Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 2 lbs ground beef, the best you want to get
2 lbs Italian Sausage. I like to use sweet italian sausage
2 Bone in Pork Chops. Get big meaty looking ones with a good bit of fat around the edge
2 29 oz Cans of Ground or Pureed Tomato
1 29 oz Can of Tomato Sauce
1 large jar of your favorite branded spaghetti sauce (this is just in case you screw something up)
3-4 eggs
Olive Oil. Get the Extra Virgin if you want, but the plain stuff works better
12 pack of your favorite beer
1 bottle of good white wine. If you won’t drink it it’s the wrong stuff
1 bottle of good red wine. See above
Milk
1 huge sweet onion
a couple of handfuls of Baby Spinach leaves
1 large carrot
1 red pepper
A few cloves of fresh or minced garlic
2 lbs of good pasta. Rigatoni works great. But use whatever you want or have handy
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Italian spice blend (Basil, Oregano, etc)
Some fresh basil if you want
Whole wheat hamburger buns - Stale. Or use whatever old bread you have around
Shredded or grated italian cheese. I like the Three cheese blends
Panko Italian Bread Crumbs or just regular bread crumbs
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Directions: |
Directions:
Now this is called Sunday Gravy. It’s not sauce. Don’t ask me why because I don’t know. But call it Gravy and you are guaranteed to sound authentic and fit right in with your favorite Italian friends.
This recipe is dedicated to several people. My wife Andria and her mother Concetta. These folks really turned me on to cooking the Italian way. I have worked for years to get the techniques and ingredients right to match the cooking they introduced me to. And to my Granddaddy Pete. I know he loved messing around in the kitchen and this recipe is written in the style of one of his classics from the last cookbook !
So to do this right takes most of the day. If you don’t like that, use the jar of spaghetti sauce in the ingredients, brown the meat and try not to feel bad for yourself ! It does make it easier to use a slow cooker for the Gravy, but you can simmer in a large pot if you really want to stay in the kitchen all day. So here we go
- Pull all of the stuff out on the counter. Sharpen your best Chef’s knife.
- Open one of the beers and start drinking it. Try and start cooking about 11am so you don’t look too bad drinking in the morning.
- Pour the tomato into either a large pot or slow cooker. Turn it on low, as low as
you can. It’s gonna be on all day
- Liberally sprinkle the pork chops with salt, pepper, onion and garlic, Set aside.
- Dice the Onion
- Mince the garlic if using fresh or measure out a couple of cloves if using pre-minced
- Get a skillet going, cast iron is best, sizzling hot. Pour a little olive oil in and let it come up to temp.
- Open the 2nd beer and place it next to the skillet. Drink as needed
- Throw the Pork Chops in the skillet. Brown them really good on both sides. You don't want to cook them, just get them crispy brown on the outside.
- Throw the chops into the Pot with the Tomato.
Into the still hot skillet throw in the onions. Let them caramelize. It’s going to take awhile so if needed open another beer and stir them every few minutes.
- When the Onion is getting brownish, throw in the garlic. Let it cook for a few minutes. If you burn the garlic at this point, throw everything out and use the emergency Spaghetti Sauce and tell no one what happened.
- When the onion and garlic are done throw them into the pot with the tomato
- Keep the skillet hot and pour like a cup of the white wine in. Scrape all of the great crusty burned stuff off with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon or something. Let this simmer for a few and then pour it into the pot with the tomato.
Stir the pot. If needed open another beer. This is going to go for about 3-4 hours or really as long as you want. Keep an eye on it.
- Take the stale bread and rip it up in a large bowl. Grind it with your fingers. You want pretty small pieces at the end.
- Pour some of the milk into the bowl with the bread. Add enough so that the bread is able to completely soak it up. It should look like sludge of some kind. Let it sit for a few to absorb.
- Crack the eggs into the bread and milk mixture and stir it up so that the eggs are well combined. Put this into the fridge for awhile. When you open the fridge if you need to grab a beer.
- At this point, check on the gravy, maybe stir it. Take a few minutes out of the kitchen. This is break time.
- Optional. In a blender. Toss in the spinach, carrot, red pepper and blend until smooth. Add as much or as little of each as you want. Believe it or not the spinach really adds to the flavor and moisture of the end product. Add this mixture to the bread mixture
- Take any jewelry off and wash your hands
- Add the Ground Beef and Sausage to the bowl with the bread mixture.
- Add in a bunch of the Italian Cheese blend. Salt, Pepper to taste.
- Now you’re going to mash this stuff with your hands. Squeeze it and feel it through your fingers. Keep mashing and mixing until combined.
If this mix is too loose, pour in some of the breadcrumbs and mix some more. - -
- You want a fairly firm mix so the meatballs stay as balls not pancakes.
- Let the mixture sit for a bit. Open a beer and go talk to your significant other. -
- When done with the beer return to the kitchen.
- Take out 2 baking pans and line with aluminum foil. Spray them with Pam or another cooking spray.
- Use a ⅓ cup measure and scoop out the meat mixture into your hand and make a ball. Place on the tray. Keep going until the meat mixture in gone.
- Wash your hands again and put back on your rings or other jewelry. Please note I have forgotten this step and had very bad results.
- Turn on the oven to 375. When heated place meatballs in oven.
- Possibly have another beer.
- Bake meatballs for 45 minutes or until they look nice and brown on the outside. - You will have to scrape some fat off the bottom of each meatball when they are done.
- Have you stirred the gravy lately ?
- Throw one or two meatballs into the tomatoes and place the rest in a tray. -
- Cover with foil.
- At this point you are on cruise control. You can clean up the mess you’ve left behind. Maybe switch up from the beer to some of the red wine and change your clothes because you are probably a mess at this point.
- About an hour before you want to eat, taste the gravy. Add salt, pepper, italian spices, white or red wine as desired. Then stir the stuff up good. By now the Pork Chops should really have fallen off the bone which is how you will know when it’s done.
- If you don’t like the taste, either throw in the jars of store bought sauce or throw it all away and replace with the jars of store bought sauce. You don’t have to tell anyone what happened.
- For the pasta. You know what to do, I shouldn’t have to tell you.
- Serve it all up with some good bread, red wine, etc and you have now made the best Sunday Gravy and Meatballs you will ever have.
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