This beautiful Sunday gravy is my North Star of big love cooking. Inspired by my grandmother’s technique and my mother’s interpretation, browning the meats first is one of the secrets (among others) to building rich, deep flavor. Sending the meat into the tomato liquid already flavor-packed will guarantee that it’s mingling all of its complex meaty flavors with the tomato base as it simmers for hours on your stove. Now that I have your attention, see “Let’s Talk Meat for the Gravy” (page 206). In my little row house in Queen Village, Sunday gravy was typically made on Saturday morning by my mom or grand-mom. If per chance someone got it in their head to make a weekday gravy and you woke up to the smell of browning meat at 7 a.m., it was a mad dash to the kitchen to see who else could possibly be at the stove, because, let’s face it, some people make Sunday gravy better than others. And I want you to be one of those people. It is fine to make this gravy the day you will serve it, as long as you allow enough time for it to concentrate, which should be at least 4 hours.
SERVES 6 PLUS MORE FOR LEFTOVERS
Meatballs
1 lb [455 g] ground beef
1 lb [455 g] ground pork
1 lb [455 g] ground veal
3 eggs
1 cup [60 g] finely grated pecorino cheese
1 cup [140 g] panko bread crumbs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Braciole
1 lb [455 g] flank steak, thinly sliced and pounded into about 10 slices (see “Let’s Talk Meat for the Gravy,” page 206)
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 oz [115 g] thinly sliced cured meat (salami, soppressata, or pepperoni)
Gravy
1 lb [455 g] country-style pork ribs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup [240 ml] canola oil
1 lb [455 g] sweet Italian sausage
1/4 cup [60 ml] olive oil
1 large yellow onion, ends trimmed, peeled, and roughly sliced
8 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tsp fennel seed
1/2 cup [20 g] finely chopped fresh parsley
8 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Four 28 oz [794 g] cans whole, peeled tomatoes
One 6 oz [170 g] can tomato paste
1 lb [455 g] pig’s foot, cleaned and debristled
Take out two large baking sheets (no need to oil them, they’re there to hold the meats) and set them close by. Also, take out a large platter to hold the browned meats.
To prepare the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, veal, eggs, 1 cup [240 ml] of cold water, the pecorino, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and parsley. Use your hands to mix well and form tightly into 36 golf ball–size meatballs, about 3 oz [85 g] each. Cup your hands and roll them back and forth to really smooth them out and transfer to a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator to chill for at least 15 minutes while you carry on with the rest of the meats.
To prepare the braciole: Place the pounded pieces of flank steak on a clean work surface and season them generously on both sides with sprinkles of the fresh parsley and the salt and pepper. Lay a slice of cured meat on top of each steak. For each piece, starting at one end, roll up the steak tightly like a jelly roll and secure it with a toothpick. These fat little flank steak rolls are officially braciole. Transfer to the second baking sheet and set aside.
To make the gravy: Lay the pork ribs on a clean work surface and season them generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Transfer to the baking sheet with the braciole. The meatballs will most likely still need time to chill, so just be you and do something else. You will be browning each meat one at a time, making sure to hit all sides so that the color is dark and uniform. Commence the browning when the meatballs say they are ready.
In anticipation of browning the meat, I want you to know this: If a piece of sausage is holding on for dear life, if a bit of pig’s foot puts its foot down and takes a stand on the bottom of your pot, just know that whatever you can’t scrape off is going to flavor your gravy anyway. So, stay calm. You’re in charge. Let’s brown.
In the largest shallow pot you own (the one with the maximum amount of surface area so that you can comfortably brown the meats—even a large cast-iron skillet will work) over medium-high heat, add the canola oil. You want to get the oil very hot but not smoking. Remove the meatballs from the refrigerator and use a large slotted spoon to add one to the pot. Does that meatball immediately start to crisp on the outside? Good. Your oil is hot enough. Continue adding the rest of the meatballs to the pot, allowing ample space between each meatball and working in batches. Lower the heat to medium and cook them until they are dark brown and crusty on one side, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side until that is brown and crusty, too, 4 to 5 minutes more. Persuade any stubborn meatballs that want to stick to the bottom of the pot by sticking a slotted spoon under them and giving a gentle shove. Transfer the meatballs to the large platter and set aside.
Using tongs, add the braciole to the pot and cook until brown and crusty all over, about 5 minutes. You’ll have to roll these around a little bit since the toothpick is in the way; just get it uniformly dark and crusty. Transfer to the platter and set aside. Add the pork ribs and sausage to the pot and let them sit on one side and cook until dark brown, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to the platter and set aside.
Discard the canola oil by pouring it into a fine-mesh strainer placed over an empty can. The strainer will catch any brown bits of meat and the oil will cool in the can before you dump it—my grandmother and my mother would save a tomato can from their previous pot of gravy. Use whatever can or vessel is best for you. Set aside the strainer of meat bits.
In the same empty pot over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil until it shimmers and add the browned meat bits, onion, garlic, fennel seed, 2 Tbsp kosher salt, the parsley, and basil, lower the heat to medium, and cook until the onions are slightly brown and everything smells amazing, about 5 minutes. If you like your gravy spicy, now would be the time to add the red pepper flakes, if using.
Open the tomato cans and pour their contents directly into the pot one at a time (no need to crush the tomatoes; they’ll be passed through the food mill). Fill one empty tomato can with 1 cup [240 ml] of cold water, swirl, and dump that tomato water into the second can, swirl, and dump it out into the third can, and add the tomato water to the pot plus 6 cups [1.5 L] of water. You will have a watery, tomato brothy–looking pot of love in front of you. Raise the heat to high until it begins to boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.
Once the gravy is simmering, add the tomato paste grand-mom style: by opening both the top and the bottom of the can and pushing the top lid down to scrape through and capture the clingy paste along the sides of the can so that none will be wasted. Carefully catch both metal lids at the bottom so that you don’t cut yourself (and they don’t fall into the gravy). Cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar and simmer, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 30 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, fit a food mill with the smallest disk and place it over a large, shallow bowl. Using an 8 oz [240 ml] ladle, begin to transfer the cooled tomato gravy into the food mill and crank in batches of 8 oz [240 ml] at a time. As it passes through the food mill, it will begin to look even waterier as the tomato pulp, onions, and garlic are churned and puréed together. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the food mill so that every bit of tomato and herbs makes it way back into the pot. Set aside.
Using tongs or a slotted spoon, carefully lower the pig’s foot, the meatballs, and the remaining meats back into the now-empty pot along with the juices that collected on the platters while the meats were resting. Transfer the milled tomato to the pot, covering the meats. Cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar and let the Sunday gravy simmer and reduce for a minimum of 4 hours, stirring gently every so often. The specifics of this stirring are very important, so read “Stirring the Gravy” (page 214).
