Name: Irresistible Slow-Braised Pork Ragù
Cook time: 232 min
Total time: 237 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 100 gram Parsley root; 1 piece Yellow Onion; 10 gram Black Pepper; 1 kilogram Pork Shoulder; 400 gram Chopped tomatoes in juice; 10 gram Salt; 100 gram Parmesan; 10 gram Rendered Pork Lard; 150 gram Carrot; 5 gram Fresh Thyme; 100 milliliter Red wine; 4 clove Garlic; 150 gram English Bacon; 300 milliliter Beef Stock (Clear); 5 gram Sage

Step-by-step method

Let’s cook

At a glance

You're looking at a slow-braised pork ragù that requires some patience—it takes nearly four hours to cook, though most of that time is hands-off simmering. The key steps involve searing cubed pork, building flavor with bacon and aromatics, then letting everything braise gently with red wine and stock until the meat falls apart. A cast-iron pot is your best friend here, and the most tricky part is knowing when the wine has cooked off enough (you'll smell it transition from sour to pleasant) before adding stock and settling in for the long simmer.

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Sear the meat

Cut the meat into small cubes, as evenly sized as possible. Place it in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Get your cast-iron pot as hot as it will go, add a knob of lard and sear the meat on all sides over high heat.

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1 kilogram
Pork Shoulder

10 gram
Salt

10 gram
Black Pepper

10 gram
Rendered Pork Lard
2/9

Bacon, onion and garlic

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, fry diced bacon together with roughly chopped onion. Towards the end of cooking, add crushed and chopped garlic. Keep frying until the bacon is lightly crisp and the onion is golden brown.

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150 gram
English Bacon

1 piece
Yellow Onion

4 clove
Garlic
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Add everything to the pot

Tip the contents of the pan into the cast-iron pot with the meat, along with coarsely grated carrot and parsley root. Stir together, turn the heat up to full and pour in the wine.

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150 gram
Carrot

100 gram
Parsley root

100 milliliter
Red wine

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A pleasant aroma

Stir and let it bubble away at a rapid boil for a few minutes. How do you know when to turn the heat down? The slightly sour smell of wine will fade and turn into a pleasant aroma. You can also taste it - the liquid in the pot should taste pleasant, not sour.
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Add the stock

A fair amount of the wine will have boiled off by now, so you'll need more liquid for the meat to braise in slowly. Add stock - I just use whatever stock I have in the fridge, usually beef.

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300 milliliter
Beef Stock (Clear)
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Let it braise

Now turn the heat right down so the mixture in the pot doesn't boil but braises very gently. Stir occasionally and let it braise for several hours. The time needed depends not just on the temperature, but also on the quality of the meat and the size of the cubes you cut.
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Add the tomatoes

After about an hour, I add tomatoes to the pot. They eventually break down completely, help thicken the ragù slightly and add an interesting depth of flavour.

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400 gram
Chopped tomatoes in juice
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Add the herbs

Just before finishing, I add fresh herbs - usually thyme, sage or parsley. Simmer with the herbs for at least another five minutes.

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5 gram
Fresh Thyme

5 gram
Sage
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Serving

Serve with your favourite side. We used gnocchi, which we simply pan-fried. Finish with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan.

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100 gram
Parmesan

Step-by-step method

At a glance

Sear the meat

For this step

Bacon, onion and garlic

For this step

Add everything to the pot

For this step

A pleasant aroma

Add the stock

For this step

Let it braise

Add the tomatoes

For this step

Add the herbs

For this step

Serving

For this step

Slow-Braised Pork Ragù with Red Wine

Ingredients — what you'll need

About this recipe

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