Hearty Italian Meat Sauce (Sunday Gravy)

Name: Hearty Italian Meat Sauce (Sunday Gravy)
Yield: Serves 8 to 10
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons, olive oil; 1 rack, baby back ribs (about 2 1/4 pounds), cut into 2-rib sections; , Table salt and ground black pepper; 1 pound, hot Italian sausage links; 2 , medium onions, chopped fine (about 2 cups); 1 1/4 teaspoons, dried oregano; 3 tablespoons, tomato paste; 4 , medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 4 teaspoons); 2 , (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (see note); 2/3 cup, beef broth; 1/4 cup, chopped fresh basil leaves; 2 slices, hearty white sandwich bread, crusts removed and bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes; 1/2 cup, buttermilk (see note); 1/4 cup, fresh parsley leaves, chopped; 2 , medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons); 1 , large egg yolk; 1/2 teaspoon, table salt; 1/4 teaspoon, crushed red pepper flakes; 1 pound, meatloaf mix (see note); 2 ounces, thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped fine; 1 ounce, Pecorino Romano, grated (about 1/2 cup); 1/2 cup, olive oil; 1 1/2 pounds, spaghetti or linguine; 2 tablespoons, table salt; , Grated Parmesan cheese for serving

59 comments

Appears in Cook's Illustrated September/October 2009, America's Test Kitchen TV

This over-the-top Italian-American tomato sauce typically calls for six cuts of meat and half a day at the stove. We wanted the same flavor with a lot less work.

SERVES8 to 10

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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

For an Italian meat sauce recipe that didn’t require a long list of ingredients and many hours to prepare, we limited ourselves to pork sausage and baby back ribs, and replaced time-consuming braciole with standout meatballs. By combining o...

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