Lazy Sugo
Updated Sept. 24, 2025
- Total Time
- About 5 hours
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 4¾ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2(28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
- ⅓cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½cup tomato paste
- 1large pinch crushed red pepper
- 1cup dry red or white wine
- 2pounds bone-in pork shoulder, cut into 1-pound pieces, salted in advance (see Tip)
- 2pounds beef shank or osso buco (about 2 large pieces), salted in advance (see Tip)
- 2yellow onions, peeled and halved lengthwise through the root
- 4garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 or 2Parmesan rinds
- 2bay leaves
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 to 2tablespoons sugar (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (42 servings)
115 calories; 7 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 228 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and use your hands to thoroughly crush them (have some fun!). Pour 1¼ cups water into the cans and swirl to rinse any remaining juice off the sides. Add the water to the crushed tomatoes and set aside.
- Step 2
Set a large nonreactive Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the oil and tomato paste. Cook, gently breaking up the paste with a wooden spoon, until the oil turns uniformly orange, about 3 minutes. Stir in the red pepper and wine, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, pork, beef shank, onions, garlic, Parmesan rinds and bay leaves. Season generously with salt and black pepper, increase the heat to medium-high and, stirring regularly, bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Step 3
Partly cover the pot and reduce the heat to keep the sauce at a gentle simmer. Stir and scrape occasionally to prevent scorching, especially in the center of the pot, where the meat is most likely to stick. Cook until both the beef and the pork are falling off the bone, about 3½ hours for the beef, and 4½ hours for the pork, depending on the size of the pieces of meat. As the meat is cooked, use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove it from the sauce and set aside.
- Step 4
Once all the meat is cooked, turn off the heat and remove and discard the onions, Parmesan rinds and bay leaves from the sauce. Once the meat is cool enough to handle, pick through it and discard the bones, gristle and soft fat clumps, reserving the cartilaginous bits and hard fat strips. Use forks or your hands to shred the meat and return it to the sauce. Very finely chop the cartilaginous bits (they will add body!) from the shank and any kind of hard fat (it will add so much texture and flavor!) from the pork and return it to the sauce.
- Step 5
Return the sauce to a simmer and adjust the seasoning with salt, black pepper and sugar if needed. Cook until the flavors have melded and the sauce has reduced to your desired thickness, another 20 to 30 minutes.
- Step 6
Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 1 week or freeze in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Return to a boil before serving.
- To make pasta al sugo, for each serving, cook 3½ ounces of dried pasta in a pot of boiling salted water. Meanwhile, in a nonreactive sauce pan, bring ¾ cup of sauce per serving to a simmer. Add the cooked pasta to the pan of sauce, along with 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and a generous palmful of freshly grated Parmesan per serving. If the sauce clings too tightly to the pasta, loosen it with a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water (use tap water if you are worried things will get too salty) and simmer, swirling and tossing, until the sauce glossily and evenly coats the pasta. If the sauce is too watery, turn the heat up and reduce it a bit, stirring and swirling constantly until the sauce clings to the pasta. Serve immediately with more Parmesan.
- When possible, season meat in advance of cooking so that salt has time to penetrate, enhance flavor, and — if done early enough — tenderize. In terms of timing, any time is better than none, and more is better than some, up to about 48 hours.
Private Notes
Comments
I grew up on the iron range of Minnesota where many Italian immigrants brought their traditions to the rugged mining communities. One of our family friends taught my parents to make sugo and this is very similar to how we do it! In the “olden days” the pot was left on the stove or over the fire for many days at a low simmer, and meat and tomatoes were added to keep it going, usually at hunting or mining camps.
Seems like a no brainer for the slow cooker, and I’d seasons and brown the meat, remove from pot, then sautee the onions and tomato paste and proceed, adding everything to slow cooker after deglazing pot.
You can use any kind of red meat you want in a ragù (which is what this is, not a sugo). A mix is best to add depth, and always fatty cuts which bring luxurious texture—hence pork is typically the protagonist.
I feel bad. I love Samin. To me, as it is, this was one-note, Italian-down-the-block-restaurant, grandma's on auto pilot, sauce (and I will NEVER again make a slow cooked sauce on top of the stove.) For my 'last stage' (30 min) I added another cup of wine, some fish sauce (to boost the beef flavor) and some soy for seasoning. I would have added another can of tomatoes for freshness but was out. The result was fine. Not world class but not bad.
This is pretty much what most Italian- Americans are doing on any Sunday afternoon. You can add any kind of meat that your family likes and every family's is the best
Be advised that this is a big recipe. I used a 7 quart dutch oven but a 9 quart would have been better. Next time I will make a half recipe.