pork ragu

gistfile1.txt

Ingredients

2-3lb pork shoulder
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1⁄2 stick + 1 fat pat butter
1⁄2 cup flour
28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup red wine
5 sprigs thyme
5 sprigs oregano
2 tbsp fennel seeds
pappardelle or rigatoni noodles
shaved parmesan for topping
salt and pepper

Optional
heavy cream
cinnamon

Steps

Get your mise en place in order.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Melt the pat of butter in a large oven safe pot.
Generously salt and pepper the pork and brown on each side over med-high heat. This will take a few minutes per side, about 10 minutes total.
Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.
Add the tomatoes(with juice), red wine, thyme, oregano, fennel seeds. You want the liquid to cover a third of the pork. You can use whatever ratio of tomato juice and red wine that you want. Reserve the extra to top up the liquid as necessary during the cook.
Bring mixture to a boil.
Put the lid on and transfer to the oven.
Cook for 3 hours or until shoulder falls apart. This could be as long as 4 hours. Every shoulder will be different. Check once an hour to see how it’s cooking. Top up liquid when necessary.
Transfer the pork to a large serving bowl, shred with two forks or those sweet wolverine claws if you have them. Remove herbs from cooking liquid.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Aim for al dente.
In a separate pot, make a roux by melting 1⁄2 stick of butter and then mixing the flour. Cook over medium heat until it smells great, but before it develops much color.
Make the sauce by mixing in the cooking liquid into the roux, one ladle at a time. How thick of a sauce you want is largely up to you.
Add the sauce to the shredded pork.
Fill a bowl with noodles, add ragu, top with parm.
Enjoy.