Sunday Gravy: Pork Shoulder Ragu

Holy Guacamole!
This is my 100th post!
Hard to believe that I have that much to say and that anyone really wants to read about it!

This post is also an entry for the LOW & SLOW contest sponsored by The Constables' Larder. Braising and cooking on low heat............hope I win! I think the prize is a million dollars!

Where I grew up in New Jersey, my friends' Italian American mothers always made Sunday Gravy.
Not the brown stuff that goes on roast beast, but ya know, GRAVY, red sauce that cooks all day. It's an east coast thing.
Their houses always smelled so good, and I couldn't wait to go and have Sunday dinners with them. Sometimes their moms would make a side of meatballs or sausage.
I had one friend whose mom put tuna in her sauce, this was a house I did not want to eat at, but years later, I now love tuna and tomatoes on pasta.

I still have that damn head cold, so why not stay in all day and make gravy?
I bought a 3 lb. pork shoulder and put kosher salt all over it.
I sliced 6 cloves of garlic and cooked them in olive oil for 3 minutes, then removed them from the pot, as not to burn them. I browned the pork shoulder on all sides in the oil to form a nice crust. This makes a mess on your stove, but it's worth it.

Once the meat is brown, remove it from the pot and put aside.
Stir in 3 tablespoons of tomato paste and scrape up the brown bits with your wooden spoon. Now put your reserved pork back in.

Add 2 cans of San Marzano crushed tomatoes (28 oz. each). 2 cups of water. 1 tbsp of sugar and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer about 4 hours till your meat is falling off the bone.
Keep windows open, so your neighbors can drool from the smell.

Remove the meat from the sauce and shred. Put meat aside.



Cook rigatoni or penne and cover with gravy. Put a few pieces of pork on top of your pasta! Eat & enjoy!