Sunday Dinner Gravy

Ingredients

• 1 pound veal shoulder cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 pound beef chuck cut into 1-inch chucks
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 8 cups Basic Tomato Sauce
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound pork neckbones
• pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pound dry spaghetti

Instructions

1. Season the meats with lots of salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the veal and beef, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and stir constantly until the wine evaporates, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the tomato sauce, stir, then add the sausage, neckbones, 1 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes to taste. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover halfway, and cook, stirring occasionally and skimming fat as necessary, for about 3 hours.
3. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
4. Remove the gravy from the heat and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer the meat to a platter. On a separate platter, pile the pasta, dress it with the gravy, and serve as your first course. Then serve the meat as a main course.
5. Some people save the neck bones for their dogs, but I like to pick at them cold from the fridge, hot sauce in hand, late, late at night…alone.