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Sunday Gravy

Sunday Gravy, a comforting and meaty pasta sauce for Sunday supper.  Beef short ribs cooked low and slow in tomato sauce until fork tender and then tossed with pasta and topped with grated cheese.

Bowl of pasta and meaty gravy

This past Sunday, I made a pot of sauce to serve with pasta.  Sunday Gravy.  It starts on the stove and then goes in a slow oven for 3 hours.  The result is a rich and hearty sauce for pasta, filled with fork-tender pieces of meat.  This gravy is to-die-for good, a sauce worthy of a Sunday family dinner.

Is it sauce or gravy?  I've heard both terms and several different meanings and interpretations.  It's not ground meat, like a bolognese, nor a type of marinara.  Gravy has large pieces of meat that are braised for several hours until meltingly tender.  I have heard it referred to as both Sunday Sauce and Sunday Gravy.

Sunday gravy tossed with spaghetti in serving bowl.

But my Italian friend from the south-side of Chicago says gravy for her sauce, and she uses ground meat.  And my great-grandfather's ravioli is served with sauce, or gravy, depending on who you talk to in my family, and it has no meat at all in it.  To me, this is Sunday Gravy.  The key word being "Sunday", a special meat sauce that cooks all day.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED

Ingredients for Sunday gravy labeled on board.

I like short ribs for this gravy, but really, you can use any braising cut of meat.  Beef chuck would work, so would pork shoulder or spareribs.  Sunday Gravy was a way to use whatever meat was on hand, or several cuts of meat, in a slow cooked braise to then serve over pasta.  I would keep it to one to three meats.

You certainly can use what you have on hand or is on sale.  Since I have two in my house who do not eat pork, I use only beef.  Pork would be so good, though.

HOW TO MAKE SUNDAY GRAVY

Browning short ribs process collageBrowning short ribs on stove.

  • Season the short ribs with salt and pepper and brown well in a little olive oil.  Transfer browned short ribs to a plate.

Browning onions.

  • Add the onions, a pinch of salt, cook until golden.

Adding tomato paste and seasonings to onions.

  • Stir in tomato paste, garlic and seasonings and cook a few minutes until fragrant.

Adding tomatoes and getting ready to braise in oven.

  • Add crushed tomatoes and combine, then add a whole carrot and a small piece of Parmesan rind.
  • Then nestle the short ribs and any accumulated juices in the sauce.
  • Bring to a simmer, cover and braise in the oven for 3 hours.

Finished sauce in pot collage, before and after shredding meat.

  • When short ribs are tender, remove to cutting board, cut or shred into bite size pieces.
  • Return meat to pot, taste for salt. Add pasta of choice and toss well, adding some reserved pasta water if needed. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Serving bowl of Sunday Gravy and spaghetti.

RECIPE NOTES AND TIPS

  • Beef short ribs.  Normally I would opt for bone-in short ribs, for the incredible flavor you get from any meat on the bone.  But I find boneless short ribs a better choice.  They are just as flavorful and less fatty than the bone-in.  Boneless short ribs are easy to shred into chunks when they are done braising.  Even though the bone-in practically fall off the bone when done, they tend to have more grizzle and fat.  Get what you can find, or what's on sale.
  • Take the time to brown the meat in batches, don't crowd the pan.  Properly browned meat yields flavor folks, nicely caramelized and brown, not gray.
  • I prefer Italian San Marzano tomatoes which are are meaty and tender.  Buy them whole and crush them by hand.
  • The pasta.  This can cause much debate.  I like spaghetti, fettuccine or pappardelle.  I had spaghetti on hand, so that's what I used.  Rigatoni and penne would also make an excellent choice with this hearty sauce.
  • Simmer the al dente pasta in the same pot with the gravy for a couple of minutes to completely coat the pasta with the rich, beefy gravy.  Add some reserved pasta cooking water if needed to keep it loose and saucy.
  • Serve with some grated parmigiana reggiano or romano cheese on top.
  • A little red wine in this braise would be really good.  I like red wine but red wine doesn't like me, I never have it on hand.  If you want, put about a cup of red wine in the pot just before you add the tomatoes.  Let it reduce just a minute or two to mellow the alcohol.

Finished pasta in bowl with grated cheese.

There you have it, Sunday Gravy.  Gather the family around the table, serve up this Italian pasta with meaty gravy, enjoy the forks clanking and slurping sounds, and treasure the smiles and laughter.  Best, Kelly🍴🐦

You might also like these pasta dishes:

Spaghetti twirled on fork in bowl with Sunday sauce.

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UPDATED: Originally posted in June, 2015, recently updated in December, 2019, with spruced up photos and copy.  No changes to original recipe.

Finished sauce in pot.

Sunday Gravy

Beef short ribs cooked low and slow in tomato sauce until fork tender and then tossed with pasta. A comforting and meaty pasta sauce for Sunday supper.
4.84 from 12 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 795kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 - 4 pounds boneless beef short ribs
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • Small piece of parmesan rind, about an inch
  • Two 28-oz. cans of Italian San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
  • 1 whole medium carrot, peeled
  • 2 pounds spaghetti (or pasta of choice)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300º
  • In a large enameled cast-iron dutch oven, heat olive oil over moderate heat until shimmering. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Add to the pot in one layer and brown well on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer short ribs to a plate.
  • Reserve 1 tablespoon of fat in pot. Add onions and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned, about 5-6 minutes. Add the tomato paste, garlic, oregano, basil, and crushed red pepper, stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and their juices, the carrot and parmesan rind. Season with salt. Bring to a simmer.
  • Return the short ribs and their accumulated juices to the pot. Turn a few times and nestle into the sauce. Bring back to simmer, cover and transfer to oven.
  • Braise in the oven for 3 hours until meat is very tender. Remove from oven. Skim fat from top, leaving some, again, for flavor.
  • Transfer meat to cutting board. Discard carrot and parmesan rind. With two forks, shred meat into 1-inch chunks. Return meat to sauce and season with salt and pepper.
  • In large stock pot of boiling, salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking water. Transfer pasta to pot of gravy and toss and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add some pasta water if it seems too thick. Serve immediately in large bowl with grated parmesan cheese.

Recipe Notes

  • Normally I would opt for bone-in short ribs, for the incredible flavor you get from any meat on the bone. But I find boneless short ribs a better choice. They are just as flavorful and less fatty than the bone-in and easier to shred. Even though the bone-in practically fall off the bone when done, they tend to have more grizzle and fat. Get what you can find, or what's on sale.
  • Take the time to brown the meat in batches, don't crowd the pan. Properly browned meat yields flavor folks, nicely caramelized and brown, not gray.
  • I prefer Italian San Marzano tomatoes which are are meaty and tender. Buy them whole and crush them by hand.
  • I like spaghetti, fettuccine or pappardelle. Rigatoni and penne would also make an excellent choice with this hearty sauce.  
  • Serve with some grated parmigiana reggiano or romano cheese on top.
  • If you want, put about a cup of red wine in the pot just before you add the tomatoes. Let it reduce just a minute or two to mellow the alcohol.

Nutrition

Calories: 795kcal Carbohydrates: 65g Protein: 62g Fat: 31g Saturated Fat: 12g Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g Monounsaturated Fat: 13g Cholesterol: 156mg Sodium: 393mg Potassium: 1441mg Fiber: 4g Sugar: 7g Vitamin A: 1073IU Vitamin C: 15mg Calcium: 91mg Iron: 8mg
Did you make this recipe? Please comment, rate it and share! And mention me on Instagram @thehungrybluebird or tag #thehungrybluebird so I can see!

Adapted from Food & Wine, September, 2014

Recipe Rating




Diane

Monday 18th of September 2023

This is the bomb!!!! I don't even want regular spaghetti anymore.

Candace

Friday 21st of April 2023

Delish! Wanted to share finally as I've made this a few times and its so much of a family favorite my daughter requested it for her bday dinner opposed to going out. I do add a bit of ground sausage to make it extra hearty and a cup of red wine. Thank you for sharing this lovely sauce with us all ;)

Rachel

Sunday 30th of October 2022

Made this today on a Sunday of course. Came out phenomenal. I used a cut chuck roast because my grocery store did not have beef short ribs. And instead of canned whole tomatoes I used 2 jars of San marzanno marinara sauce. And I added homemade meatballs to it after cooking the sauce. And I chopped the carrot and cooked it in the sauce, sautéed it with the onion. Yum yum yum!

Alyssa Rosenblatt

Monday 26th of September 2022

Coukd you add meatbals and italian sausage to this as well?

Pam

Monday 15th of August 2022

My Sicilian Uncle and his 85 year old mother always used neckbones in the gravy from the beginning of the cooking time. They also added meatballs to cook in the gravy. The gravy was always very rich and I can still remember how delicious this was. All resident Chicagoans resettled from New Orleans, so it seemed everyone had their own methods.