I love a good ragu over some pasta. Pork is definitely the meat that is best suited to a ragu. Pork can be pressure cooked or roasted down to a point where it can be shredded nicely into a red sauce. But, what about smoking the pork? I decided to smoke a pork butt and combine it with a red sauce, and it turned out really well. The following recipe combines a pork butt that has been rubbed with an Italian style spice blend and smoked along with a red wine forward tomato sauce. Add this over some pappardelle pasta and you have a fantastic meal!
The following recipe is designed for a 3-4 pound pork butt. This will make a large portion of pork ragu. This recipe will definitely give you more than one meal if you are a family of four. You can cut the recipe in half if needed for a smaller amount of for a smaller size pork butt.
Ingredients
3-4 lb pork shoulder/butt
2-3 lbs dried pappardelle pasta
2 tbsp salt
Handful of Italian parsley, chopped (optional)
3-4 lb pork shoulder/butt
2-3 lbs dried pappardelle pasta
2 tbsp salt
Handful of Italian parsley, chopped (optional)
Pork Spice Rub
2 tbsp brown sugar
½ tbsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried sage
2 tbsp brown sugar
½ tbsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried sage
Tomato Sauce
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 28 oz can whole, peeled tomatoes
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 cup red wine
Handful of basil, chopped
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 28 oz can whole, peeled tomatoes
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 cup red wine
Handful of basil, chopped
First, we prepare the pork butt. Set your smoker or pellet grill to 250 °F.
Combine all ingredients for the spice mix and blend them together well. Rub the pork butt down well with the spice blend. You will likely use all of the blend. You can slice the butt in half and rub each piece down with the blend also to potentially reduce cook time, as long as you’re ok with potentially more burnt ends in your ragu.
Once it is coated in the spices, place it in a roasting tray and place the tray in your smoker. You want to smoke the pork until it reaches an internal temperature of 200-205 °F. It will take about 90 minutes per pound at 250 °F to reach that temperature. After about 4 hours you can turn the heat up to 275 °F if you would like to help speed up cook time.
Let’s talk about the sauce. You can make this at any point while the pork is smoking, but I made it closer to the end of the pork’s cooking time.
First we need to prep the tomatoes. Open the can of tomatoes. Remove each tomato one by one and gently squeeze each in your fist a little bit over the can to release the liquid from the tomato (but make sure you catch it back into the can. You don’t want to lose it!). Place the gently squeezed tomatoes into a bowl and reserve the rest of the liquid in the can. You will need it later.
In a Dutch oven, or other cooking pot, over medium heat, add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil, and then add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes until the vegetables have softened. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, allow them to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring as needed. Using your spoon or a potato masher, break up the tomatoes into smaller pieces, and then add the tomato juices from the can and stir. Add the salt and pepper and allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Finally, add the red wine and the basil. Stir to combine all ingredients. Turn the heat to low and allow the sauce to simmer for about 15 minutes.
When the pork is done remove it from the smoker and allow it to rest for at least 20 minutes. After resting, shred the pork with fork and knife. It should break apart easily.
Stir the pulled pork into the sauce. Turn the heat to medium-low and allow the pork to cook in the sauce for about 8-10 minutes, stirring as needed.
You will have more than one meal’s worth of pork ragu. I recommend making the pappardelle one pound at a time, unless you are cooking for a larger group. You will likely get a few meals out of this recipe. You can get 12+ serving out of this ragu. I recommend one pound of pappardelle for each 5 servings.
Fill a medium sized stock pot ½ to ⅔ of the way full with water. Bring to a simmer and then add 2 tablespoons of salt. Stir the water to make sure the salt is dissolved and then add in the dried Pappardelle. Cook the pappardelle for about 8-10 minutes, until it is al dente. Follow the directions on the pasta package for specific times.
When the pasta is done, add a ladle of the pasta water into the pork ragu and stir. Drain the pasta into a colander.
To serve, add a portion of the pappardelle to a pasta bowl or plate and spoon the pork ragu on top of the pasta. Top with chopped parsley if you desire.