This is the first of a multi-part post on Beef, Sausage, Rigatoni. In this post, you’ll find the recipe. In parts 2 and 3, you’ll read about some of the finer points of perfecting this delicious braise.

Makes 5-6 servings

Beef, Sausage, and Rigatoni is a real meat-fest.

The only demanding task is browning the meat. Once that’s done, it’s mainly a lot of waiting around. Worth waiting for. But wait! There’s more! As good as it is fresh, Beef, Sausage, Rigatoni is actually better the next day.

Ingredients

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, warm 1 Tbs oil. Add onions and garlic and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove to a large plate. 2. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Increase sauté pan heat to medium-high, add remaining oil, and brown beef cubes and ribs in two batches, about 10 minutes each. (Read up on “searing meat,” because there are right and wrong ways to do this, and it makes a big difference. Also, consider a spatter screen, because you will get grease everyfuckingwhere.) Remove to plate holding vegetables. Reduce heat to medium. Add sausages and brown about 5 minutes. Pour off excess grease. Return vegetables and meats to pan. Stir in remaining ingredients, except rigatoni and parsley, and simmer 10 minutes. 3. Cover and bake until meats are very tender, about 2 hours. How tender is tender? The rib meat should be clinging to the bones for dear life, and you should be able to remove it from the bone with the gentlest of fork actions. If you have to pry it from the bones, keep cooking. If you reach in for a rib and it comes out clean, you’ve gone a tiny bit too far – but I’d rather lean on that side than the other. 4. Add rigatoni and mix fairly decently. Bake, uncovered, to allow the rigatoni to suck up some juice while the pieces exposed to the air get a little crunchy, 20 minutes longer. 5. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with parsley. Wait until it cools to a non-threatening temperature, and indulge.

Continue Reading: Part 2, Crying, “Beef! (…and Irregular Ribs)”