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Old World Authentic Pork Ragu with Rigatoni

Old World Authentic Pork Ragu with RigatoniPerfect for a Sunday Dinner.

This sauce takes some time to make but when it’s done you will love it. Not to mention as it cooks your home is gonna have that “Grandma is cooking” aroma.
I love this sauce with a Rigatoni pasta but you could use any cut you prefer.

 

You’ll need:

  • 3 pounds meaty pork shanks
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 28 oz can whole Italian plum tomatoes crushed by hand
  • 1 cup of water to slosh around all 4-cans tomatoes
  • 1 cup of a dry red wine
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

 

Directions:

  1. Sprinkle a good amount of salt n pepper on the pork shanks
  2. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or heavy pot and add the shanks and brown on all sides over a med/high heat (remove to a plate)
  3. Add the onion, garlic, red pepper flakes and cook for 5 minutes or until golden brown
  4. Now add the wine and deglaze the pot with a wooden spoon scraping all the brown bits
  5. Add hand crushed tomatoes all the juice, water and bay leaves
  6. Stir and bring to a boil
  7. Add the shanks and any juice that is on the plate
  8. Using a tong push the shanks under the sauce (season with salt n pepper)
  9. Bring to a boil
  10. Cover and lower the heat to a low simmer allow this to cook for 3 hours
  11. Stir a couple times an hour. Make sure it’s a low simmer so not to burn the sauce
  12. After 3 hours remove the shanks, the meat should be falling off the bones
  13. Remove any meat from the sauce and shred the meat with a forks and add back to the sauce
  14. Remove the bay leaves
  15. Remove the lid and simmer for 15 minutes to further thicken the sauce

 

This sauce is a long process but in the end it’s worth the time. Make sure you are using a heavy pot that has a tight fitting lid. The thickness of the sauce can be adjusted at the final stage. Thicker sauce? Just simmer uncovered longer than the 15 min. I serve mine with a hearty rigatoni, some shaved Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

 

Daniel Mancini

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