This Pork Ragu is the ultimate winter comfort food. It is hearty and warming, packed with flavor, and as it cooks in the oven, this is an easy meal that delivers big flavors. The pork is succulent, juicy, and fall-apart tender. While the rich tomato sauce is rich and flavorful. This is the kind of food you want to eat on a cold winter's night. Perfect served over pasta for a meal the whole family will love. With this recipe and my top tips, you'll be eating like an Italian.
3lbboneless pork shoulder, skin removed- see note 1
2teaspoonssalt
¼cupolive oil
2large onionsdiced
2carrotspeeled & diced
2stalk celerydiced
6clovesgarlicfinely chopped
2tablespoonstomato paste
1cupwine- see note 2
2bay leaves
1 ½teaspoonsdried thyme- see note 3
1 ½teaspoonsdried ground sage- see note 3
1 ½teaspoonsdried rosemary- see note 3
1teaspoondried oregano- see note 3
1teaspoondried ground fennel
1 28oz/800g can crushed tomatoes
2cupsvegetable broth or stock- see note 4
½teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonblack pepper
To serve the pasta (assuming you are using all of the ragu)
1.65lbdried egg pappardelle pasta- see note 5
1tablespoonsalt
¾cupheavy cream
¾cupgrated parmesan (plus more to serve)
Instructions
To cook the Pork Ragu
Preheat oven to 325˚F/160ºC.
Cut the pork shoulder/pork butt into six pieces and season all over with salt.3 lb/ 1.36kg boneless pork shoulder, skin removed2 teaspoons salt
Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Pour in the oil, and once hot, sear pork for 4-5 minutes on each side. Leaving the oil in the pan, remove the pork from the pan and set it aside in a bowl.¼ cup/ 4tablespoons olive oil
Reduce the heat to low, add the chopped onion, carrot, and celery and sauté for 15 minutes until colored but not burn.2 large onions2 carrots2 stalk celery
Add the chopped garlic and sauté for a minute.6 cloves garlic
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes.2 tablespoons tomato paste
Turn the heat back to high and add the wine scraping at the bottom to remove any browned bits.1 cup/ 250ml wine
Add in the bay leaves, thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano, and fennel. Then stir in the canned tomatoes, broth and salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer.2 bay leaves1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme1 ½ teaspoons dried ground sage1 ½ teaspoons dried rosemary1 teaspoon dried oregano1 teaspoon dried ground fennel1 28oz/800g can crushed tomatoes2 cups/ 500ml vegetable broth or stock½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon black pepper
Add the pork back into the pan, along with any juices that have collected. Cover the pan and place it on the bottom shelf of the oven.
Cook the pork for 2-2 ½ hours.
Remove the pan from the oven and use two forks to shred the pork chunks. Leave it as chunky or a fine as you like. Stir the pork into the sauce.
At this point, the sauce can be cooled and refrigerated, or frozen. (see note 6)
To serve the pasta (assuming you are using all of the ragu)
Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the salt and cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the packet suggests.1 tablespoon salt1.65 lb/ 750g dried egg pappardelle pasta
Reserve 2 cups of the pasta cooking water, drain the pasta and add it to the dutch oven of ragu.
Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Bring to a simmer and stir constantly for 2 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. If the sauce starts to look dry, use some reserved pasta cooking water to bring the consistency to your liking.¾ cup/ 180ml heavy cream¾ cup/ 75g grated parmesan (plus more to serve)
Serve with extra parmesan.
Notes
Boneless pork shoulder is also sold as pork butt or Boston Butt. It is often sold in netting (with or without skin). If your pork comes with the skin on, you will want to remove that. Save it for making pork crackling bites!
The recipe calls for a cup of wine. You can use red or white for this recipe. I have cooked it many times with each, and it tastes great either way. It cooks for a long tine so the alcohol burns off. But if you don't wish to use alcohol then replace with extra broth.
I have suggested dried herbs in the recipe card; these will soften and give you a hearty, rich flavor due to the long cooking time. You can use fresh herbs if you have them. Use about 1 tablespoon of each fresh herb in place of the teaspoon of dried.
Feel free to swap that for chicken or beef broth.
Feel free to swap the pappardelle for fettuccine, or a chunky shape like rigatoni or paccheri. Gnocchi is also delicious