It reads like a cold weather dish—and you may be sure I’ll be making it when the mercury drops—but it tastes fresh in warm weather too. Watch the Bears game while it cooks, throw together a salad, and dinner is done.
I did mention this is easy, but I didn’t say that it’s inexpensive and requires nothing more than a shopping trip to the meat case; the other ingredients are pantry staples.
The cut I recommend is commonly called, in these parts, “Country Ribs.” The original recipe calls for a boneless pork shoulder; but because Country Ribs are a shoulder cut, it’s not cheating. It’s easier and more efficient to cut the meat off the bone into cubes and there’s less connective tissue than you find in a whole pork shoulder.
That said, I love pork shoulder, and if that’s what you can find, go for it.
(We had leftovers, and used it as taco filling. With extra hot sauce, salsa, queso and avocado, it was sensational.)
EASY PORK RAGU
Ingredients
Two pounds Country Ribs or boneless pork shoulder
Five chopped garlic cloves
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes—more if you love the heat
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup white wine
One 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
One bay leaf
One-teaspoon salt
Preparation
Cut the meat into cubes—½ inch to ¾ inch. Dry them well with paper towel.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pan with a cover.
Drop the meat in, without overcrowding, and brown it, stirring frequently, until it’s crispy brown and sizzling.
Scrape a clear spot on the bottom of the pan and add the garlic and red pepper.
Cook for about a minute, then stir them up with the meat.
Add the wine, bay leaf and salt, and cook until the wine has almost disappeared.
Add the tomatoes, cover the pan, and set the heat to a slow, steady simmer.
An hour and a half later the meat should be meltingly tender. If the sauce seems thin, uncover the pot and let it cook down until it is thickened but not dense.
Remove the bay leaf, crack another victory Bears beer, and call the folks to the table.
