Pork Shoulder Ragu

Pork shoulder ragu is a slow, rich meat sauce made by braising chunks of pork shoulder in wine and tomatoes until they fall apart. Brown a boneless pork butt cut into large pieces, soften onion, carrot and celery in the fat, add tomato paste, red wine, crushed tomatoes, stock and rosemary, and braise it covered at 300 degrees for about 3 hours. Skim it, shred the pork into the sauce, and toss it with pappardelle or spoon it over polenta.

Pork butt is the upper part of the shoulder, despite its name. It is marbled with fat and threaded with connective tissue, which is exactly why it suits a long braise: the tissue melts into the sauce and gives it body, and the meat turns soft enough to pull apart with a fork.

At a glance: serves 8, about 8 cups of ragu. Prep 25 minutes, cook about 4 hours, 3 of them in the oven.

Gray Shipley, who runs the farm, was talking about gifts, and about the range of what the store sells, when he said:

“there's a cut of meat that, that meets just about any need.”

Gray Shipley

He was not talking about ragu. But if the need is a big pot of sauce that feeds a crowd, freezes well and tastes better the next day, pork shoulder is the cut that meets it.

Ingredients

• 1 boneless pork butt roast, 3 to 4 pounds
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine, or dry white wine
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken or beef stock
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 pounds pappardelle or other wide pasta, or soft polenta, to serve
• 1 cup grated Parmesan or pecorino, to serve
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees with a rack in the lower third. Trim any thick, hard pieces of fat from the outside of the pork, leaving the marbling inside. Cut the pork into 3-inch chunks, pat them dry, and season them all over with the salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven, 6 quarts or bigger, over medium-high heat. Brown the pork in two or three batches without crowding, 8 to 10 minutes per batch, turning the pieces until well browned on most sides. Move them to a bowl.
3. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat. Turn the heat to medium, add the onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom, for 8 to 10 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until the paste darkens.
4. Pour in the wine, scrape up the browned bits, and simmer until it has reduced by about half, 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Add the crushed tomatoes, stock, rosemary and bay leaves. Return the pork and its juices and bring the pot to a simmer. The pork should be mostly submerged; add a splash of water if it is not.
6. Cover the pot and braise in the oven for 3 hours, stirring once halfway through, until the pork falls apart when pressed with a fork. If it still resists, give it another 20 to 30 minutes.
7. Lift the pork into a bowl. Tilt the pot and spoon as much fat from the surface of the sauce as you can, and take out the bay leaves and rosemary stems.
8. Shred the pork with two forks, discarding any lumps of fat that have not melted, and stir it back into the sauce. Simmer on the stove, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, until thick. Taste for salt and pepper.
9. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted boiling water until just tender, saving 1 cup of the cooking water before you drain it. Toss the pasta with about 6 cups of the ragu, loosening it with a splash of pasta water, spoon the rest on top, and serve with the cheese and parsley.

Add 1 boneless pork butt roast to cart

Which pork to use for ragu

Pork butt, also called Boston butt, is the best choice. A picnic shoulder, from the lower part of the same shoulder, works too, but it usually comes with skin and bone that you will need to remove. Pork loin and tenderloin are too lean: they dry out and turn stringy long before a braise is done.

Roasts vary in size. At the small end, about 2 1/2 pounds, keep the sauce as written and you will have a looser, more tomato-forward ragu. For a roast closer to 5 pounds, add a second cup of stock, check that the pork is mostly covered, and allow an extra 30 minutes in the oven.

Red wine or white?

Either. Red wine gives a darker, deeper sauce that stands up to the rosemary. White wine gives a lighter, brighter one that lets the pork taste more like pork. Use a dry wine you would drink, not a sweet one. If you would rather not cook with wine, use an extra cup of stock and a tablespoon of red wine vinegar.

Skimming the fat

Pork shoulder gives up a lot of fat as it braises, and a ragu that is not skimmed tastes heavy and leaves a slick on the plate. Spoon off what you can in step 7. For the cleanest sauce, make the ragu a day ahead: refrigerate it overnight, and the fat sets in a firm layer you can lift off. If yours still tastes heavy, the guide to greasy braises listed below is worth a read.

Pappardelle, polenta, or something else

Wide, flat noodles such as pappardelle or tagliatelle hold a chunky meat sauce best. Rigatoni and other large tubes are good too, since the shreds of pork catch inside them. For a pasta-free meal, spoon the ragu over soft polenta or mashed potatoes. One and a half pounds of pasta serves 8 with this sauce; for 4, cook 3/4 pound and freeze the rest of the ragu.

Making it ahead and freezing

Ragu is better on the second day. Cool it, cover it and refrigerate it for up to a few days, then warm it gently on the stove. It also freezes well for a few months in portions; thaw it overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Pork shoulder is also a classic cut for pulled pork and barbecue. For a North Carolina take on that, see the barbecue story listed below.

Food safety

USDA FSIS lists 145 degrees F, followed by a rest of at least 3 minutes, as the safe minimum internal temperature for pork. A braise passes that long before the pork is tender, but check with an instant-read thermometer if you are unsure. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and reheat them to 165 degrees F, the FSIS figure for leftovers. See the FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.