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DinnerEntertainingPastaPork and BeefPosts by Andy

Instant Dinner Party

By January 24, 2011December 16th, 2024125 Comments

Spoiler alert: If you come over to our house for dinner any time between now and the first day of spring, there’s about a 90% chance we’re going to cook this for you. The pork shoulder ragu you see above is our new obsession. It’s the ideal dish for Sunday dinner, or even better, an informal winter dinner party: It’s warm, it’s hearty, it smells insanely good, it goes well with red wine, and my God, is it tasty. But none of those are the main reason we’re so obsessed with this right now — no, the best part of this one is that, once the guests arrive, your work is already done. All the prep — what little of it there was — is four hours ago, a distant memory. Which is increasingly the way we like it. It seems like the older we get, and the more cooking we do, the simpler we want our entertaining to be. For sure, there was a day when we would have spent the afternoon, Martha-style, frantically scooping out little cucumber cups with a mellon-baller and filling them with creme fraiche and topping them with smoked salmon and dainty sprigs of dill, when we would have been stirring (and stirring) risotto and mandolining three different kinds of potatoes and being distracted, instead of hanging out with our guests. But then kids happened, and our tastes changed, and those days are gone. These days, I love nothing more than a one-pot meal — I am a braising machine! — and this really basic pork ragu over pasta is where our heads are at right now. It’s an instant party: you just take it out of the oven, shred the pork, boil some pasta, and you’re done. If the kids don’t like pork, they can eat the pasta; if they do like pork, then I love them, and there’s still plenty for everybody. Though I should add that, as good as this is on a cold winter night, it’s even better for lunch the next day. If it weren’t for a little thing known as coronary heart disease, I would eat this every day for the rest of my life. —Andy

Pork Shoulder Ragu
2024 Update: This recipe is now the anchor to a Winter Classic Dinner Party, which includes a game plan and shopping list, to make entertaining even easier. You can access that on Substack.

Because this is pork, it goes well with a simple salad that has a little sweetness to help cut the porkiness. (That’s Jenny’s word.) Kale Salad with Apples and Red Onions? Bibb with pistachios and pomegranates? Either would be good with our standard vinaigrette.

Also, this serves about six normal-size people. If you are cooking for more than that, cook another pound of pasta, up the meat to 3 pounds, and add few more tomatoes, and another 1/2 cup of red wine. Like the most braised pork recipes, it’s nearly impossible to get wrong, so don’t get too hung up on the exactness of measurements. But if you use 3 pounds of pork and keep the liquid at a third of the way up the meat, that will be enough to feed four parents and four kids. With leftovers. A few of you have reported back that it benefits from an extra splash or two of diced tomatoes at the end to loosen it up. I have done this many times.

Lastly, the ragu is delicious over polenta. Here’s a make-ahead recipe — increase the cornmeal to 1 1/2 cups and the liquid to 6 cups if you want it to serve 6.

2 1/2-pound boneless pork shoulder roast
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small pat butter
1 large can whole tomatoes, with juice
1 cup red wine
5 sprigs fresh thyme
5 sprigs fresh oregano
Small handful of fennel seeds
1 tablespoon hot sauce, for smokiness (I used Trader Joe’s Hot Chili Sauce)
1 lb. Pappardelle
Freshly grated Parmesean

Preheat oven to 325°F. Liberally salt and pepper the pork roast. Add olive oil and butter to large Dutch oven and heat over medium-high until butter melts, but does not burn. Add pork roast to pan and brown on all sides, about 8-10 minutes in all.

Add the onion and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, wine, thyme, oregano, fennel, and hot sauce and bring to a boil. Cover, and put in oven. Braise for 3-4 hours, turning every hour or so. Add more liquid (water, wine, or tomato sauce) if needed. (The liquid should come to about 1/3 of the way up the pork.) Meat is done when it’s practically falling apart. Put on a cutting board and pull it apart with two forks, then add back to pot and stir. Cook 1 to 2 pounds pasta according to package directions. When it’s is ready, put into individual bowls and top with ragu and lots of Parm.

 

125 Comments

  • Avatar Chris says:

    This was great. I sauteed a little fresh spinach in olive oil salt and pepper to have on the side but ended up just mixing it in which was great.

  • Avatar Angela says:

    Just finished making this for my parents and it smells amazing! I don’t know how I’m going to wait until dinner time to eat it. I make a lot of recipes that I find on food blogs but it takes a true gem to be a keeper and this is it! Thanks for posting my fav pork recipe!

  • Avatar Shauna says:

    I’ve long been a fan of this recipe made in the oven, and today decided to go the slow cooker route. I made a few adjustments to make up for the super moist environment of the cooker and avoid ending up with a sea of liquid–I got excellent, equivalent results by browning the shoulder in a big skillet first, and then putting it in the cooker. Then softening the onion and garlic, and deglazing with the wine, reducing it by about half. Drained some of the juice off the tomatoes. Dumped everything in the cooker, and when it was all done (4 hours on high, 6 to 8 on low), jazzed it up a bit with a spoonful of red wine vinegar to make up for the tomato flavor not concentrating as much in a slow cooker as it would in the oven. Hope that long-winded explanation helps those that might want to slow cook this awesome recipe.

  • Avatar ellen says:

    can i sub pork butt for the pork shoulder? it’s what i have in freezer….

  • Avatar Nisserine says:

    I made this last night and it turned out perfect. I didn’t have fennel which was the only ingredient i left out. I will be making this over and over all year! Thank you for sharing.

  • Ashley says:

    Any suggestions for what red wine to use in this recipe? I don’t cook with a lot of wine and I want to use a good one!

  • Avatar Suzette says:

    We LOVE LOVE LOVE this! Instead of papparadelle we always use Barilla Campanelle. This pasta holds the meat and sauce even better. Give it a try!

  • tara // etsetara says:

    this recipe isn’t tagged under “pork” – just an FYI. also, it’s one of my family’s favorites!

  • Avatar Jan Halle says:

    So, my daughter with kids ages three and five fixed me this recipe when I was in Seattle while her husband was in Tokyo. The first night we had it over toasted bread slices. That was good but the next night over noodles was even better. I return to Chapel Hill define pork shoulders that were 6 pounds on sale. That seemed way too much but that was all there was. Just as easy and more of a good thing. This is an award-winning recipe in my book!

  • Avatar Dawn says:

    Making this for tonight! First recipe I found using a shoulder that was only 2lbs. Didn’t know what to do w it and had picked it up because it was on Sale. I am optimistic as it smells yummy right now and all I have done is brown and add ingredients. Thank you for providing recipe.

  • Avatar Colleen says:

    Thank you so much for this. I just finished reading your book and this was the first thing I had to make (actually, I guess the first thing I started making was a food journal!) despite not having plans for a dinner party. My husband said “this is such comfort” and my five year old said “no, it’s so yummy, and I don’t pop up with a ‘yum’ about most things!” Definitely making again, soon!

  • Avatar Megan says:

    Since I am struggling finding good pork dishes decided to give this a try. Since there isn’t enough time for me to make this after work, I made it the day before and reheat while cooking the pasta. It was a hit! Good cook ahead meal for a weekday night. This is winner!!!

  • Avatar Kathryn @ Mamacado says:

    Happy to have found your blog on 100 days of real food. Excited to try this recipe! I will make it dairy free for my son with food allergies! thanks so much.

  • Avatar Kristina says:

    Not sure why it took me so long to make this – I have had your book since it was published. Made it tonight – OH. MY. So incredibly fantastic. And the smell in the house – amazing!

    What interesting things have you done with the leftovers? I can’t believe there were any, but it was only my husband and I eating a 3 lb pork shoulder – kids’ palets aren’t “there” yet. Does the flavor profile [oregano / fennel / thyme] go well with a taco theme – black beans, rice, avocado?

  • Avatar Amy says:

    I made this last winter for a dinner party and it was so lovely. Thank you! It’s just starting to feel like autumn in Hong Kong and I’m going to make it again for a group of friends next weekend and was thinking I might serve it with your baked polenta instead of pasta. Have you done that before?

  • Avatar Esta says:

    Sounds wonderful…but we don’t eat pork. Turkey, chicken (without bones) or beef…..which would be the best substitute?

  • Avatar Annette says:

    I had to special-order the pork, and it turned out to be nearly 7 lbs! (“Well, it’s really jot that much – there is a bone in it!” they said blithely.) So, it’s in the oven, but turning this hunk of meat over is pretty much impossible (I tried, and it promptly fell back into the sauce, spattering everything within three feet with sauce. Yay!)
    So, for future reference: are there any tricks for turning a big item without making your kitchen look as if somebody barfed tomato sauce all over?

    • Avatar Awads says:

      i’ve done one of two things when i’ve had a piece of pork that large: either cut it in half and freeze the other piece; or braise the whole giant one. doing that just generally involves tossing in a few extra canned tomatoes, and then lifting the meat gingerly to turn (using a carving fork and a wooden spoon). I haven’t found it to be that difficult, and we freeze the leftovers.

      • Avatar Annette says:

        Well, the “lifting the meat gingerly” part is where things went wrong – and I did use a carving fork and a wooden spoon but clearly not very expertly… Where did you stick your fork it, and how do you maintain control?

  • Avatar Anthea says:

    Has anyone made this with a much leaner cut of pork? Tenderloin? I would like to make this for NYE dinner and have a couple of tenderloins… Thanks!

  • Avatar Sarah says:

    I just have to say, I’ve been cooking (home cooking) and following DALS with a passion for a few years now. And this is one of the top five most delicious things I have ever made. I have seen the hype, but just hadn’t gotten around to this recipe. What took me so long?! This is going to be my go-to WOW recipe from here on out.

  • Avatar Donald Emery says:

    Please make it easy to print out the recipe!

    • Jenny Jenny says:

      @Donald: There is a little green button on the bottom of every post that says “Print Friendly.” Click on that and you’ll see there are all sorts of ways to print the post…with photos, without. You can delete my wind-up, etc. Please let me know if you are having any issues with it!

  • Avatar sarah says:

    Making this now- smells so good! Quick question: Large can of tomatoes…is that 14 oz or 28 oz??

  • Avatar Sandy Linden says:

    I’m having 12 high school couples how much meat and pasta will I need? Sounds delicious

  • Avatar Lisa W says:

    I made this last night for 10 adults and it was a home run! For those looking to convert to a slow-cooker recipe, I used a 5lb pork butt instead (less waste, more lean) and sliced the fat off prior to shredding. Seared the pork in a pan, sauteed the onions and garlic and then deglazed with the wine. Used 2/3 of a 28 oz. drained can of whole tomatoes which I pureed, added a 13oz can of diced tomatoes with green chilies with 1c of wine and it was still a bit too much liquid so I needed to reduce in a pan again for 10-15min once we pulled the pork out of the slow cooker. Next time, I’ll reduce the amount of tomatoes for the same amount of meat. Cooked on low for 6 hours and it was perfect! Terrific recipe, thanks Jenny and Andy!

  • Meredith says:

    “normal-sized people”???

  • Lauren Elrick says:

    How much fennel is a “small handful”? I think I put about 1/4 cup in?

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