Hearty, delicious, comforting and EASY to make! This pork shoulder ragu is one of those dishes which simmers away for an afternoon on your stove top to transform a cheap cut of meat and few other ingredients into a richly flavored dinner perfect for a Sunday dinner, a snow day when you’re stuck inside, or company coming over since all the work is done hours before.
It’s time for some more slow cooked Italian comfort food here, and I couldn’t think of a better recipe than tender pork ragu!
Hello, all!
Today I have for a perfect wintry weather meal. The kind I love to make when I’m snowed in and puttering around the house.
My husband gets the fire going. I start braising and filling the air with amazing smells of Italian ragu. And we both (along with our daughter) periodically go out to clear off the driveway and walk, working up our appetites for the feast.
Pork Shoulder Ragu
While I’ve been making Beef Bolognese for decades now (I’m thinking it’s been about 20 years!), pork shoulder ragu is a relative newcomer. I’ve only been making this recipe for about 6 years. 😮 Hardly any time at all! I got the original recipe from Fine Cooking, and as soon I saw it in the magazine, I knew I had to try it.
I’m glad I did, since we all loved the combination of pork shoulder and pork sausage. It’s such a great mix having the two textures and the two variations in pork flavor combined together. While I’ve made a few changes over the years to adapt the recipe to our tastes, you can see that the basics of the recipe come right from them.
These days it’s in the snow day rotation, along with a few other comforting, slow braised meals which I pull out as soon as the forecast says the word Nor’easter. A word which everyone on the east coast of the US knows well!
It hasn’t been too bad here so far this year – actually, it’s been rather warm – but there have been some years when we heard that word on a weekly basis and the snow piled higher than our heads.
Winter Comfort Food Dinners
- Traditional Bolognese Sauce – a classic
- Braised Italian Meatballs – my own long perfected meatball recipe!
- French Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine
- Beef Short Rib Ragu – especially good made ahead!
- Baked Stuffed Eggplant Parmesan
How do you make braised pork shoulder ragu?
To make pork shoulder ragu, braise chunks of pork shoulder and Italian sausage in a tomato and red wine sauce until the pork is falling apart. Once the pork is tender, shred it and return the pork to the sauce, adjusting the seasonings as needed.
1. Start by browning the pork shoulder. This gives the meat another layer of flavor which will make the sauce richer. Move that to a plate while you get the rest going.
2. Then get all the aromatics softened – onion, carrots, and garlic. Low and slow is the way to go here!
3. Once they are all tender, add the wine and let it simmer for a bit.
4. Now, you’re going to add in the tomatoes, the pork shoulder, and the sausage. Get that all to a gentle simmer and go sit by the fire!
5. After the long, slow braise your pork will be falling apart. Give it a hand and shred it all up, then add it back to the pot. Adjust your seasonings, make some pasta (or potatoes or whatever you like to serve with ragu!), and EAT.
Can you make pork ragu ahead?
Yes, you can!
Not only is this pork ragu a great recipe to make on a day when it’s snowy out and you’re puttering about the house, but it’s one of those perfect made-ahead meals!
How so?
Have time to make it on Saturday, but want to serve it on Sunday? No worries! Just let it cool, then chill it overnight, and rewarm it again the next day! No fuss. No muss.
Can you double pork ragu?
Also, yes!
Want the benefit of all the slow braising for another meal (or four)? Divide the ragu into freezer bags, lay them flat, and stack them up. Pork ragu has just become a super quick weeknight meal that simply requires heating the sauce and boiling some water.
Can you make pork shoulder ragu in the slow cooker?
And, while I go for the slow braised in a pot cooking method, yes you can make this in a slow cooker! Several hours on low (6-7) will do you and then it’s into a pot after you shred the pork so the ragu can reduce and thicken.
However you make the ragu, remember that willpower is important. No matter how excellent it smells, it needs its braising time and you’ll just have to wait.
What sort of pasta should you serve with braised pork ragu?
As for the pasta, a short or skinny pasta (like spaghetti) will work fine. The pasta police won’t come after you. At least I don’t think they will…
But I think a wide noodle is best with a chunky ragu! Fettuccine or pappardelle or tagliatelle. They balance each other and I especially like the way the pappardelle fold over the sauce so you get a forkful of pasta surrounding some of the sauce and pork.
Not that I make fresh pappardelle all the time!
Usually I go with a dry fettuccini or pappardelle. But, I’ve been working on my fresh pasta making lately and wrote up a step by step guide to basic, fresh pasta, and I figured it was good time to practice.
Since I know that sounds like a lot of work, I should note that I took advantage of the ragu’s easy reheating and made the ragu on day 1, which I then reheated while I made the pasta on day 2. Though, since 99% of the work in making ragu is done hours before, you could totally make pasta the same day.
My daughter and I have made the pasta and sauce together several times with Bolognese. I had to take photos, so spreading out was the way to go for me.
I will say that with the rich, beautiful pork shoulder ragu and the fresh pappardelle (and a lovely glass of red wine), I felt like I was in a great Italian restaurant. The only difference was we had to do the washing up after dinner, but we also started a fire so it balanced out.
A roaring fire, a glass of wine, snowflakes coming down, and pork ragu. Sounds like a perfect winter evening to me.
If you try my recipe for Braised Pork Shoulder Ragu, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.
You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails (see the form in the sidebar or below the recipe card), liking my FACEBOOK page, or by following me on PINTEREST.
– Happy Braising, Annemarie
Italian Braised Pork Shoulder Ragu
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into a few large chunks
- salt and pepper
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes, pureed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme, or 1 tbsp fresh
- 1 tsp dried oregano, or 1 tbsp fresh
- 1/2 lb sweet Italian pork sausage
- 2 lbs dried or fresh pasta, preferably thick noodles like fettucini
- shredded parmesan cheese, for topping
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat. Season the pork shoulder with salt and pepper. Once the oil is shimmering, add the pork and sear it all all sides until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a bowl and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic along with another sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft, but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and increase the heat to medium-high again. Let the wine boil for about 5 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes and herbs.
- Now add back in the pork shoulder. Then break up the sausage into small clumps and drop them into the sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, then cover the pot and lower the heat to keep it at a simmer. Simmer the sauce for 3 - 3 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the pork is tender and pulls apart easily.
- Remove the chunks of pork shoulder from the sauce and shred them by pulling the pieces between two forks. Once the pork is shredded, add it back to the pot. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt, pepper, and/or herbs as needed. Let the sauce continue to gently simmer uncovered on low while you cook the pasta.
- Heat up a large pot of well salted water. Add the pasta to the water and cook until it is done to your liking. Scoop out about 1 cup of pasta water and then drain the pasta. Return the pasta to the pot you cooked it in and add about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Then ladle in some of the pork ragu. Simmer the pasta and ragu together for a few minutes, adding more pasta water if needed, until you have a thick sauce which coats the pasta.
- Serve the pasta with more ragu over the top and pass around the parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Inspired by Pasta with Sicilian Pork and Sausage Ragu from Fine Cooking.
- This recipe doubles easily and freezes well. I often make a double recipe, then portion out the sauce into freezer bags, and lay them flat in the freezer for ease of stacking and quick defrosting.
- If you want a bit of heat, switch out all or part of the sweet sausage for hot Italian sausage.
- I prefer a thicker tomato sauce, so I use crushed tomatoes. For a thinner sauce, use only whole tomatoes.
- The sauce can be cooked on the stove top or in the oven. If you want to cook it in the oven, heat the oven to 325F, bring the sauce to a good simmer on the stove top, then cover the pot and let braise for the 3 - 3 1/2 hour cooking time.
- The sauce can also be cooked in the slow cooker. Cook it through step 2, then transfer it to the slow cooker for 6-7 hours on low. Once it's done transfer the ragu back to a pot, shred the pork, and let it simmer and thicken on the stove top.
miss m 20 says
Would this work with pork belly?
justalittlebitofbacon says
Yes, it would. There may be more fat in the pork belly, so you might want to skim it off before eating but the meat will be wonderful in the sauce.
Carly says
Hi I currently have a boneless picnic shoulder with the knitting on it do you think I could just throw it in the sauce and let it slow cook in there or in the Crock-Pot… then take it out cut the net off and put it back in the sauce? Or should I just cut the net off an cut into a couple of pieces first…. or is this not a good cut of meat to use for this recipe?
justalittlebitofbacon says
Pork picnic is a great cut for the sauce! Cut off the netting, trim the fat, and cut it into a few chunks (just as you would the shoulder) and you’ll be good to go. No need to cook it separately in the crock pot.
Carly says
Ooo thank you!! Excited to try!
Maria says
A million thank you’s for this wonderful and flavorful recipe. The sauce was so rich and delicious. I just shredded the pork and YUM! Another hour and it will surely be heaven for my Christmas lunch. Happy Holidays!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Wonderful! Enjoy your Christmas lunch. 🙂
Terry G says
I was thinking about using ground veal in place of the pork sausage. Any ideas?
justalittlebitofbacon says
Ragus are wonderfully adjustable recipes and I think the veal would be very tasty. It won’t have the same flavor as sausage of course, so I would add some fennel to the sauce which will give a similar flavor profile.
Tom says
Make this and put it on a pan fried or griddled garlic parmesan polenta cake along with a dollop of ricotta cheese that has lots of black pepper and fresh basil and parsely… one of the best apps you can make at home
justalittlebitofbacon says
Oooh…the polenta cake and ricotta sounds yummy!
Joe says
This was amazing. Thank you! I served atop a bed of farro, with broccolini sautéed in olive oil, garlic, and crushed red peppers on the side.
justalittlebitofbacon says
That sounds like a great dinner! I love farro. 🙂 Thank you for the feedback.
Lori says
I made this today and we loved it! I really appreciate the crockpot variation. With two toddlers, it’s much easier to be able to do the stove steps during morning nap and put everything in the crockpot until dinner time. I agree with the commenter who said that the addition of the sausage really adds dimension.
justalittlebitofbacon says
The slow cooker is a life saver sometimes. 🙂 And thanks for the feedback!
Rachel says
You don’t disclose when to put tomatoes in the recipe. Do you pour it over meat?
justalittlebitofbacon says
Take a look back at step 2 and you’ll see that I direct you to stir in the tomatoes after letting the wine boil.
Leticia says
Has anyone tried making this in a crockpot? Maybe sear the pork shoulder before placing in there for 8 hours on low?
Josh says
Made this the night before thanksgiving for a Friendsgiving, and man oh man! What a great little recipe! Only thing I changed was that I simmered a Parmesan rind in with the sauce. This was a fantastic recipe and everyone loved it with some home made pasta noodles! I’ll be saving this and doing it again for sure! Thank you!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Great! And you’re welcome! 🙂
Christina says
I’ve tried many recipes for pork ragu. All seemed to be lacking in one way or another, and had to be doctored up. Not so with this recipe…perhaps due to the inclusion of sausage, which amped up the flavor profile. Only changes I made…fresh thyme and fresh rosemary, because I had both on hand. Threw in a parmesan rind and simmered in oven at 300 degrees for @ 3 hours instead of stovetop. Absolutely delicious.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Love the idea of using the parmesan rind! I always save them for my soups. And the oven is definitely a more hands off way of cooking the ragu. Thank you for letting me know how it came out, Christina. 🙂
Stephanie L says
How would you alter this for the Instant Pot?
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m sorry, but I don’t yet have an instant pot and would have no idea how to adapt the recipe.
David says
I’m curious about the idea of adding puréed tomatoes AND crushed tomatoes. It also feels like a lot of tomatoes. Did you mean either / or?
justalittlebitofbacon says
I do mean two 28 oz cans of tomatoes – one can whole tomatoes and one can crushed. 🙂 Also, there is 2 and 1/2 lbs of meat in the recipe. There is definitely tomato, but I find it to be quite balanced. You can certainly add one can and see what you think.
Lisa Filaferro says
Hi there! This recipe looks fantastic. I have a large pork loin in my freezer that I was hoping to use for this recipe instead of buying a pork shoulder. Do you have any concerns or suggestions?
Thanks!
Lisa
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks! As for using pork loin, I have made shredded pork with it in the slow cooker so I think it would work just the same here. The cook time might be a little different, but you can keep an eye on it and check it every so often. One good thing about pork loin is that you will have less fat to skim off at the end. Good luck! 🙂
Lisa Filaferro says
Thanks so much!
Super Safeway says
This looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it. I’ve pinned and printed the recipe to make this week.
Cheryl says
Sounds wonderful. I’d want to cook fat out of the sausage before adding it to the stew and it looks like you didn’t do that, right?
justalittlebitofbacon says
No, I didn’t. Just make sure you don’t brown the sausage. That will change how it works in the sauce and it won’t melt in the way it should. 🙂
Kitty says
I love a wide noodle too Your pappardelle takes this dish from homey to sexy. Looks delish!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thank you! 🙂