 63.9, Fiber 6.2, Sugar 11.4, Protein 47.1
Tips:
- Use high-quality ingredients: Fresh, flavorful ingredients will make all the difference in your Sunday gravy. Look for ripe tomatoes, sweet onions, and flavorful sausage.
- Brown the meat well: Browning the meat adds depth of flavor to the gravy. Be sure to brown the meat in batches so that it doesn't steam.
- Simmer the gravy for a long time: The longer you simmer the gravy, the more flavorful it will be. Aim for at least 2 hours, but you can simmer it for up to 4 hours.
- Add a splash of red wine: A splash of red wine adds a nice depth of flavor to the gravy. Be sure to use a dry red wine, such as a Chianti or a Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Serve the gravy over your favorite pasta: Sunday gravy is traditionally served over macaroni or spaghetti, but you can also serve it over other types of pasta, such as penne or rigatoni.
Conclusion:
Rachael Ray's Sunday gravy is a delicious and easy-to-make dish that is perfect for a special occasion or a weeknight meal. With its rich, flavorful sauce and tender meatballs, this gravy is sure to be a hit with your family and friends. So next time you're looking for a hearty and satisfying meal, give Rachael Ray's Sunday gravy a try.
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