Pasta With Rustic Slow-Simmered Meat Sauce

1. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Pat ribs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Brown ribs well on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer to plate. Pour off all but 1 teaspoon fat from skillet, add onion, and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to simmer and cook until wine reduces to glaze, about 2 minutes.
2. Stir in tomatoes and reserved tomato juice. Nestle browned ribs into sauce, along with any accumulated juices, and bring to gentle simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer gently, turning ribs occasionally, until meat is very tender and falling off bones, 1-1⁄2 hours (for pork spareribs or country-style ribs) to 2 hours (for beef short ribs).
3. Transfer ribs to clean plate, cool slightly, then shred meat into bite-size pieces, discarding fat and bones. Return shredded meat to sauce, bring to simmer, and cook until heated through and thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
4. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve 1⁄2 cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to pot. Add sauce to pasta and toss to combine. Add reserved cooking water as needed to adjust consistency. Serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately.

PASTA WITH TOMATO-BEEF SAUCE WITH CINNAMON, CLOVES, AND PARSLEY
Use only beef short ribs for this recipe.
Add 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and pinch ground cloves to softened onion and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

PASTA WITH TOMATO-PORK SAUCE WITH ROSEMARY AND GARLIC
Use only pork spareribs or country-style ribs for this recipe.
Substitute 3 minced garlic cloves and 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary for onion and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.