This is my perfect pork ragu and will blow your mind! Pork shoulder is braised in white wine and milk with fennel seeds, load of herbs and pancetta. It creates the most luscious and savoury sauce that I know you will love. Perfect with any pasta shape, fresh or dried.

What is a white pork ragu?

A white ragu is made with white wine and milk rather than the more common tomatoes and red wine. You all know I am a buttery sauce kind of girl and I tend to favour a creamier sauce than a tomato one. Cooking meat in milk makes it so so tender and this sauce really is just all kinds of delicious, I just can't recommend trying it enough! If a tomato ragu is more your style then check out this my beef cheek ragu.

Tips for making this ragu

Make it the day before. This is a tip for any slow cooked pasta sauce. It will only improve with time so even two days before is great. It will solidify in the fridge but will loosen once heated and that is why I like to add some cream at the end. A slosh of pasta water is also your best friend here.
I like to brown the pork and start the sofrito (the onions, carrot and celery) at the same time so that I can just get it in the oven quicker. Do them at separate times if it seems too hectic! I have two pans at the back browning pork and the sofrito going at the front.
Don't tip out any fat that has rendered from browning the pork, I like to tip it into the onions. We aren't making a salad here so just embrace that fatty flavour!
Undercook your pasta just ever so slightly so that it can hang out in the sauce for a minute or two.
Pasta gets cold quick, one of my biggest tips when cooking for friends or family is heating your plates or bowls. I throw them in a warm oven for 10mins or you can put a few tablespoons of water in each one, stack them up and microwave for a minute.

Ingredients

Pork shoulder - I use boned pork shoulder and cut it into 4 -5cm chunks. Leave the fat on as you can always discard some of it later.

White wine - I used a sauvignon blanc, anything dry will work.

Pancetta - I buy it from Farro in a big piece then dice. You should be able to find it in any specialty food store but feel free to substitute with chopped bacon.

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Herbs - thyme, rosemary and sage are my favourite trio here and please try not to substitute for dried, it's never the same.

Chicken stock - I prefer the taste of chicken stock but feel free to use whatever stock you like.

Lemon zest - finishing a rich meat sauce with lemon zest is perfection! It creates a little burst of freshness and cuts through the richness so well.

What pasta will work the best?

I have made a pappardelle and I have a helpful reel on instagram showing you how to do it! Honestly, any shape will work you could make a hand rolled shape like my hand rolled gnocchi sardi or homemade orecchiette. Alternatively any dried pasta will work perfectly.

Some other pasta dishes to try

Make sure you check out my all of my pasta recipes for all kinds of delicious dishes. Here are some other slow cooked pasta sauces that you should add to the list.

Did you make this recipe?

I would LOVE it if you could leave a review and star rating down below. Also please tag me on Instagram if you share a photo of the dish!

Recipe

White Pork Ragu

5 from 46 votes

Author: Emilie Pullar

Prep time:20

Cook Time:3

Servings: 6 people

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This is my absolute favourite kind of ragu. Pork shoulder is braised in white wine and milk rather than the usual red wine and tomatoes. It creates the most tender, flavoursome and just outrageously delicious ragu ever!

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Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil
1 kg boned pork shoulder cut into chunks
250 g pancetta chopped
1 onion finely chopped
2 stalks celery finely chopped
2 small carrots finely chopped
2 tsp fennel seeds
6 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves roughly chopped
1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves roughly chopped
2 tbsp fresh sage leaves roughly chopped
1 ½ cups dry white wine
1 ½ cups chicken stock
1 ½ cups milk
3 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice
Pasta of your choice
¼ cup cream optional
Lemon zest and parmesan to serve

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 160 fan (320 fahrenheit)
Season the pork with salt and pepper and heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium - high heat (or I do it in two pans at once to save time). Brown the chunks on all sides and set aside. Keep any fat that has rendered to pour into the onion mixture.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy bottomed oven proof saucepan and fry the pancetta for 10 mins until browned, lift out onto a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.
Add the onion, carrot, celery, fennel seeds and a good pinch of salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until soft, around 10 minutes. Lower heat if it starts to brown and add more oil if it dries out. After 5 minutes add the garlic and herbs and continue cooking.
Add the pork and pancetta to the pan and mix.
Add the wine and simmer to reduce the wine by at least half - 5 - 7 mins.
Add the stock, milk, bay leaves, another good pinch of salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. (I think this ragu suits being on the salty side but do whatever feels right to you!)
Cover and cook in the oven for two hours. The pork should fall apart, if not then cook for another 30 mins and check again.
A big note here is that the sauce may look broken and split, this is just the nature of this kind of ragu! I promise once you pull the meat apart and mix it all together it will be fine.
Remove the pork and shred pieces with two forks and then return to pan and give it a good mix. If there are some large pieces of fat that haven't rendered feel free to discard some of them.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and add a big squeeze of lemon juice.
I like to let it cool down then place in the fridge as I prefer to make it a day or two before eating.
If eating straight away, cook your pasta in a pot of boiling salted water then mix with the ragu.
Add ¼ cup of cream as an option as a finishing touch, this is particularly helpful if you are reheating from the fridge as it helps bring it all together.
Serve between heated plates or bowls and top with lemon zest and parmesan. ENJOY!

Notes

As I state in the recipe, I always like to make a ragu the day before. The flavour improves over time so even two days before is great! Any left over ragu can be portioned and frozen.
I like to season along the way rather than just once at the end so taste as you go!
Serving lemon zest on any ragu adds a much needed burst of freshness, don't skip!

Author: Emilie Pullar

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 3

Course: Meat Sauces

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: white pork ragu, white ragu

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