Andy Ward & Jenny Rosenstrach's Pork Shoulder Ragu

Question: Is it too spicy for kids with the hot sauce or more just smoky?

I do the braise in a pressure cooker—one hour, natural release—and it comes out great. Excellent recipe. Only addition: A squirt of anchovy paste from a tube, when the wine goes in to deglaze after the onions and garlic have sauteed.

This is very good and will be on rotation in our house.
I followed the recipe exactly, and next time will incorporate the recommendations that Marissa S. has listed in the comment section.
My husband (Italian) said that the pork was very tender and the sauce was perfectly proportioned with the pasta.
Highly recommended.

We've made this recipe at least monthly for 3+ years now. It's our go to favorite recipe (from Food52!). Instead of only Fennel Seeds, we use half Fenugreek Seeds and half Fennel Seeds, as well as double the amount called for of Hot Oil from our local Chinese restaurant. Nothing will make your home smell more welcoming and the meal more mouth watering!

This recipe is my "go-to" for dinner parties! I've made it at least six or seven times and no one has ever been sad after eating this deliciousness.

How much is "a small pat" of butter in... literally any other form of measurement?

Good recipe. I had shoulder steaks so I just browned them individually and stacked them up. Used fennel (about the same amount as onion) instead of seeds. When I pulled the meat I spooned off some fat then used a light dusting of blending flour.

What a great recipe for dinner parties! Will be throwing this into the rotation since it's such a breeze to prep for large groups. I did double the recipe and it worked out well (party of 12 with plenty for everyone) with plenty of sauce using the amount of tomatoes prescribed in the recipe. I tweaked the cooking instructions a bit so here are my notes:

- Put the fennel seeds in an herb bag so that they don't get stuck in people's teeth when they eat the pasta.

- Separate the juice from the tomatoes and squeeze the juice from the whole tomatoes to remove as much of the water as possible (reserve the juice in one bowl and put the squeezed tomato chunks in a separate bowl). After browning the pork shoulder on all 6 sides, remove the shoulder from the pan and spoon out the fat into a bowl leaving just enough to cover the bottom of the pan (reserve the fat for later use). Stir in the garlic for about a minute just to get the oil fragrant, but do not let the garlic get brown. Then, add the squeezed tomato chunks and turn the heat up to medium high to caramelize the tomato pieces, stirring every minute of so. This should take ~5-10 minutes. Once the tomatoes are nicely broken down, add the onion and stir every minute or so until the onions are translucent and soft. Finally, add the liquids (tomato juice, wine, hot sauce (I used tobasco and it was perfectly spicy for me)) and herbs.

- REFRIGERATE the ragu overnight or until the fat solidifies, remove as much fat from the ragu as possible.

-REHEAT: take the pork out of the sauce before reheating for service. Shred the pork with two forks and reserve on the side. BLEND the sauce slightly so that its almost uniform but still slightly chunky. Reheat the sauce over medium low heat. Combine the pork and sauce heat for 1 more minute. Only add the pork when you're about to serve that the pork doesn't get dry. Toss the pasta in the sauce and serve immediately.

Wow, as delicious as it looks! We followed the advice of a few others and added a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes (didn’t have whole tomatoes on hand), and added almost an another cup of wine. We had plenty of sauce to our taste :)

Soooooo good! We make this all the time. Just for us and for company as well.

I am making this tomorrow and wondered if anyone has tried using fresh fennel in place of the seeds. Thanks!

I first came across this recipe via Dinner A Love Story - where Jenny Rosenstrach also shares a recipe where you tuck the left over pork ragu into puff pastry to make delicious pork ragu pies. A gem of a recipe.

When I first made this, the store didn’t have pork shoulder so I used boneless ribs. It turned out fantastic, so when I made it again, I was disappointed with how much excess fat there was in the pot. It was so much I couldn’t eat it as it was. I went back to using boneless pork ribs and will continue to do so—I much prefer how this cut of meat turns out.

The flavor was great but I agree with previous comments...it was a bit watery and there was virtually no sauce. I'd make it again but increase the quantity of tomatoes.

Just made this tonight -followed the instructions exactly, had 2.5# pork shoulder roast and cooked in my Le Cruset dutch oven with the lid on the entire time, used San Marzano tomatoes. I found that, while the flavor was excellent - there was not much "sauce", more like shredded pork on pappardelle. I think next time I will at least do 2x the sauce. With just two of us, there will be at least 1/3 frozen so the extra sauce is a necessity.

Turned out delish! Wasn't watery, I did put the cover slightly off pot in last hour. The only thing I would change would be to put fennel in cheese cloth as I didn't like chewing on the fennel seeds and I have some friends that can't eat seeds. I used the country style ribs and I don't think any difference than a roast.

Outrageously good!! Sauce was not one bit watery. Tomatoes melted ... it was divine. Didn't have fennel, tossed in a couple bay leaves, otherwise made to a T and wouldn't change a thing!

Found a can of fire roasted tomatoes in the bowls of the cabinet! Will be using those and add crushed if need more liquid. Also the butcher did not have a small pork shoulder so I purchased country style ribs (which are cut from the shoulder) tied them together and it is in the oven now. I will report back. Thanks Kathy H

I accidentally bought crushed tomatoes in juice instead of whole tomatoes. Do you think I can use them?

I am making this for the third year for Christmas Eve dinner--my family asks for it and loves it! Thank you for such a lovely and easy recipe that is absolutely delicious every time. Will make it two days ahead, so simple!