Rustic Slow-Simmered Tomato Sauce with Meat
You guys! This rustic slow-simmered tomato sauce with meat is seriously so good that for the past two days my daughter and I have eaten small bowls of just the sauce and a little bread for lunch. No pasta needed! I’ve never made meat sauce using short ribs and I can’t believe it took me so long to try. I found this recipe in my cooking bible, The New Best Recipe (revised edition) by America’s Test Kitchen. The meat was so flavorful, tender, and delicious. I loved the depth of flavor the wine added to the sauce and the added garlic made it over the top delicious for me. I served this sauce originally over mushroom ravioli but it would be delicious over any pasta, on potatoes, polenta, bread, or plain. Seriously.
How to Make Rustic Slow-Simmered Tomato Sauce with Meat
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Season the short ribs with garlic powder, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Place into the hot Dutch oven and sear all sides of the short ribs, turning with tongs, until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes; rendering as much fat as possible. Transfer the ribs to a plate then pour off all but 1 teaspoon of grease.
Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper flakes and minced garlic and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the wine, making sure to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook, until the wine has reduced to a glaze, about 2 minutes. Add the short ribs and their juices back to the Dutch oven then add the crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently, turning the ribs several times, until the meat is very tender and falling off the bones, about 2 hours.
Transfer the ribs to a clean plate. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and shred with fingers, discarding the fat and bones. Return the shredded meat to the sauce in the Dutch oven. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat and cook, uncovered, for about 5-10 minutes. Taste and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Serve over pasta of choice. Enjoy.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1¾ lbs beef short ribs trimmed of excess fat
- Garlic powder to taste
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
- 1 small sweet yellow onion minced
- Dash of crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Season the short ribs with garlic powder, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.
- Place into the hot Dutch oven and sear all sides of the short ribs, turning with tongs, until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes; rendering as much fat as possible.
- Transfer the ribs to a plate then pour off all but 1 teaspoon of grease.
- Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the crushed red pepper flakes and minced garlic and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Deglaze the pan with the wine, making sure to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook, until the wine has reduced to a glaze, about 2 minutes.
- Add the short ribs and their juices back to the Dutch oven then add the crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently, turning the ribs several times, until the meat is very tender and falling off the bones, about 2 hours.
- Transfer the ribs to a clean plate. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and shred with fingers, discarding the fat and bones.
- Return the shredded meat to the sauce in the Dutch oven. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat and cook, uncovered, for about 5-10 minutes.
- Taste and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Serve over pasta of choice. Enjoy.
Looks like a wonderful recipe! Love ribs (either beef or pork — or both!) in tomato sauce. They give so much flavor, don’t they? Anyway, good stuff — thanks.
Great looking sauce and you can use it for so many dishes.
It sounds and looks like a perfect tomato sauce!