Homemade Italian Red Gravy Food

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.

ITALIAN GRAVY

Steps:

• Cover the bottom of a 10 quart pot with olive oil and set over medium heat. Add short ribs, oxtails, country style spare ribs and beef neck bone and brown them with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon granulated onion, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Cook until both sides of meat are browned. Remove meat to a bowl and set aside. In the same pan add the sausage and ground beef. When ground meats are cooked through, drain grease and oil from pan. If there are any large pieces of the ground meats, break them up or pulse in a food processor. Add to bowl with other meats, set aside. Pour 1/4 cup olive oil into pot and saute onions, Italian parsley, garlic, shallots, jalapeno peppers, and pesto. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic and 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion. When onions are limp, add all of the reserved meats. Over medium heat, add 2 cups red wine. While this mixture is cooking, in a separate saute pan, add 1/4 cup olive oil and over medium heat saute mushrooms. Raise heat to medium high and add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 granulated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon sugar. When mushrooms are browned add them to meats along with the tomato puree, tomato sauce and stock. In a food processor pulse stewed tomatoes with tomato paste until smooth and add them to the pot. Add allspice, Italian seasoning, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon granulated garlic, 1 teaspoon granulated onion. The gravy must cover the meat and come close to the top of the pot. Reduce heat to the lowest simmer and cook uncovered for approximately 4 to 5 hours. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When meat on oxtail is tender, take all of the whole meats out of the pot, leaving the ground meats in. To complete gravy, add 1 tablespoon granulated garlic, fresh basil and cream sherry. Serve the meat with gravy and pasta. Remove the rest of the gravy from the heat and let cool for 2 hours at room temperature then divide into pint containers and freeze.

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.

ITALIAN SUNDAY GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat oil in very large Dutch oven.
• Add garlic and onions and saute until soft.
• Add tomato paste and stir to combine.
• Add crushed tomatoes and spices.
• Stir bring to boil, lower heat to low--cover and simmer.
• Meanwhile combine all meatball ingredients (except for flour and oil).
• Form into balls about 2-1/2 inches in diameter.
• Dredge meatballs in flour.
• Fry meatballs in oil in skillet a few at a time until browned on all sides (not necessary to cook through they will cook in the sauce) Add fried meatballs from skillet directly to simmering sauce.
• Stir and bring sauce back to a simmer.
• Cover.
• Place sausage in pot and cover with water.
• Bring to a boil and boil about 5 minutes to remove some of the fat.
• Brown boiled sausage in skillet.
• Place browned sausage in simmering sauce.
• Bring sauce back to simmer---cover and continue simmering for 2 hours over low heat---stir occassioanlly.
• Remove meatballs and sausage from pot and place on serving dish.
• Toss sauce with cooked pasta--You will have enough sauce to coat two pounds of cooked pasta.
• This freezes very well!

BASIC RED GRAVY (MARINARA)

Steps:

• 1. Heat the bacon grease or olive oil in a Dutch oven, over medium heat and add chopped onions, green onions, and bell pepper and saute on low until onions are transparent but don't let them brown.
• 2. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and minced garlic; cook down for about 5 minutes stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
• 3. Add wine and beef stock, oregano, basil, granulated garlic & onion, bay leaves, sugar and salt & pepper to taste.
• 4. Simmer stock for about 30-45 minutes, adding more beef stock as needed to keep sauce fairly thin. Cover with a splatter screen or off-set the lid so steam can escape without splattering sauce all over the kitchen; cook for 2-3 hours or until desired thickness is reached. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Serve over pasta or add your favorite meat to red gravy. Buono Appetito!
• 5. *Options: ,I don't use carrots but if you like them add 2 finely chopped carrots to the onions and bell pepper if desired - it adds to the sweetness. If you like just a little heat in your red sauce then add crushed red pepper flakes to taste when adding tomato paste & sauce.

ITALIAN RED SAUCE AKA RED GRAVY OR SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Steps:

• Place olive oil in a large soup pot.
• Add garlic and simmer about one minute, do not let it brown.
• Put tomatoes in blender and blend briefly to smooth out the tomatoes.
• Then add to garlic.
• Cut Italian ham in chunks.
• When I order this from the Deli, I have them cut it in 1/2 lb slab.
• Add basil and crushed red pepper flakes.
• Let simmer about 6 hours.
• I always check the richness of the sauce by putting a spoonful in a clean bowl, let it sit for about 5 minutes and if water is seperating from the sauce, continue to simmer.

SPAGHETTI SAUCE (AKA: RED GRAVY)

Steps:

• In a large dutch oven or 8 quart pot. briefly cook garlic and olive oil.
• Place fresh sausage and neck bones in pot.
• Add desired amounts of salt and pepper to meats.
• Add enough of the 2 qts. of water to cover meats in the pot, (not all of the water may be used). Cover and cook on low-medium for at least an hour. Do not allow water to boil; this will toughen meats.
• Add the crushed tomatoes to the pot and stir. Begin with 4 cans and add the last can according to desired thickness, remembering that sauce will thicken as it cooks.
• Add spices, again according to taste, and stir. More may be added as sauce cooks.
• Stir frequently and keep on low to medium heat, making sure sauce never boils. Continue to cook for at least 4 hours; sauce may cook longer if desired.
• Homemade or store-prepared meatballs may be added to pot.
• Serve over pasta, raviolis, or as a base to lasagnas and zitis.