Italian Sunday Gravy In a Crock Pot

This recipe is from America's Test Kitchen ... it's a cross between pot roast and a hearty spaghetti sauce. Most sausage has enough seasoning to make extra salt unnecessary.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 pound hot Italian sausage
2 onions , chopped medium
12 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine (optional)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
3 pounds beef tri-tip or chuck roast
Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add sausage and cook until well browned and fat begins to render, about 8 minutes. You might have to cook the sausage in batches so that it has room in the pan to brown.

2. Cook onions in sausage fat over medium heat until well browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in garlic and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook until paste begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in wine or water and simmer, scraping browned bits from pan bottom with wooden spoon, about 3 minutes. Transfer to slow-cooker insert and stir in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.

3. Submerge meat in sauce in slow-cooker insert. Set slow cooker on low, cover, and cook until meat is tender, 8 to 10 hours. (Alternatively, cook on high for 4 to 5 hours.)

4. About 30 minutes before serving, transfer sausages, and beef to baking sheet and set aside until cool enough to handle. Shred beef into small pieces, and slice sausages. Use wide spoon to skim fat off surface, then stir sausages and shredded meat back into sauce. Enjoy.