Frank Bruni's Italian Meat Gravy

“You had to have a lot of meat going on in there.” That's how Frank Bruni, the former New York Times restaurant critic, writes about the sauce he grew up with in his new memoir, Born Round. “It was 1957; my parents had just been married and were living in San Diego, where my father, then a junior officer in the Navy, was stationed. The first time he shipped out for several months, my mother decided she wanted to surprise him when he got home by making pasta with Grandma's style of gravy. So she wrote Grandma and asked her for the recipe." What the Brunis and many southern Italians call gravy, most people would describe as tomato sauce, with myriad cuts of beef and pork—including cheesy, herbed meatballs, sweet sausages and seared pork loin—all of which are simmered in the sauce until they’re wonderfully tender. Bruni shares the recipe exclusively with Food & Wine here.

ITALIAN MEAT GRAVY

ACTIVE: 30 MIN; TOTAL: 2 HR 30 min

12 SERVINGS

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound boneless pork shoulder, in one piece

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large onion, minced

5 garlic cloves, minced

Four 28-ounce cans peeled Italian tomatoes, passed through a food mill

2 tablespoons finely chopped basil

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 pound sweet Italian sausages

3 slices white bread, crusts removed

1/4 cup water

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons dried parsley, crumbled

2 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving

1 pound ground beef chuck

Cooked pasta, such as rigatoni, for serving

 

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Season the pork with salt and pepper, add it to the pan and cook over high heat until browned all over, about 10 minutes. Add the onion and 4 of the minced garlic cloves, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the onion and garlic are very soft, about 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley and oregano and bring to a simmer.
2. Put the sausages in a skillet and cover halfway with water. Cover the skillet and bring to a boil. Cook the sausages until firm, about 5 minutes. Drain and prick the sausages several times with a fork. Cook the sausages in the skillet over moderate heat until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350° and spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil spray. In a medium bowl, knead the bread with the water to form a paste. Add the eggs, dried parsley, 2 tablespoons of Pecorino Romano, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and the remaining garlic and stir until smooth. Add the beef and stir until combined. Roll the mixture into 12 meatballs and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 25 minutes, until cooked through.
4. Add the sausages and meatballs to the tomato sauce and season with salt. Cover partially and simmer over low heat until the pork is tender, about 2 hours. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let cool slightly. Cut into thick slices and transfer to a platter along with the meatballs and sausages. Serve the meat and meat gravy alongside the pasta, passing Pecorino cheese alongside.

Make Ahead: The meat gravy can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Reheat before serving.