A long time ago I worked in south Brooklyn (Sheepshead Bay) in the back of a charity, in a small room that barely fit me and Theresa, a hardcore Italian-American. She was a great person, but had a harsh (typical Brooklyn) personality; she had a raspy voice and didn’t take BS from anyone; especially about “gravy” vs. “sauce”. If you’re thinking “gravy” is something brown you pour over steak, move on, you’re not ready for this.
Theresa explained that a tomato-based sauce without meat in it (like marinara), is “sauce.” If it contains meat, then it is not a “sauce” it’s “gravy.” So what is the premier gravy? Ragu. (p.s. I do not agree with her assessment, this is sauce). Also, this is another checkpoint, if you think I might be referring to the bottled sauce, you are on the wrong web site.
Ragu really refers to any type of meat sauce. In Italy, there tends to be the southern, Neapolitan style, which is chunkier (whole meat pieces) and enriched in ways beyond just meat fat and cream (including, nuts, fruit, etc.); and the northern, Bolognese style, which typically has ground meat and may include cream. My ragu is halfway between, it’s super rich, yet doesn’t include cream; it starts with whole pork bones, and finishes with ground meat.
We bought some incredible noodles in Astoria at an Italian market. They’re called Candele, made by De Cecco. They’re a super long (about 2.5 feet), hollow noodle, about 3/4-inch in diameter. Originally we were planning to use them for the Vodka Sauce (last week), but Candele is meant to be served with a meat sauce, so we saved it for a hefty ragu. Both of us thought that it might just end up tasting like ziti because it’s a similar shape, but it doesn’t. The wider hole makes a pretty significant difference in bounce-back when you bite through. The pasta itself seems thicker too.
A few tips for success with this insane pasta: it’s incredibly long. We didn’t even fit 60% into our tallest pot. It’s just an impractical shape. We were advised to break it up, but what fun would that be? I cooked it about a minute on one side, then rotated it and started the other side. I then slowly pushed the pieces in to the water as they softened. It took about five minutes. Most of the pieces didn’t break, but it was difficult. Also, it’s a hearty noodle, so make sure to use a lot of salt in the water. Once it’s cooked, make sure to drain very carefully. These long straw-shaped (looks kind like bubble tea straws) noodles can potentially store a ton of water inside each tube.
Lon’s Ragu
~8 servings
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
- 2.35 lb. Pork Bones (two bones, I think femurs, cut into pieces)
- 2 large Yellow Onions, sliced
- 1 lb. Ground Beef (85% lean)
- 6.5 oz Sweet Italian Sausage (two links, casing removed)
- 1 bulb Garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 tsp. Red Pepper
- 1 tsp. Hot Hungarian Paprika
- 1 (12 oz) can Tomato Paste
- 1/2 cup Red Wine (we used Cabernet Sauvignon)
- 1 (28 oz) can Peeled Tomatoes with Basil
- 1 (28 oz) can Crushed Tomatoes with Basil
- fresh or dried herbs (parsley, oregano, basil) to taste (optional)
- extra virgin olive oil to drizzle (optional)
- Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
Instructions
1. In a large dutch oven, heat vegetable oil and brown pork bones over medium-low heat, at least 20 minutes. Add onions and season liberally with kosher salt. Continue cooking for at least another 10 minutes, until onions are brown and soft. Remove bones and onions to a bowl and set aside.
2. Increase heat to medium-high and add beef and sausage, season with kosher salt and plenty of black pepper. Break up the meat into small pieces as it sautes. Add garlic, red pepper, and paprika, and continue to cook until no pink is visible. Remove to the bowl with bones and onions. Set aside.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomato paste. Caramelize until paste turns dark red, almost brown (like a dark brick). Keep stirring to avoid burning. Deglaze the pot with wine, stirring and scraping fond from bottom of pot. Add crushed tomatoes and peeled tomatoes (I like to hand crush the peeled tomatoes as they fall in). Stir to combine everything well. Return all reserved meat, bones, onions, etc. to the pot. Stir again. Cover loosely (to allow heat to escape) and set over lowest heat.
4. Simmer for two hours, stirring every 20 minutes to avoid burning.
5. Check seasoning. Add herbs to taste. Serve with a hearty noodle. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
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That gigantic pasta is so much fun! I love a good ragu. My nonna put sausages in hers, and my dad makes a special Easter Ragu which is really tasty. I agree, its not called gravy, EVER, its always called sauce. Gravy is what you put on turkey. This recipe is so right up my blogs alley so I will link to it. Nice work. Beautiful photos. Funny, my BF is making me a meat sauce tonight for my birthday. We are just putting in some ground beef, no fancy bones. One other ragu I make and I learned from Giada Laurentis from Every Day Italian is a short rib ragu. Its so incredible and so easy to make, but the meat is on the pricey side. Thanks for posting this!!!
I blogged about this sauce and linked to it 😉
http://mortadifame.blogspot.com/2009/07/some-serious-meat-sauce-from-food.html
hells yeah. This is no ragu in a can! It looks amazing.
I don’t believe I’ve ever used femurs; my family has always used pork neck bones (a pain to track down here in the middle of nowhere) because it gives the finished product a subtle sweetness. Weird, I was going to blog my own gravy this week (and growing up Italian, yeah, we called it gravy too!).
I’m sad to say I’ve never used bones in making a sauce, but boy, I’m going to have to try this one – it looks AMAZING!!
So many great flavors in this sauce, especially the pork bones. That is smart.
Whoa, those noodles are insane! =D I love hollow noodles.
Morta Di Fame, thanks for posting about our Ragu!
gorgeous sauce–it’s the perfect consistency to top so many things, and it looks so rich and warm and comforting!
I found this blog seaching for a recipe that even slightly resembles a dish I had at Via Napoli at Epcot. I have never had an Italian dish so good in my life. The dish was called Candele, little did I know then that it simply was the name of pasta used. But the way they prepared it was in layers, almost like lasanga but nothing like it at the same time. There were a few layers of lasanga noodles on bottom with these mini meatballs in between the layers then a very fine sausage ragu spread between the Candele pasta that was placed on top and finished with this light, airy cream like topping, I still dont know what it was but it was out of this world. The tube shape of the pasta held the layers together very well and when you cut it, it didnt lose its shape. And the lightness of the tube gives it a completly different texture than you would expect. I will keep hunting for the recipe, but I thought I would share an idea of another way to make it that works really well and tastes so good!
Monica, that sounds amazing! Sounds like that is how Candele is really supposed to be used. Now you’ll have me searching for the recipe.
Monica, I recently had the candele at Via Napoli in early August on a trip with my family. I too stumped on this site while looking for a recipe like Via Napoli’s. There is a website called allears.net that has recipes for various Disney restaurants that are the recipes from the actual restaurant–no somebody’s attempt to make the recipe. I keep checking, but haven’t seen any recipes from Via Napoli yet. Hopefully somebody will ask for the receipe at the restaurant and then it will get posted. I bought some candele at a local Italian market, but haven’t been brave enough to try them just yet. This ragu looks amazing. Will have to try it.