White Pork Ragu
A silky, savoury pork ragu where pork shoulder is braised in white wine, milk and stock instead of red wine and tomatoes. It’s tender, flavoursome and outrageously delicious.
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 kg boned pork shoulder cut into chunks
- 250 grams pancetta chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery finely chopped
- 2 small carrots finely chopped
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ cups dry white wine
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 - 5 fresh sage leaves
- Salt and pepper
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- 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 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, and another good pinch of salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.
- Tie the rosemary, thyme and sage together with kitchen twine to make a small herb bundle and put it on the top of the liquid. (if you don't have kitchen twine or string just place the sprigs loose on top).
- Cover and cook in the oven for two hours. The pork pieces should pull apart easily, 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 them.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and add a big squeeze of lemon juice.
- If there is too much liquid, reduce on the stove top at a gentle simmer uncovered.
- Add the ¼ cup of cream if using (highly recommend as it helps bring the sauce together).
- If eating straight away, cook your pasta in a pot of boiling salted water then mix with the ragu.
- Serve between heated plates or bowls and top with lemon zest and parmesan. ENJOY!
- If making ahead it will solidify in fridge, gently re-heat on the stove top and you can add some pasta water or extra cream if needed.
Video
Notes
Pork - Pork shoulder (also called pork butt) works best here. It has enough fat to stay juicy during the long braise and becomes incredibly tender. Avoid lean pork, it can dry out.
Pork Fat - Don’t trim the pork too much. Remove the skin and any huge chunks of hard fat, but leave the softer fat on as it melts into the sauce and helps make the ragu silky. You can discard any fat that hasn't rendered at the end.
Pancetta - Pancetta adds a savoury, salty base to the sauce. Substitute with bacon.
Milk - Milk helps tenderise the pork and gives the sauce its signature silky texture. Don’t skip it, it’s essential in a white ragu.
Make Ahead - Like all meat sauces, this gets even better the next day. It reheats beautifully and freezes well for up to 3 months.
Re-heating - When you refrigerate it will solidify a lot but will come back to life when you gently re-heat on the stove. Pasta water and the ¼ cream will help.