Sunday gravy

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GotGarlic

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Since I grew up in the Midwest, I've never had Sunday gravy before, and in fact, never heard of it before I joined this forum. I think it was MsMofet who first mentioned it. I'm watching a recorded rerun of Tyler Florence making his Ultimate Sunday Gravy and of course, it looks and sounds fabulous :yum:

Neapolitan Ragu Recipe : Tyler Florence : Food Network

I'd love to make this, but there are only two of us. Can it be portioned and frozen? I'm wondering how the cooked meats would be after thawing and reheating.
 
Use the recipe as a guide and cut it back to suit your situation.

I make small batches in the cooler months using a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, a splash of wine, a small can of paste, odds and ends of vegetables. For the meats I usually add three of the following: a whole chicken leg, a pork steak, a beef shank, meatballs, sausage, a chunk of pepperoni, etc... I try to toss an individual piece or serving of meat into the freezer when I'm fixing other meals so I don't have to run out and buy several pounds of meat just for sauce. Use what you have, that's what the Italian grannies did.

I don't add pine nuts and raisins to my sauce. I have had veal stew that was made with nuts, raisins and stuffed green olives added to the vegetables and sauce. It was very good just not my idea of Sunday gravy.

I brown the meat and then bake mine in a covered roasting pan for about 90 minutes, remove the meat and refrigerate it overnight so I can remove the fat. I freeze the leftovers in one cup containers and also freeze some of the chopped meat. I particularly like to add a cup of the frozen sauce and some chopped beef shank to a quick version of vegetable beef with barley soup.
 
Thanks from me too AB. Like GG, I had never heard of Sunday Gravy before I came here, but I think I first saw the term with our beloved Kades.

I like the idea of saving up bits and pieces for the freezer, and I know for sure I won't be using raisins. Sounds like a fun project.
 
sunday gravy is one of those better the next day kind of meals, so it freezes and reheats really well.

you know, one of my very first posts here was about eating sunday gravy and giant, homemade ravioli at my friend gregg marchese's house when i was a kid. the marcheses loved me because i would just keep eating as long as someone put food in front of me, a good thing in a sicillian american household.
my mom and dad loved gregg because he was so polite whenever he ate at my house on saturdays, bringing his plate to the kitchen and always quietly thanking my mom for the meal.


my sunday gravy usually consists of italian style pork sausage with fennel seed, turkey or beef meatballs, and either beef or pork brasciole in a garden tomato sauce (bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, garlic, basil, and of course, tomatoes).
 
Absolutely you can freeze it.

You heard the Princess. In fact I always made extra for the sole purpose of having some in the freezer for those midweek meals when I didn't have time or want to cook a big meal for the evening family sit down. Meatballs, Italian sausages, country style ribs, any leftover scraps of meat can go into the gravy. I always found that meatballs that were baked in the oven first held together better than those that were sautéed first. You just have to keep your eye on them and turn them halfway though. Place on a cake rack so that the fat drips into the cookie sheet with sides. Saves time and you get less fat in the end product. You can also do the same with the sausages.

BTW, Sunday gravy is better when made of Saturday, placed in the fridge and then reheated the next day slowly for Sunday dinner with plenty of Italian bread. Preferably a whole loaf not cut into slices. The Italian way is to tear off a piece, slather it with butter and then sop up any left over gravy. :angel:
 
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oh, yes. meataballs need to be baked or pan fried so they get a crust, both for flavour and structural integrity.

some people plop raw meatballs into the sauce, but that's gross imo.
 
I make a Sunday Ragu with meatballs, Italian sausage and stew meat It makes six dinners for the two of us. I portion it into plastic storage containers and freeze them. It's a delicious and hearty meal that everyone loves. I got the recipe from the Food Network.

Once you make it, you'll add it to your rotation.
 
I was reading a Sunday gravy recipe today. It called for bone in country style pork ribs, flank steak, hot Italian sausage and sweet Italian sausage. I found it on Pinterest by accident. I saved it because it sounds so good. I wonder if Sunday gravy was born because by Sunday there were odds and ends of several kinds of meat leftover and any frugal Italian cook would want to use them to create a meal....


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I was reading a Sunday gravy recipe today. It called for bone in country style pork ribs, flank steak, hot Italian sausage and sweet Italian sausage. I found it on Pinterest by accident. I saved it because it sounds so good. I wonder if Sunday gravy was born because by Sunday there were odds and ends of several kinds of meat leftover and any frugal Italian cook would want to use them to create a meal....


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking

Sunday gravy/ragu is a rich tomato sauce with meats. No rules about which meats must be/cannot be included.
 
I was reading a Sunday gravy recipe today. It called for bone in country style pork ribs, flank steak, hot Italian sausage and sweet Italian sausage. I found it on Pinterest by accident. I saved it because it sounds so good. I wonder if Sunday gravy was born because by Sunday there were odds and ends of several kinds of meat leftover and any frugal Italian cook would want to use them to create a meal....


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking

Sounds more than logical to me Bunny, and I bet you're right. ;):chef:
 
... I wonder if Sunday gravy was born because by Sunday there were odds and ends of several kinds of meat leftover and any frugal Italian cook would want to use them to create a meal...

That's a possibility but it may have also been created as a good inexpensive meal to feed a house full of relatives on Sunday after church.
 
it was both, from my understanding. and italian americans are frugal if they are anything.

some of the meats were bought just for the gravy, and other meals from the week were planned so they would have a bit leftover for the gravy.

as andy said, you needed to feed the horde of relatives that traditionally visited after mass on any given sunday (hence the name), so stretching out a pot o' gravy was a plus.

anyone ever hear of an italian football wedding? now, that's real old-school italian american.
 
oh, yes. meataballs need to be baked or pan fried so they get a crust, both for flavour and structural integrity.

some people plop raw meatballs into the sauce, but that's gross imo.

I have found that raw meatballs don't hold up in the gravy. I have also seen some folks put their raw pasta in the gravy to cook there. What are they thinking? :wacko:

I can still see my girlfriend Maria's nonni standing at the stove with her big wooded spoon stirring that pot. She always had her full cover apron with the pocket on. I can almost smell the Sunday Gravy cooking. :angel:
 
it was both, from my understanding. and italian americans are frugal if they are anything.

some of the meats were bought just for the gravy, and other meals from the week were planned so they would have a bit leftover for the gravy.

as andy said, you needed to feed the horde of relatives that traditionally visited after mass on any given sunday (hence the name), so stretching out a pot o' gravy was a plus.

anyone ever hear of an italian football wedding? now, that's real old-school italian american.

The cook of the family Sunday meal always went to 6 a.m. Mass so they could be home to get the Sunday meal ready. The rest of the family went to a later Mass. Children's Mass was always at 9 a.m. :angel:
 
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