Sunday Gravy (Italian-American Ragù)

Ingredients

• 2 × 800 g tins San Marzano or good-quality crushed tomatoes
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
• 60 ml olive oil
• 1 small bunch fresh basil, leaves only
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• For the braciole
• 800 g beef, thinly pounded, cut into individual portions suitable for rolling
• 60 g dry breadcrumbs
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 40 g Parmesan, finely grated
• 15 g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 30 g pine nuts
• as needed kitchen twine, for tying rolls
• For the meats
• 1 batch meatballs, prepared per AM7-03
• 600 g Italian sausage (sweet and/or hot), left whole or halved
• 800 g pork ribs or neck bones
• To serve
• 600 g rigatoni, penne, or spaghetti, cooked to order

Method

1. 1
   Combine the breadcrumbs, chopped garlic, Parmesan, parsley, and pine nuts. Lay the pounded beef flat; distribute the filling evenly across each piece. Roll tightly and tie at intervals with kitchen twine so the filling is fully enclosed. The roll should feel firm and hold its cylinder under light pressure.
2. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown every piece of meat — braciole, sausage, pork ribs or neck bones, and meatballs — on all sides without crowding. Do not rush: the fond developing on the pot floor is the flavour foundation of the entire gravy. Each batch is ready when it releases cleanly from the pot and shows a deep, even mahogany crust.
3. 3
   Remove all browned meat and set aside. Add the crushed garlic to the residual oil and cook briefly until fragrant but not coloured. Add the tomatoes, scraping up all the fond from the pot floor. Add the basil and oregano. Return the pork ribs or neck bones and the braciole to the pot — they require the longest cooking. The sauce at this stage is bright red and loose; it will cook down considerably.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies: bring the sauce to the gentlest possible simmer — intermittent bubbles at the surface, never a rolling boil — and maintain it without interruption for 4 to 6 hours. An aggressive boil will break the meatballs apart and shred the braciole before they reach tenderness. Add the sausages and meatballs in the final 1 to 1½ hours. Stir gently and occasionally, turning the meats with care. The gravy is ready when it has darkened from bright red to a deep brick-red and has reduced to a glossy, concentrated body that coats the spoon.
5. 5
   Perform the taste test: tear a piece of Italian bread and dip it into the simmering gravy. The bread should absorb a sauce that is full, rounded, and deeply savoury with no raw acidity remaining. Adjust seasoning at this point only.
6. 6
   Remove all meats to a separate warm platter. Snip and discard the twine from the braciole. Cook the pasta separately until just al dente. Dress the pasta with the gravy in the pot. Serve the dressed pasta first; bring the platter of meats to the table alongside.