Andy Ward & Jenny Rosenstrach's Pork Shoulder Ragu

This recipe was a rare, complete disappointment from this site. I should have read more of the comments where others just consistently completely rewrote it. All proportions are completely off.

I tried this recipe a few years ago during Covid lock downs. It turned out to be one of my, and my family's all time favorites! So easy and so delicious!!

My pork roast was 1.82 lbs and I used two 14.5 oz cans of tomatoes (1 crushed & 1 fire roasted diced) and I was not left with dry shredded meat, but it also wasn't excessively saucy. Ate the first meal over pappardelle and topped with parmesan, which was a pleasant combination, but I think I enjoyed it more on day two as a sandwich (pretzel bun, light smear of mayonnaise, a layer of Smitten Kitchen's Easiest Fridge Dill Pickles and some BBQ kettle chips on the side). Was easy to make with mostly pantry staples and very little hands on time, and I thought the resulting flavor was good - would definitely make again.

Amazing flavor! And soooo easy! Just delicious as written. I think it will also be good over polenta too…

1 head ( yes, head not clove) garlic minced. This is a long cook and will mellow considerably. It will not be pervasive. The sauce will just taste better.
I onion minced
1 small carrot, minced
2 28oz cans DOP San Marzano tomatoes, hand crushed
1 small can tomato paste
1-1.5 C dry red wine
Season the pork all over with salt/pepper, then brown in olive oil, remove from pot
Add more oil to the pan if it seems dry
Saute: onions, carrot, 1/2 the garlic, 1-2 ancho chilis, till softens
Add: tomato paste, cook till it deepens in color
Add: wine, stir 1-2 min
Add: tomatoes and rest of garlic. Put fresh herbs, fennel ( certainly NOT a small handful ,if using), in cheesecloth
Proceed with recipe, keep pot covered. Turn the meat after 1.5 hours
Once the meat is done, remove, shred.
Skim the grease from the sauce, remove spices and chilis, adjust seasoning. Immersion blend if you want a smoother sauce. Stir 1T butter into sauce before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and reggiano.
This is much more flavorful made a day ahead.
Note: Cipriani pappardelle, while pricey, is worth the splurge.

First heard about this recipe while listening to a podcast on NPR. My mouth was watering and I am immediately went out for all the ingredients needed. it was a hit, one of the best recipes I've ever made.

this isa no brainer of a recipe. ready available ingredients, and not to many of them, no complicated techniques, very straightforward. and there's a huge bang for buck here with the amount of effort and how delicious this really is. I made fresh Pappardelle, and only substituted organic diced tomatoes for the whole tomatoes. it's definitely in the arsenal for feeding a crowd. you could stretch it out to 8 to 10 people easily.

So good. Perfect for a dropped off dinner. My kids love it! Presents beautifully for a dinner party. Delish!

It’s simple, and it’s delicious. Make it!

Wonderful recipe and so easy! I did read all of the comments which are very helpful. I used a 1.5 pound pork shoulder, one 28 oz can of tomatoes and 1.5 cups of wine. I removed the pork after browning, deglazed the dutch oven with the wine before adding the onions and garlic. Turned every hour and halfway through added some cheese rinds from the freezer. After 4 hours, I removed the pork and let it rest then used an immersion blender to get a less chunky sauce. I think because I had a smaller cut of pork I had a perfect ratio of meat to sauce. This was delicious with just some grated parmesan on top. I'll be making this again! Perfect for colder weather.

made this after listening to the podcast. the taste was beyond expectations!

I followed the recipe pretty closely. As usual when braising meat, I generously salted the pork all over a couple of hours before cooking.

I read a lot of the comments before cooking, which caused me to use 2 cloves of garlic and to double the amount of wine.

I like some crustiness on meat, so I didn’t baste.

This is not exactly like anything I’ve had before, but my friends and I loved it.

Made it two days in advance, in part just for practical reasons and in part to remove some of the fat.

I’ll for sure be making it again!

I made some leeks (just sliced leeks and butter) to serve on the side. One of my friends mixed some in the sauce and was delighted.

I really liked the subtle fennel flavor.

Having read the other reviews firs, I kicked up the flavor. I really like the ease of this recipe...most of the work in the oven. I did tie the meat to keep it together. Seasoned and seared it only in olive oil so as not to burn the butter. When browned, I removed the meat to a plate, poured off some of the grease, added the butter and a bit more olive oil with the onions and garlic. I used an med-lg onion, 4 cloves of garlic, about a tsp hot pepper flake for a couple of minutes before adding the wine (used a lovely zin), herbs, tomato, hot sauce, fennel seed and put the meat back in, covered it and put it in the oven. Set a timer and turned the meat every hour. When I took it out to turn it, I skimmed a little of the fat, there was quite a lot. I know this is the "flavor" but I think there was enough to coat the pasta without being overly oily and my cut of meat had plenty of fat. I served the ragu over rigatoni with lots of parm..big hit.

So much potential.. so bland! Season the meat, amp up the spice and increase the cooking liquid and it could be 5 star.

This is a pretty niche suggestion, but for the Australians on here, subbing 600g of Kangaroo rump for the pork shoulder is great - only nice roo I've ever made.

I should note that the original recipe is of course, perfect.

This is really good, and so easy. Made as written except used red pepper flakes instead of hot sauce. There was a lot of fat pooling on the sauce at the end of the cooking time. Next time, I would make a day in advance to facilitate removal of fat. I scooped some of the fat out with a spoon and it was fine. The sauce needed salting, plus I added a splash of colatura for depth and a splash of red wine for verve. Served with dollops of herbed ricotta on top, in addition to grated romano cheese. To stretch the sauce a little further, I might add an additional 14.5 oz can of tomatoes. Divine!

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!

I don't have a Dutch oven. Will it work in a crockpot?

any advice on how to do it sous vide?

Making this yet again for company that will be here for next weekend. Will freeze. It smells so good! An effortless dinner next week, a great bottle of wine, maybe a simple antipasto first- a no fail plan.

Made it Saturday night to serve Sunday. It was delicious! I tweaked a couple of things. First, after I browned the shoulder I removed it from the dutch oven and then added the onions and garlic. After the saute I deglazed with the wine, then put the rest of the ingredients in, mixed them together, then put the shoulder back in the dutch oven. Also I used a larger can (35oz) of tomatoes plus I included about 1 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste. I left it in the oven for three hours, turning the shoulder ever hour. At the beginning of the third hour I left the lid slightly open to reduce the sauce as some of the comments remarked it was watery. When I reheated the ragu the next day I needed to add water to it because it had thickened so much. But it was fantastic and I would definitely make it again!

Made it again recently and it was as delicious as ever. I add lots of extra tomatoes. Freezes beautifully. A favorite in our house and with guests.

Delicious! We tweaked based on the contents of our pantry: 2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes + couple T tomato paste instead of canned whole tomatoes, used dried oregano, added a leftover parmesan rind, left uncovered in the oven because it seemed too liquidy, and added a couple sprinkles of sherry vinegar at the end. It did end up looking just like the picture though.=P The wine we used was a carmenere.

Mine looked exactly like the photo. Simply divine.

This was delicious! We followed the recipe pretty closely, and although the sauce wasn't quite as "red" as the photo, it was excellent, so we decided against adding extra tomatoes/sauce.

As others noted, this didn't look like the picture, but I found this exact recipe on another site, written by the authors, and it looked different than here too.

I doubled the recipe, followed the advice of the commenters here by increasing the sauce and tomatoes - I went 1.5 cups/cans per batch size. Cooked down all day and held well until our family arrived, which was two hours later than anticipated.

To finish, I tossed the al dente pasta with some sauce in a saucepan. I added a small touch of pasta water and a small pat of butter. It was a beautiful dish and everyone raved that this was restaurant quality.

Although tasty, I was disappointed by the fact that it did not look at all like the picture. It was pale and the 'sauce' was watery. Had I read the comments I would have know to either double up on the tomatoes and wine or reduce the sauce...or both.

Loved the flavor of the sauce. But next time I would double the tomatoes and wine so it was more saucy than stew like, more desirable for us over pasta.

I completely agree with LeeLeeBee's comment that this recipe, as written is much better suited as a sauce for polenta than on pasta. To use with pasta I had to add a lot more crushed tomatoes to reduce the high ratio of pork to sauce. Once I got a good balance the sauce became useable with any sturdy pasta shape or noodle.

This was just OK as written. I made it the day before a dinner party and when I reheated it the next day, I wound up adding a whole tube of double-concentrated tomato paste, another cup or so of red wine, and verjus (for some acidity). The consistency of the sauce seems better suited to polenta rather than to noodles.

My husband and 2 year old loved this sauce. What a great recipe! And an economical way to get a few good meals in the freezer. My 2lb shoulder made enough to feed the three of us at least 4 meals. My son would probably just eat the "meat-meat" alone. I didn't use hot sauce because I don't keep it on hand. Subbed a pinch of red pepper flakes and a bit of smoked paprika. Delicious!

I'm allergic to red wine (it's the must that grows on the grapes, I'm told). Any suggestions for an alternative?

Wow, I just made this for a birthday party dinner and it was fabulous!
This is now on my "favorite recipe's" list and I can't wait to make it again.
I didn't use the fennel seeds as I don't like the flavor of fennel although I know that it pairs well with pork. I used spinach pappardelle as my store didn't have plain, it was great.
Everyone loved it, kids and adults.

Made this using the pressure cooker function on an Instant Pot when I realized that if I went the oven route I would not be eating until 9pm. I cut the pork shoulder into 2 inch chunks (thinking that this would increase the surface area of the meat exposed to sauce) and browned using the saute function. Removed the pork, put in the onion and garlic, sauteed until soft, then added the wine to help deglaze. Added the pork and the rest of the ingredients, let it come to a simmer, and then set it for high pressure for 40 minutes. Needed a bit more salt, but otherwise came out really well. I used a slotted spoon to remove and shred the pork chunks, then replaced them. This was more on the saucy side (which makes sense because there was very little opportunity for evaporation), so I reduced the sauce a bit on the stove before I stored the leftovers.

This recipe is a #1 stunner. So much reward for so little effort! Will definitely keep this in my wheelhouse. Love love love.

hi! can this be done in a roasting pan?

this was outstanding. i couldn't find a 2 1/2 lb. pork shoulder roast so i used a ~5# boston butt that i trimmed completely of its external fat. i did not tie. i doubled the ingredients, used an extra large onion and 5 garlic cloves (love garlic) and added carrots and celery to make it more veg heavy. i cooked it all day at 250*, uncovering for the last couple hours to reduce the sauce. met with rave reviews by all! will definitely make again. thank you!

i can't find a 2 lb. boneless pork shoulder but have a 5 lb. bone in pork butt. do you know...would there be more fat on this cut vs. the cut you recommend? should i trim? or perhaps make a day ahead so i can skim some fat off? thanks!

Just made this and it was lovely! I used two 14oz cans of tomatoes, one large fresh tomato, about 1 cup of wine, and used my pasta water to help loosen the sauce. Really lovely taste, and so easy to both prepare and cook. Thanks for highlighting a great recipe!

Any recommendations about what wine to pair with this?

I loved this dish, but can anyone suggest how to best thicken up the "sauce"? The pork was amazing, but the sauce was pure liquid and didn't stick to the pasta well. It seemed like more of a stew than a ragu.

How would you adjust this for a slow cooker? And any suggestions for what to serve alongside?

Made this during the blizzard and it was SO good. I used homemade chicken stock and red wine vinegar in place of the red wine, and it was still plenty rich and complex. I did take a few extra steps that aren't referenced in the recipe (but maybe they're implied?) -- I drained off all but a few tablespoons of fat after browning the pork, and I also skimmed the fat from the sauce because there was a lot of it! Instant dinner party is right -- we had our neighbors over and it was a perfect, no-fuss, really delicious dinner.

Made this yesterday and it was delicious. My daughter is not a fan of pork but she really liked it because the braise kept the pork nice and moist. Definitely a keeper!!

Made this in a crock pot, browning the meat, onion and garlic, deglazing the pan with the wine before adding to the crock pot. Omitted the thyme, don't care for it, but added 2 bay leaves. It was very good!

Do you add the thyme and oregano in whole and remove the sprigs after cooking or chop them up before you add them?

This recipe is just as good with boneless short ribs instead of pork.

This was really rich and delicious comfort food, and so easy to make. I think it was better the second day, so It really is the perfect dish to make for company, since the cut of meat is so cheap, and you can make ahead. I do agree with the commenters that it could use more liquid, and I did add more tomatoes, making it richer, not saucy. For me, it works better with polenta than with pasta, more as a stew than as a pasta sauce.

Just made this for our snowed in weekend in the woods. Having grown up assaulted by whole fennel seeds, I was a bit leary and almost went my likely route of not following the recipe...
...but I'm happy to report I didn't. Toasting up those fennel seeds and then grinding them before adding to the dish was the perfect touch. This former fennel seed hater is astounded to report she loved this. The flavors all transform to create a pepperoni flavored sauce; win!

I look forward to making this with different meats as I don't think I'll do pork shoulder in this recipe again (Diana Kennedy's carnitas always gets first dibs on a pork shoulder in our house).

Made this this evening--it is easily one of the BEST dishes I've had in recent memory. I'll be making it for everyone who eats meat for the foreseeable future!

Great dinner. Knew by reading that I wasn't going to try it out at home first before serving guests. Big hit! Way easy.

The leftover meat made for really great sandwiches! I put the meat on some crusty bread and topped with provolone cheese. Excellent! I would prefer to eat the pork on polenta rather than pappardelle. Looking forward to giving it another go!

This is my new favorite recipe! Made it for Christmas eve to rave reviews. So easy and so delicious. As others have suggested in their comments, next time I will double all the ingredients besides the pork, since we ended up with more meat than sauce. (Which wasn't really a problem--the meat was great in tacos the next day).

Is the rind removed before browning?

Made this for my husband's birthday the other night, dinner for 6. Paired it with a simple greens salad and IT IS a perfecto dinner party meal. Made the ragu the previous day and I was thrilled to have a clean kitchen when guests arrived for cocktails. I did increase the sauce a tad. So simple, yet it was an extraordinary dinner. Going to do this again soon.

We made this for our anniversary dinner party yesterday. We added my Italian husband's homemade pasta and a fennel beet salad (along with a hundred other things that kept us running all night. MY GOODNESS this was good. I agree that the fennel adds a subtle note I was not expecting. What a way to make a cheap cut of pork magnificent. This is going into the recipe box.

I loved this dish to come out of my post-holiday fasting. It's substantial and while I like the kick from the hot sauce, I also added a tablespoon of fish sauce to give it an extra level of umami earthiness. I agree it could use a bit more tomato (totally subjective). Initially it lacked salt for my taste as well but using a bit of salted pasta cooking water and the fish sauce took care of that. This was a great addition to the genius recipe lineup - thanks for sending it our way.

Made this over the Xmas holiday. Wowzer! Fennel seeds are the magical ingredient which raise the level of these types of recipes. Perfection!

The cuts of pork shoulder I find tend to be closer to 5 lbs, so I doubled this and it turned out fantastic. I ended up needing just a little bit less wine than called for after doubling in order to bring the braising mix up to about 2/3 of the way up the pork shoulder. Everything fit nicely in an 8qt dutch oven.

I trimmed the fat cap off the top before browning / braising and left the bone in; it pulled right out by the time the braising was complete and the meet had an internal temp of close to 200.

I made this last night for our neighbors. First, this IS a perfect entertaining meal. Essentially, all we had to do was boil water for pasta. Brilliant. Followed recipe exactly, with some exceptions thanks to some of the comments below: I doubled the ingredients for sauce, and added to Dutch oven with the pork. I tripled the garlic, cuz that's just what I do. My take on the result? Perfect. Right sauce:pork ratio; yielded a thick, rich and silky sauce that wasn't too tomatoey; just a whisper of heat; a few ladles of pasta water helped it cling to the pasta with purpose. While eating, I thought this is one of those recipes is RIGHT: I didn't want it to be something else, or more, or less.
Home run, first time at bat. Thanks!!!!

Any feedback on the "lack of sauce"? For instance, is this dish intended to not have a lot of sauce, or is sauciness sinply subjective?

Wondering if I would be better off using a 16"x12" roaster pot or just sticking with a crock pot since my dutch is out of commission. Any input on this?

Made this with Sriracha as the hot sauce, followed directions as written and it was fantastic. Thanks for a great recipe.

So, How many times am I to alternate tossing the pasta water and the sauce?

Two 2.5 lb shoulder roast just went into my 7qt oval, fingers crossed! :)

I followed your recipe tonight. Here's what I discovered. The taste is fantastic. No complaints. Great. But after shredding a 2.5 lb pork roast there was A LOT more meat than sauce. A LOT. To balance proportions I ended up making an entire second sauce on the side following the same instructions but sans pork. Afterward I added the second sauce to the first, along with the shredded pork. Now the balance of pork to sauce was about right. One last tip. To add a nice touch of freshness to everything I suggest adding the zest of one small lemon or to taste. The lemon zest brightens up the sauce and counteracts its richness. Thanks.

Jenny, It doesn't say it in the instructions but I assume you do, and I would strain or pick out the thyme and oregano

Would this dish work with lamb?

What is a "Small handful of fennel seeds"? 1 tablespoon, 2.....?

Each time I've tried a crock pot for recipes like this one I'm disappointed. I find an oven cooked dish or roaster pan seems to have more flavour and cooks differently than the crock pot. This looks delicious and going to make for Boxing Day! Thanks for this great recipe.

What size dutch oven? How many quarts?

If you don't eat pork, could you substitute beef?

I've done it in a crockpot and in a Dutch oven (this may be my family's favorite recipe of all time) When I used the slow cooker, I did it essentially as Stefanie Swartz suggests below. I have to say that it took longer in a crockpot than I expected - I ended up at 5 hours on low and I think it could have gone 6 but I may have used a larger roast. I prefer the Dutch oven version but either way it's terrific. I serve it with sauteed broccoli rabe w/garlic.

I'd really like to know about the crock pot too. I'm wondering if one could simply brown the pork on a heavy skillet on the stove, transfer to crock pot. Sautée onion and garlic, deglaze with wine, then add the rest of ingredients and simmer for a few minutes, then transfer to crockpot. I'm thinking crockpot would need to be warmed and probably could be on low for 4 hours....thoughts?

What size is a "large can" of tomatoes? Is it the 28oz or the 35oz? Or doesn't it matter?

Great ?. I'd like to know about using a crock pot, and cooking times.

Could this be done in a slow cooker?