Sunday Gravy

This month commemorates twenty years since I started writing my cooking column for the Foster Home Journal. What initially began as my husband’s casual announcement that he had signed me up for a column has evolved into a new career. So far, I have published four books and am currently working on a fifth that will focus entirely on pasta, or as we call it, macaroni. The very first story, in September of 2006, was called “Is it gravy or is it sauce?” Since gravy is defined as a meat-based sauce with a thickener, the sauce my mother prepared on Sunday mornings was indeed a gravy. Whenever I make gravy, it brings back memories of Sunday mornings waking up to the aromas of sausage and meat browning in the saucepan. My mother and Grandmother would always begin the gravy by working salt pork into a paste with garlic and parsley. This paste served as the base for browning the sausage, a piece of pork, and beef or braciole. After browning the meat and deglazing the pan to loosen the drippings, she would add the tomatoes and wait until they cooked before adding the tomato paste. The meatballs were made separately, fried, and then added to the gravy to simmer for hours until dinner.

 What makes this story intriguing is the timing: my husband heard on the radio about a contest called “It’s gravy not sauce” and convinced me to enter. The event was organized by Landing Zone Bronco Veterans & First Responders Resource Center, located at 1950 Bronco Highway, Burrillville, RI. Here is the contact information for veterans and first responders seeking assistance or interested in volunteering. The phone number is (401) 677-9838, and the Facebook page is LZBronco. Seven gravies or sauces were entered that day, with about 70 people casting votes. I arrived on Friday morning to start preparing my gravy, which takes several hours in their commercial kitchen. I returned on Saturday morning to finish cooking for the 1 p.m. start time. This was the first year of the event, and it is planned to be held every year on the Saturday of VJ Day. Next year’s date is August 7, 2027, so be sure to mark your calendars for a meaningful event that supports veterans and first responders.

I won first prize, which was $250 and a large cutting board!

Micheline’s Award – winning Gravy and Meatballs

Ingredients:

  Approximately a 3-inch piece of salt pork.

  1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

  1 1/2 lb. Italian sausage (hot or sweet)

  A piece of pork and/or beef; you can purchase a gravy pack with pork, steak, & sausage)

  4 garlic cloves, minced or more to taste

  1 tablespoon red pepper (or to taste)

  1 cup red wine and water (fill paste can with water)

   6 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

   1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

   4 cans (28 oz.) of San Marzano Style Italian plum tomatoes, hand-crushed

   1(12oz.) can tomato paste

   1/2 cup Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano cheese, grated

Method:

Cut the salt pork into small pieces and mash with cloves of garlic and parsley into a paste. Heat a large heavy pot over medium heat, add the salt pork mash mixture to melt. If needed, add some olive oil. Dry the pork and beef and add to the pot. Add the sausage and cook until browned on all sides and crusty at the bottom.

Incorporate red pepper, more garlic, and parsley and cook for a few minutes, then deglaze with red wine or water, scraping up all the caramelized bits. (Less oil is needed if your sausage is leaner.) If using just plum tomatoes instead of hand-crushed, then puree the plum tomatoes with basil and parsley in a blender, then add to the pan, stirring to combine all the drippings and grated cheese. Simmer on low until the tomatoes darken, then stir in the tomato paste with equal parts water. Once the paste dissolves, add the meatballs and cook on low simmer for several hours. I use a heat diffuser under my pan, even though my stove has a very low simmer.

(Note: I use the sausage in the gravy pack in my meatball mixture, as I prefer a lean sausage in my gravy.

Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 lb. of a mixture of ground beef, veal, and pork

1/2 lb. of hot or sweet sausage, meat removed from casing

3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs

4 to 6 eggs

2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

3/4 cup freshly grated Romano and/or Parmigiano cheese

Red pepper flakes to taste

I enjoy the sausage flavor alongside the beef, pork, and veal mix. The mixture should be moist enough to hold together but not too wet. Instead of breadcrumbs, you can use bread soaked in milk, squeezed out, and simply reduce the number of eggs. I opted for eggbeaters instead of eggs for easier transport of the ingredients.

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, adding eggs one or two at a time. Mix thoroughly until the mixture forms a ball but remains moist.

Shape into 2-inch balls. Traditionally, meatballs are browned in a skillet before adding to gravy, but I prefer oven-frying. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, place the meatballs on it, and bake at 375°F for about 10 minutes on each side. This method is quicker and healthier. Note: I use lean sausage to make the gravy, typically using sausage found in links for my meatballs. For example, I use Dave’s sausage from the package for the meatballs, and either Dave’s or farm-made lean sausage for the gravy.