Short Rib and Sausage Ragu

This delicious ragu, of beef short ribs, Italian sausage, tomatoes, and red wine, is simmered for hours and makes the most delicious pasta sauce. This short rib and sausage ragu is the epitome of meaty, rich decadence!

We had a lot of cold & rainy weather for the past several days, so I was in the mood to make something low & slow. A rich and meaty ragu sauce with pasta sounded perfect, and was inspired by a short rib and sausage ragu recipe from Cooking Light.  This easy ragu recipe, also known as Sunday Gravy or Sunday Sauce, was deeply flavored & so delicious served over pappardelle pasta. We all loved this delicious meat-filled pasta sauce and thought it paired nicely with our house salad and freshly baked bread.

Short Rib and Sausage Ragu

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1¼ lb lean short ribs, excess fat removed
• Dried oregano, to taste
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled & diced
• 1 spicy pork Italian sausage, casing removed
• 1½ tbsp tomato paste
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• ½ cup dry red wine
• 1 (28 oz) can of whole tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 2-3 tsp white wine vinegar, to taste

How to Make Short Rib and Sausage Ragu

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Season the short ribs with oregano, garlic powder, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Place the ribs into the hot Dutch oven and sear all sides of them, turning with tongs, until golden brown & the fat has rendered, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a plate, then pour off all but 1 teaspoon of grease.

Add the tomato paste, minced garlic, crushed fennel seeds, and crushed red pepper flakes, 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 hand-crushed whole tomatoes and rosemary sprig; stir to combine.

Cover with a lid & place into the oven to simmer gently, turning the ribs & stirring a few times throughout the cooking process, until the meat is very tender and falls off the bones, about 3 hours.

Remove them from the oven and carefully transfer them to a clean plate. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and shred with fingers, discarding the fat and bones.

Remove grease from the top of the sauce.

Return the shredded meat to the sauce in the Dutch oven. Bring the sauce to a simmer over low heat and stir in the vinegar. Taste and re-season with more vinegar, sea salt, and/or freshly cracked pepper, to taste.

Serve over your preferred pasta al dente. Enjoy.