Quarantine Cooking: Foolproof Pork Shoulder Ragu
I’ve found myself asking “what day is it?” more and more often as our local stay-at-home order continues until who knows when. Its disorienting a bit, not having a set work schedule to adhere to anymore. Instead, I’ve been utilizing my millennial self-motivation to drag myself out of bed in the morning and inhale a couple of breaths of fresh air on the back patio with my morning coffee. This…haziness, for lack of a better word, has bled into the kitchen as well. Gone are the intricate meals at dinnertime. Now, I go for the quick, the easy, and the simple. Furthermore, I try to make use of everything; all veg scraps go in a bag for stock, and all bones meet the same fate.
Likewise, I also try to go for filling meals as of late. Salads aren’t exactly the most shelf-stable item (unless its kale, and even I can only eat kale for so long), small, specialty ingredient items just aren’t worth going on trips to the store to get without other essential items. So, we make do with items we have stocked in the kitchen and make some delicious magic from it! This recipe is a great go-to, and uses things generally found in most pantries! It’s my foolproof pork shoulder ragu!
Mountains of Meat! Delicious Meat!
The first step is to take your pork shoulder (ours came from Malheur River Meats) and make sure it’s nice and dry. Always make sure whatever protein you are working with is dry before seasoning, so to make sure that the seasoning you rub it with will stay on. Cut this roast up into bite-size pieces. I personally like to go a bit bigger and chunkier than that, but I blame that on personal preference. Next salt and pepper each piece generously.
Gotta give my appreciation to wholesome pork chunkies!
In whatever cooking vessel you are using, add a splash of vegetable oil. For this recipe, I used an instapot for the sole reason that I didn’t have to reach over and grab the Dutch Oven from the cupboard. However, if the good ol’ dutchie is your go-to, feel free to use it! All this can be done in the dutch oven as well, just pay attention to the cooking time, as it will differ from the instapot significantly.
Once the oil is nice and shimmery, add the pork, and get it all deliciously brown. This should only take a few minutes, and you may need to add the pork in a little bit at a time, so the pan doesn’t get crowded. Crowding will prevent a good crust from forming, and that means it won’t taste as good! Once the pork has a sufficient sear, pop them onto a plate and set aside for now.
Sear them well!
Now comes my favorite part: HERE IS WHERE WE MAKE ZE FLAVOR MAGIKS! With all that rendered fat from the pork still in the cooking vessel, add in the tomato paste, and stir that around. It should, of course, make an entrancing and melodious sizzle. Stir it around for about a minute or so, and then add in all that delicious diced veg. This is the classical Mirepoix of Onion, Celery, and Carrot that adds so much flavor to the base of a dish. Here it’s no different! Sauté them for about 5-7 minutes or so until they get deliciously soft and tender. You can add a sprinkle of salt at this point to help this process along as well. Then, add the garlic, and sauté until just fragrant.
Post-liquid addition!
Time for the liquids! Add in the wine and stock, which should deglaze the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. This is called Fonde, and as my good friend and chef, Casey calls it, FLAVORTOWN. These browny bits are so packed with flavor, that it’d just be a darn shame for them to go to waste. Stir the wine as its deglazing to get all those browny bits back into the mix. Bring the pork back into the vessel, and add in the Star Anise, Rosemary, and Thyme (We got our rosemary and thyme from Purple Sage Farms). It’s ready to cook! If using a dutch oven, you’ll want to set your oven to 325°F and let it cook covered for about 2 hours until the pork gets tender. If using the instapot, set the pressure manually to high and cook for 50 minutes. Once the timer goes off, flip the switch, and let the steam erupt like a geyser. This will also fill your kitchen with all the good smells! There might be a decent amount of liquid at the bottom, but we don’t want the flavor to go away! So, let’s reduce it down. Bring it to heat, via the sauté setting on the instapot, or with the dutch oven on the stovetop, and reduce it by half or so, this will also thicken it up a bit! Lastly, remove the star anise from the vessel, since it’s not edible!
While that’s going on, prepare the pasta as directed on the package. I used some toasted onion fettuccine that I got as a Christmas present from Pappardelle Pasta. Any long, flat noodle will work well here, though! Make sure the water is nice and salty (salty as the sea, as they say) to make sure the pasta gets nice and seasoned. Then just drain the pasta and serve it up!
This will MELT in your mouth
I like to plate ragu as a mound, heaped into a hole made by swirled pasta on a deep plate. Dress it with some delicious parm and dig in! This is a simple meal that will go the distance for your family, and leave everyone content and full. Enjoy, and stay safe out there!
Buon Appetito!
Foolproof Pork Shoulder Ragu
Makes: 4 Rather Hearty Servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1-2 Hours (Depending on Instapot or Dutch Oven)
Ingredients:
Approx 2 lbs boneless Pork Shoulder, trimmed nicely
Splash of Vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 Medium onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 large carrots, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced finely
1 cup dry red wine, like a merlot (with a little extra in case you get a tad thirsty)
½ cup Beef Stock
2 tablespoons thyme, minced finely
2 tablespoons rosemary, minced finely
2-3 whole star anise, wrapped in cheese cloth
1 lb Flat, long pasta (Fettucine works great here, Though I recommend Pappardelle if possible)
Parmesan cheese, as needed
Instructions:
1. Pat dry the pork shoulder and slice into medium-sized pieces (This is subjective, as it can be cut down to taste). Season quite graciously with salt and pepper. Here, the recipes diverge based on what cooking vessel you are using. If using an instapot, set to Saute, and heat vegetable oil until hot (wavy lines should form on the surface, showing that it’s ready.) Sear the pork on all sides until nice crust forms, about 3 to 6 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate, and set aside. For a dutch oven, do steps 1- 3, and then braise in a 325° oven for 2 hours or until tender.
2. Add the tomato paste to the rendered fat, and stir until fragrant, 1 minute. Add onion, celery, carrot, and cook until soft, 5 minutes or so. Then, add the garlic and stir until very fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Stir in the wine and beef stock, and deglaze the pan by scraping up the delicious bits on the bottom. Transfer the Pork into the instapot, add the star anise, rosemary and thyme, and season again with salt and pepper. Set pressure to high, and cook for 50 minutes. After cooking is done, manually release the pressure.
4. While the pork cooks, bring a large pot of water that has been very generously salted(salty as the sea is my motto) to a boil. Add in the dried pasta, and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes or so. Drain into a colander
To plate, place a bed of pasta on a large serving plate, creating an indent in the center. Then, fill the divet with a healthy scooping of Hearty Ragu. Finish with Parmesan Cheese.
