RAGU DI PORCHETTA WITH PAPARDELLE

RAGU DI PORCHETTA WITH PAPARDELLE image

Categories Pasta Pork Dinner Fall Winter

Number Of Ingredients 21

Ingredients

Marinade:
1 large onion, quartered
2 carrots, peeled and halved
5 cloves garlic, smashed
1 (750 ml) bottle red wine
3 fresh bay leaves
Stew:
5 pound pork shoulder roast, cut into 2 inch-sized chunks (one larger piece will have bone)
1 smoked pork shank
Extra-virgin olive oil, to coat pan
8 ounces slab bacon, cut into lardons
2 cups of pearl onions
2 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 pound cremini mushrooms,rough chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup tomato paste
2 cups red wine (reserved marinade)
3 to 4 cups beef stock, plus more as needed
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary (minced finely)

Steps:

Marinade: Combine the onion, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, and wine in a large bowl or container. Add the beef, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. Cook's Note: This is an important step, it makes a huge flavor difference, but it is not necessary. Preparation: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For the stew: Remove the beef from the marinade. Strain the veggies and bay leaves from the wine and discard, but reserving the wine. Coat a large, wide pan or Dutch oven with about a tablespoon of olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Trim most of the meat of the pork shank, including some of the fat and dice into small pieces. (reserve the shank bone) Add the diced pork shank to the Dutch oven and cook until it gets brown and crispy. This will lace a gentle smokiness throughout the dish. Toss in the pearl onions, carrots, celery, rosemary, and season with salt. Cook the mixture for 8 to10 minutes or until the mixture starts to soften and become very aromatic. Add in the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add 3 cups reserved wine and the pork pieces. Stir to combine and cook until the wine has reduced by 1/2. Add the beef stock to just cover the surface of the pork. Toss in the bay leaves and the trimmed pork shank. Season with salt, if needed. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover the pot and put in the preheated oven. Cook the pork 2-2 ½ hours, checking occasionally to add more stock, if needed. During the last 30 minutes of cooking time, add the mushrooms, and more stock, if needed. Remove the pan from the oven, remove large shoulder bone, pork shank bone, and skim off any excess grease from the surface of the stew. At this point, I used two large forks to shred the pork a bit more and stir into the stew, but that is optional depending on what type of pasta you're serving with. Serve with pasta, such as papardelle.