Old School Italian Red Sauce

Step 1

Trim short ribs of all visible extra fat without cutting into the meaty portion of the ribs.  Leave bones and meat intact together.  The bones flavor the sauce as well and are an important part of the recipe.

Step 2

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Once hot, turn the heat down to medium heat setting.

Step 3

Add beef short ribs over medium heat.  Brown really well all over for 7-9 minutes.

Step 4

Dice onion, celery, and carrot and add to meat. Saute in the pan until carrots and celery are semi-soft and the onions are translucent.

Step 5

Add wine and deglaze the pan for all the flavor of the browned bits using a wooden spatula (if you will not be using wine, water or chicken broth may be substituted for the wine).

Step 6

Press/mill the two 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes with a large hand mill/grinder over a medium-sized bowl.  Pour all the contents of each can into large hand mill liquid and all.  Hand grind them through the mill.  Add milled tomato and any liquid to saucepot and discard the small number of solids left in hand mill/grinder.  If you don’t have a hand mill you can easily substitute 2 28-ounce cans tom tomato puree here.

Step 7

Add one 28-ounce can tomato puree and fill can with water to add to sauce as necessary.

Step 8

Add 1 can tomato paste and blend well into the sauce.

Step 9

Add basil, oregano, and thyme.

Step 10

Add 2 bay leaves.

Step 11

Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour with the lid off-set to allow steam to escape a little.

Step 12

While sauce is simmering begin meatballs.

Step 13

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Step 14

In a large bowl combine ground pork, ground beef, bread crumbs, eggs, parmesan, and parsley. Add a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of white pepper.  Mix together well.  Shape into 1 1/2″ – 2″ meatballs and set each onto an aluminum-lined rimmed baking tray 1″ apart.

Step 15

Put meatballs into the oven and set at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Step 16

Turn meatballs and bake another 10 – 15 minutes.  Let rest on the tray for at least 10-15 minutes to firm and promote shape retention.

Step 17

Using a slotted spoon remove short ribs from sauce and set onto a cutting board.  Let cool until you can handle them.  Separate the meat from the bones. chop meat into small pieces and add the meat back into the sauce. Discard the bones.

Step 18

Check sauce/gravy for thickness and taste.  If it has visibly boiled down add some water from the reserved can of water at this stage.  Do not add more than 1/4 – 1/2 can of water at a time (just say no to watery sauce).

Step 19

Once the meatballs are set, add the meatballs to sauce. Fold the sauce/gravy and meatballs together gently.

Step 20

Add 1/2 cup Parmesan/Romano cheese to saucepot and gently mix in.  Continue to simmer gently for one more hour.

Step 21

Test sauce for flavor.  Adjust with salt, white, black, and red peppers to taste.

Step 22

Find and remove bay leaves.

Step 23

Serve over pasta, cooked squash, or spiralized vegetables topped with 3-4 meatballs, 1 cup of sauce, and plenty of grated parmesan/romano cheese on the side.