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
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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!
Melissa says
Made this last night for a dinner party tonight, turned out delicious! Everyone loved it and I had such an enjoyable night as all I did was heat it, boil pasta and drink wine!
Recipe is quite forgiving if you are like me and prefer to just pour things in rather than measure. Highly recommended as it's easy and super tasty.
Emilie Pullar says
haha what a great evening that sounds like!! Thank you so much for making it 🙂
Erin says
We made this white pork ragu and it was phenomenal. Beautiful recipe
Emilie Pullar says
Thank you so much!!
Anneliese says
This is my absolute favourite pasta sauce. I double the recipe and always question my life decisions when I’m transferring the full-to-the-brim crock pot to the oven, but never regret the freezer full of ragu.
Emilie Pullar says
hahaha this made me laugh. I even find it hard transferring with a single batch! So glad you love it 🙂
Des says
That was certainly the best thing I have put on my mouth in a long time and yes I’ve tried other pork ragus, will be making this again and again. Keeps wonderfully in freezer and is obvs even better if you make it a couple days ahead of time, which makes it a great dinner party recipe. Will try it in a bread roll next time I make it, yum!
Emilie Pullar says
hahaha love this!
Melanie says
This recipe is so SO good! Have a fancy date night at home, it's better than a restaurant!
Emilie Pullar says
hahaha love this!! 🙂
Sarah says
Everyone must make this! It’s the best white ragu, a staple for dinner parties and chilly weekends
Don’t skip any ingredients as it marries together perfectly.
The leftovers are also great for a filled pasta, with a burnt butter & sage sauce!
Emilie Pullar says
I loooove using it for filled pasta I often make it purely so I have a filling on hand! 🙂
Diana says
This sauce is delicious, can't wait to try other recipes!
Emilie Pullar says
Yay thanks Diana! 🙂
Alexandra says
Dear Emilie,
I made this recipe for my husband’s birthday and it was a smash hit! Thank you so much. He is absolutely thriving off of all of the leftovers as well!
Emilie Pullar says
This makes me so happy!! 🙂
Kate says
This was REALLY good. Will definitely be making again - and am very pleased to have stashed in the freezer!
Emilie Pullar says
It is the BEST thing when you remember you have some in the freezer! Thanks so much for making 🙂
Janie says
I made this last night following your recipe closely, as it was my first time making this type of ragu. I used pork collar instead of pork shoulder. It's amazing just how tender the meat was, after not very long in the oven! Very flavourful and perfect for a cosy weekend meal. Will make again! 🙂
Emilie Pullar says
So glad you enjoyed it Janie, thanks so much for making 🙂
Lisa says
This white ragu is truly amazing, thanks so much for sharing this great recipe - it has quickly become a favorite!
Emilie Pullar says
Hi Lisa, thank you so much, so glad you enjoy the reicpe! 🙂
Vanessa says
Amazing recipe! I froze it in portions to use with different types of pasta. The ragu's salty flavor makes a nice pairing with the sweetness of pumpkin tortelli.
Emilie Pullar says
I always freeze in portions too! So glad you enjoyed 🙂
Sophia says
Made this hundreds of times and always a hit. My favorite pasta recipe. Even made it into a Lasagna yesterday.
My god!! So delicious
Emilie Pullar says
You've probably made it more than me haha! So glad you love it 🙂
Alexa says
This was absolutely fantastic. We used this with a papardelle which was incredible and extremely tasty! For Easter we used this sauce between lasagna layers, which was also fabulous (with a little bit a spinach bechamel). In conclusion, no matter how consumed it will be delightful. 11/10???
Brian L. says
This really is an awesome recipe beautifully explained. You are so right about the lemon zest - takes it stratospheric. I actually drained the cooking liqor into a saucepan, reduced it as I was breaking up the pork and whisked it almost emulsifying it and then combined back with the meat & veg. The effect of cooking the pork in milk and wine has to be tasted to be believed. It also freezes beautifully so it’s a winner for batch cooking. I am about to have a portion for my dinner that I defrosted earlier. Fresh pasta is on the hob, lemon, Parmesan & Microplane standing by!
Emilie Pullar says
Hi Brian, thank you so much for such a wonderful review. This recipe really is my pride and joy so it makes me so happy you enjoyed it so much 🙂