Description
Hearty pot roast sunday sauce and rigatoni delivers classic Italian-American comfort on one plate. Slow-cooked beef melds perfectly with rich tomato sauce, promising a deeply satisfying meal you’ll savor to the last delicious bite.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat:
- 1 (2-3 pounds) beef chuck roast, cut into 4 chunks
- 1 pound ground spicy Italian sausage
Vegetables & Aromatics:
- 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery
Sauce and Seasonings:
- 2 (32 ounces) cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 (6 ounces) can tomato paste
- 2 cups red wine
- 1 whole star anise (optional)
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- Salt and black pepper
Finishing Ingredients:
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta
- 1 cup cream
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
Instructions
- Prepare the oven at 325°F and generously season the chuck roast with salt and pepper, positioning it centrally in a Dutch oven. Create miniature sausage meatballs and carefully distribute them around the roast.
- Artfully layer chopped onions, minced garlic, diced carrots, and sliced celery around the meat. Sprinkle selected seasonings and fragrant herbs. Gently pour tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine, water, and include a star anise pod. If available, incorporate a parmesan rind for deeper flavor complexity.
- Securely cover the Dutch oven and roast in the preheated oven for 3.5 to 5 hours, ensuring the meat becomes exceptionally tender and easily shreddable. Once cooked, delicately break apart the roast directly within the sauce. Carefully remove star anise and bay leaves.
- While the sauce develops, prepare rigatoni according to package instructions. After draining, return pasta to the pot and introduce the rich meat sauce. Enrich the dish by stirring in heavy cream, grated parmesan, and a touch of butter. Gently toss until pasta is uniformly coated and glossy.
Notes
- Choose a well-marbled chuck roast for maximum tenderness and rich flavor in the sauce.
- Browning the meat and sausage before slow cooking develops deeper, more complex taste profiles.
- Star anise adds unexpected depth, but can be omitted for those preferring traditional Italian flavors.
- Low and slow cooking ensures melt-in-your-mouth meat that shreds beautifully into the sauce.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 660
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 950 mg
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated Fat: 18 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 60 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 37 g
- Cholesterol: 130 mg