Name: Slow-Cooker Pork Ragu
Total time: 7 h
Ingredients: 2 pounds boneless pork butt roast , trimmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 teaspoon pepper; 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes; 4 ounces pancetta , cut into ¼-inch pieces; 1 onion , chopped fine; 2 carrots , peeled and chopped fine; 1/2 cup red wine; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 6 sprigs fresh thyme; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 4 garlic cloves , minced; 1 teaspoon fennel seeds; 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley; 1-2 pounds cooked pasta; Grated Parmesan cheese

Why This Recipe Works

The only thing better than a rich, tomatoey “Sunday sauce” is one that you can make on a weekday. With that goal in mind, we grabbed our slow cooker and set out to create a recipe that would require only tossing in the raw ingredients and turning it on. To build a full-bodied tomato sauce full of pork flavor, we combined a large can of crushed tomatoes with a big dollop of tomato paste and 2 pounds of pork butt in the slow cooker. We then added a bright, complex red wine and rich, fruity olive oil. A fistful of earthy, aromatic thyme and a spoonful of potent, licorice-y fennel seeds helped round out the flavors. A few ounces of chopped pancetta (Italian bacon) amped up the relatively mild sweetness of the fresh pork. A potato masher made easy work of shredding the fully cooked, tender chunks of pork. The result was a hands-off Sunday sauce that could be made any day of the week.

Before You Begin

Pork butt roast is often labeled Boston butt in the supermarket. This recipe yields enough sauce for 2 pounds of pasta (3 cups of ragu per pound of pasta). We like this ragu with rigatoni. If you're using table salt instead of kosher salt, decrease the amount to 1 teaspoon.

Instructions

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker. Add tomatoes, pancetta, onion, carrots, wine, oil, thyme sprigs, tomato paste, garlic, fennel seeds, and pepper flakes and stir to combine. Cover and cook until pork is tender, 6 to 7 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low.

Discard thyme sprigs. Using potato masher, mash pork in slow cooker until broken into bite-size pieces. Stir in parsley. (Cooled sauce can be frozen for up to 2 months.) Toss with desired amount of pasta (3 cups ragu will sauce 1 pound pasta). Serve with Parmesan.