Pennette with Pork Ragù

This is one of my favorite Italian meat sauces, because it is just a little bit different than a traditional dish.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of my husbands signature spaghetti and meatballs, and someday soon, I'll share that recipe, because they are out of this world, but today, I'm going to show you Pork Ragù.  I'm pretty sure that I modified this recipe from one I found in Food and Wine.  I did a quick search online, and this looks like the original, but I do it a little different. 

Start with a big hunk of meat.  You have some flexibility here.  I usually use about 3 1/2 to 4 lbs of boneless pork shoulder.  Today, because it is what came home with my husband from the grocery store, I'm using a 4 lb bone-in pork sirloin roast.  You can also use a veal shoulder. 

You want to cut the meat up into large chunks.  You can also cut off the big hunks of fat that might be on there and, if you have 'em, throw it at your dogs.  They love me when I cook!

Here is my meat all cut up.  The big piece in front actually is this large because my cut was bone-in, but it is all good.  If you are using a bone-in cut, just remember to pull out the bone at the end of cooking the sauce.  The meat will literally fall off.

You want to pat your meat dry so that it will brown nicely,

lay it out in a single layer, and season with salt and pepper.

Top it with a sprinkling of flour,

flip it over and season the other side.

In a large enameled cast-iron skillet, heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil and brown the pork in batches over medium high heat. 

You want to get all sides of the meat nice and brown

and then transfer the meat to a plate.  Make sure you set the meat far enough back on the counter that the dogs, whom you have lured into the kitchen with the promise of fat, can't reach it.  Our sauce had a little less meat than originally intended.  (Insert your favorite swear word here)

Back to the cutting board.  Take one medium sweet onion

and dice it up.

and take 5 (or so) garlic cloves

and mince them.

Finally, take a nice spring of rosemary,

remove the leaves from the stem and coarsely chop it.

Now, add another 1/4 cup of olive oil to the pan you browned the meat in and stir in the onion and garlic.

To this, you want to add about  1 and 1/2 teaspoons of coriander seeds and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of fennel seeds. 

I have this really cool grinder that I got from my mother in law that grinds whole spices beautifully, but you can use spices that you have bought ground from the grocery store just as effectively.  Stir the spices into the garlic and onion mixture and cook over low heat for about five minutes.

Measure a little over 1 1/2 cups of red wine

and add to the onion mixture.  Boil for about 5 minutes, until reduced to roughly 1/3 of cup.

While the sauce is reducing, open two 28 oz cans of whole tomatoes.

Drain the tomatoes in a colander

and then very roughly chop.

When the wine is reduced, add the tomatoes to the pan.

Stir it all up and cook over medium heat for another five minutes.

Next, you want to find four cups of some sort of stock.  You can use chicken or veal.  I had beef and chicken stock frozen in my freezer, so I grabbed four.  I think that I used 3 cups of chicken and 1 cup of beef.  You can use canned stock or reconstituted stock.

Since mine was frozen, I just broke it up and threw it in the pan.  It is hot.  It will melt.  I added the chopped rosemary to the top and stirred it all together as the stock thawed.

When it was boiling again, I add the meat back into the pan

moved it back the simmer burner, partially covered and left it alone for a two hours.  However, I have a disclaimer.  You want to check the pot every thirty minutes or so to make sure that your liquid hasn't evaporated. If it looks like it is getting dry, add some more stock or wine.  I didn't have to add any today, but I often do need to.

After two hours, when you pick up the meat with your tongs, it should literally fall apart.  In fact, you want to pick up all the meat and break it up, removing any bones you find if you were using a bone-in cut.  While you are breaking it up, boil some salted water and prepare, according to the directions, your pasta of choice. I have found a tubular pasta works best for holding the liquid in the sauce.

When you are ready to eat, grate a nice pile of Parmesan cheese

and chop up some Italian parsley for garnish.

Usually I plate my pasta and put the sauce on top, but for this dish, you want the sauce to really coat the pasta,

so I mix it up in a bowl

before putting it on individual plates. 

And now, see all that liquid at the bottom of the bowl, you don't want to miss that.  It is absolutely yummy when sopped up with a piece of crusty bread,

so use a spoon to drizzle it over each serving of pasta.  Top the pasta with a little Parmesan and parsley and enjoy!

Pennette with Pork Ragù
serves: 8  (Recipe also on Tasty Kitchen)

• 3 1/2 to 4 lb boneless pork shoulder
• salt
• pepper
• flour, for dusting
• 1/2 c olive oil, divided
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds, ground
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds, ground
• 1 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 28 oz cans of whole tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock
  
• 1 spring rosemary, coarsely chopped
• 2 lbs pennette
• 1/2 c Parmesan, grated
  
• 1/2 c Italian parsley, chopped

Cut the pork shoulder into large 3" chunks and pat dry.  Season with salt and pepper and dust with flour.

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large enameled cast-iron skillet and brown the pork in batches over medium high heat.  When all sides of the meat are nice and brown, transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil to the pan you browned the meat in and stir in the onion, garlic, coriander and fennel.  Cook over low heat for about five minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of red wine to the onion mixture and boil for about 5 minutes, until reduced to roughly 1/3 of cup.  When the wine is reduced, add the tomatoes and cook over medium heat for another five minutes.  Add the stock and rosemary and bring to a boil.  Add the pork, cover partially and cook over low heat until very tender, about 2 hours, adding more wine or stock as needed.

When the meat falls apart when picked up with your tongs, break it up into the sauce.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pennette until al dente. Drain and return to the pot or a bowl. Add the ragù and toss until the pasta is coated. Serve with cheese and Italian parsley at the table.