Short Rib Gravy

I wish I could say that I grew up in NY and as a kid, I'd wake up early on Sunday mornings to watch my grandma, Marcella Hazan, make the Sunday gravy - that she had the best sauce in town and our family of 20 would show up for a massive meal before the impending Monday start to the work week took hold. But, alas.

Italian American cuisine is incredible. I love the gamut from every single "that's not Italian" dish to the most authentic. One thing that reigns supreme is a good gravy and short rib does it for me. All of that bone in beefy goodness imparts an incredible depth of flavor to the sauce while the sticky, delicious meat makes this extra special. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
6 lbs short ribs, English cut bone in
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 TBSP grapeseed or vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 large carrot, grated
1 tsp anchovy paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP + 1 tsp tomato paste
½ cup red wine
2 28oz cans DOP San Marzano tomatoes, hand crushed
1 ½ cups water
2 tsp dried Italian herbs
1 TBSP mushroom powder
½ tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Trim the excess fat from your rinsed and thoroughly dried English cut short ribs. Season all sides generously with Kosher Salt & Freshly ground black pepper. Heat a large, heavy bottom pot over high heat for 1 minute. Add in the grapeseed oil and brown the short ribs on all side working in batches so you don’t over crowd the pan. That deep brown crust is where the flavor is so take your time.

Reserve the short ribs. Using a paper towel, remove all but 1 TBSP of oil from the pot. Sweat onions, celery, carrots, anchovy paste, and a pinch of Kosher salt until the veggies are translucent, about 7 minutes. Add in garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute stirring often. 

Deglaze the pot with red wine and reduce until it is fully evaporated. Add in 2 cans of hand crushed DOP San Marzano tomatoes along with 1 ½ cups of water. Toss in dried Italian herbs, mushroom powder, fennel seed that your have crushed with a pan, and red pepper flakes to taste. Add the short ribs back in and bring to the boil over high heat. Once to the boil, reduce the heat to low and gently simmer for 3 ½ hours. Skim the top of any foam and fat that rises.

After 3 ½ hours, remove the short ribs from the gravy. Thoroughly skim the fat from the top. Remove the bones from the short ribs and shred the meat into small chunks. Add the meat back in and taste for seasoning, adjusting with salt & pepper to taste.

If serving with pasta or noodles, cook to al dente and add the sauce onto the drained but not rinsed pasta. Mix in ½ cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, cover, and let the pasta soak up the gravy for 5 minutes. 

Plate up topping with extra virgin olive oil and a light dusting of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. I also recommend trying this over polenta.

For those needing more: Add in an extra can of tomatoes along with some browned Italian sausages or meatballs