Sunday Sauce
Sunday Sauce is the quintessential Italian American dinner. Tomatoes, garlic, onion, wine, meatballs, and delicious tender pieces of pork simmering all day to create a rich, hearty Italian gravy! I'll show you how to make this Gluten-free so everyone can enjoy this classic Italian dish!
Equipment
- medium scoop
- Large rimmed baking sheets
- 10 quart or larger stock pot
Ingredients
Gluten-free meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef
- .5 Italian sausage ground or links with casing removed
- 1/2 cup gluten-free bread crumbs
- 1/4 heavy cream
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the rest of the sauce
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large white onion chopped
- 6-8 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 stick salted butter
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 15-ounce cans of tomato sauce can also use tomato puree
- 1 8-ounce can of tomato paste
- water You'll fill up the empty can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper optional to taste
- 2 lbs Italian sausage links cut into halves
- 1.5 - 2lbs boneless country pork ribs
Instructions
- Start with the gluten-free meatballs. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Add the ground beef, sausage, gluten-free breadcrumbs, egg, cream, Worcestershire sauce, parmesan cheese, and seasonings in a large bowl.
- Mix until all ingredients are combined.
- Place parchment paper on a large rimmed baking sheet. I like to always give it a quick spray with cooking spray to assure the meatballs won't stick. If you don't have parchment paper, you can use foil or use a prepared baking sheet.
- Use a medium scoop to portion out the meatball mixture. Roll each portion into a ball and place it on the cookie sheet. Continue with the remaining meatball mixture.
- Bake the meatballs for 15-20 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. It's okay if they are slightly undercooked because they will continue to cook in the sauce.
- While the meatballs are cooking, put together the sauce. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large stockpot (about 7 - 10 quarts).
- When the oil is hot, add in the onions and cook for about 4-5 minutes or until they soften and become translucent.
- Add the butter into the onions and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes or until it melts. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes or until it becomes fragrant.
- Pour in the red wine and let the wine simmer and cook down for about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, dried basil and dried oregano.
- Fill one of the 28-ounce cans with water and pour that into the pot. Give the sauce a couple of stirs to combine ingredients.
- After the meatballs cook, add them into the sauce. Keep the oven set to 375 degrees.
- Cook the rest of the meat. Place the Italian sausage and country pork ribs on the same baking sheet used for the meatballs. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Add the rest of the meat to the sauce. You can even pour the meat juices into the sauce for extra flavor.
- Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
- Let the sauce simmer uncovered for 3 - 4 1/2 hours. The sauce should be bubbling slightly as it cooks but not boiling. If it seems to be bubbling too much, then reduce the heat. Again, don't forget to stir occasionally to keep the sauce from burning at the bottom. I recommend checking on the sauce every 15 - 30 minutes to make sure the sauce isn't boiling or burning - it should cook at a slow simmer.
- Serve with al dente pasta, gluten-free garlic bread, and salad.
Notes
Storage Tips
For the week.
Store sauce and meat together in airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Reheat on the stovetop. If the sauce thickens, add water or stock to thin it out.
To freeze.
This recipe freezes beautifully. After the sauce cools, store in airtight containers or freeze into portions using silicone freezer trays. I find it helpful to freeze sauce into smaller portions, so you don't have to heat large frozen batches of sauce when you only need a small amount. Check out my tutorial on freezing spaghetti sauce found our my sister site.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 567kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 44gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 125mgSodium: 1127mgFiber: 7gSugar: 18g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!