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Pork Shoulder and Italian Sausage Ragout (Ragu)

White shallow bowl of chunks of cooked pork shoulder and Italian Sausage in a red marinara sauce over grits. Garnished with Parmesan cheese and crispy chopped bacon.
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EatSimpleFood.com

Pork Shoulder and Italian sausage are slow cooked with red wine, tomatoes, onions, carrots, and celery and topped with crispy pancetta. Serve this amazing pork shoulder sausage ragu over grits/polenta or cooked penne or ziti pasta.

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 4 oz pancetta
  • 2 lb pork shoulder, cubed 1 1/4"
  • 1 lb mild Italian ground sausage
  • 2 cups (~ 1 large) onion, diced
  • ¾ cup carrot, diced
  • ¾ cup celery, diced
  • 1 ½ Tbsp garlic, minced
  • 2 cup red wine
  • 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices
  • 2 bay leaf
  • 6 thyme sprigs, leaves removed (or ½ tsp dried thyme)
  • 2 cup uncooked grits or polenta
  • red pepper flakes, optional for spice
  • Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese, optional as garnish
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • 2 cups grits, cooked according to package instructions

Instructions

  • Add salt and pepper to cubed pork shoulder.
  • Bring a large heavy bottom pot to medium high heat.  Add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom.  
  • Add pancetta and fry ~ 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until crispy.  Remove pancetta, set aside and slice when cool.
  • In the same pot, add cubed pork shoulder and sear/brown on each side ~ 3-4 minutes.  You may have to cook in two batches if the pan is not large enough.  
  • Set seared pork aside in a large bowl and add ground sausage to the hot pot.  Cook sausage ~ 5-8 minutes or until cooked through.  Add cooked sausage to pork shoulder bowl.
  • Add onions, carrots, and celery to pot.  Reduce heat, cover, and cook ~ 5-7 minutes (stirring occasionally) or until soft.  Stir in minced garlic and cook 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
  • Add red wine, tomatoes, bay leaf, and thyme.
  • Stir, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered ~ 2 hours (or oven covered 325F for 2 hours) or until pork shoulder is soft.
  • Remove from heat and press pork pieces against edge of pot to coarsely break up the chunks of meat.
  • Add salt and black pepper to taste.
  • Cook grits according to package instructions.
  • Serve ragout over grits and add cooked pancetta.  
  • Add crushed red pepper flakes if you like it spicy and Parmesan or Mozzarella if you like it cheesy.

Notes

  • Already using all your stovetop burners?  No problem - put the simmering dish in the oven at 325F for 2 hours instead of cooking it on the stovetop.
  • A simmer is a gentle boil where the bubbles just break the surface of the liquid.
  • Like it spicy?  Try hot italian sausage instead of mild.
  • Don't have pancetta?  Use bacon or skip that step.

Find it online: https://eatsimplefood.com/pork-shoulder-sausage-ragout/