This R-a-g-u!!! Rich (thank you umami flavors!), hearty (this is a meat lovers love!) and soul satisfying comfort food that is going to make your mouth want to sing with happiness! Ragu, which is a meat based sauce, usually made with a little bit of tomato and cooked for several hours, is probably not something you whip up after work on a Wednesday! Rather, this is slow luxurious cooking, meant for the weekend or special occasions when you want to spoil your loved ones and yourself with lip smacking satisfaction. All the heavy lifting for this recipe is done several hours in advance, meaning you too can sit down to this feast relaxed and ready to share. So go ahead, pull out the cloth napkins, light some candles, pour a hearty red (maybe that Brunello di Montalcino you’ve been saving) put on some dinner jazz and set the mood commensurate for this richly delicious Slow Cooker Pork Puttanesca Ragu.
This particular ragu is made with skinless pork shoulder as well as typical ingredients that make up the flavors of a savory and bold puttanesca sauce like olives, anchovies, capers and garlic. If you feel put off by some of these ingredients, take heart! As this dish cooks for several hours, everything melts and melds and blends together so no one of these ingredients is pronounced, rather they hold together to create a delicious mouth watering “get in my belly” kind of dish!
This ragu is made in four basic steps:
- Brown the meat.
- Make the sauce.
- Combine in a crockpot, walk away and let it cook all day!
- Shred the meat and add the final ingredients.
Cut the pork into about 4 equal pieces, salt well and brown in a skillet or Dutch oven. This part can be a little messy, but it is well worth it! Your goal is to caramelize the meat which results in nicely browned spots that are basically flavor bombs. The browning will take about 5 minutes per side and once browned transfer the pork to a slow cooker.
Make the puttanesca sauce in the same skillet/Dutch oven used for the browning because during this process you want to deglaze (or lift all of those remaining brown spots from the pork) the pan and take advantage of any of that flavor that’s been left behind. If your pan is looking pretty dry, add a glug of olive oil, heat to medium and saute the garlic and anchovies until the garlic is softened and the anchovies just kind of melt. Add the tomato paste, stir and cook about 3 minutes, allowing all of those browned bits to be incorporated into the sauce and the paste to deepen in color to a rich dark ruby red. Mix in your remaining ingredients and then scrape this thick sauce onto the pork, making sure all the pieces are slathered in sauce. Turn your crockpot on low and walk away for the next 6-7 hours! As this ragu effortlessly cooks away all day in your crockpot you can walk around your house in a deserved air of smugness, knowing you were so completely brilliant to cook/create in the morning, so you can eat like a king/queen tonight!
Using the simple fork test (if you can easily sink a fork into the meat and twist it a bit your pork is ready to shred.) check for doneness. Remove pork chunks to a cutting board and shred. Return pork to crockpot along with tomatoes and heat through, about another 10-15 minutes. Just before serving squeeze in some lemon juice to brighten up the flavors.
I like to serve Slow Cooker Pork Puttanesca Ragu over Creamy Polenta and garnish with plenty of Parmigiano-Reggiano and little parsley. Buon Appetito!
Slow Cooker Pork Puttanesca Ragu
Ingredients
- 4 pound pork shoulder, skinless, bone-in
- kosher salt
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 large cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 8 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
- 2 6 oz cans tomato paste
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
- 1/4 cup capers, drained
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (plus more to taste if desired)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 14.5 oz can whole/crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for serving
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife trim excess fat from pork shoulder and discard. Cut pork into 4 chunks, making the pieces as even as possible. Liberally salt the pork chunks on all sides. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat, and then working in batches if necessary, brown pork on all sides. This will take about 5 minutes per side and you will know a side is sufficiently browned when it easily releases from the pan. Move browned pork to the slow cooker.
- Heat the skillet/Dutch oven to medium, stir together the garlic and the anchovies (and about a tablespoon of olive oil if there isn't enough fat left in the skillet from browning the pork) until anchovies melt, garlic softens and the mixture becomes fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and continue stirring for another 2-3minutes until the color of the tomato paste becomes a very deep ruby red and all the brown bits from the pork have released from the pan. Turn off the heat and add the olives, capers, vinegar, red pepper flakes, oregano and freshly ground pepper. Slather this sauce over each of the pork pieces.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-7 hours. The sauce will become a rich red color and the meat will be fork tender. Remove meat to a cutting board and using two forks shred meat. Return to slow cooker, add tomatoes and heat through, about 10 -15 minutes more.
- Just before serving squeeze lemon over ragu for some added brightness. I like to serve on Creamy Polenta, garnish with fresh parsley and plenty of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Happy Valentine’s Day, Amy!! I’m making this ragu, along with the polenta, for my Valentine today! Can’t wait to dig in. Say “hi” to Steve, from Daren and me. 🙂
Hey Leslie!! That is awesome! Hope you love the ragu! Though all recipe props go to Sarah DeGregorio….I’m just sharer!! Happy Valentine’s Day to you and Daren!!
UMAMI HEAVEN!!! My ragazzo Italiano loved it!