Essential Elements of Pork Ragu

Cuts from the pork shoulder are well marbled with fat and contain a lot of connective tissue, making them ideal candidates for slow-cooking methods like braising or stewing. The braised meat is flavorful and tender, and the fat contributes to a rich, unctuous sauce.

Baby back ribs are cut from the section of the rib cage closest to the backbone. Loin center-cut roasts and chops come from the same part of the pig, which explains why baby back ribs can be expensive. This location also explains why baby back ribs are much leaner than spareribs.

Italian sausage comes in either hot or sweet varieties, but it is always sold raw. Both sweet and hot versions are made with coarsely ground fresh (not cured or smoked) pork flavored with garlic and fennel seed. The hot variety is also seasoned with red pepper flakes. Once removed from its casing, the sausage's ground texture and seasonings make it a relatively quick-cooking, flavorful base for a weeknight ragu.

Pancetta, like bacon, comes from the belly of the pig. It is cured, rolled, and tied to form a cylindrical shape. It can be sliced thin or diced to build intensely meaty flavor in ragus. Unlike bacon, pancetta is never smoked.

Like the mirepoix in French cooking, the combination of chopped onions, carrots, and celery forms the base of flavor in many ragus. Known as soffritto in Italian, this combination of vegetables may include other aromatic vegetables, like fennel or leeks.

Raw fennel is crisp and crunchy, similar to celery in texture but a bit less watery, with a stronger, cleaner flavor with a strong hint of anise. Cooked fennel takes on a very different character. When braised, roasted, or sauteed, it is transformed into a slightly sweet, subtly caramelized rich treat with a faint licorice aroma. And unlike celery, it is not at all fibrous or stringy when cooked. We've found that its sweet, mild flavor is a fantastic complement to pork in our ragus.

While tomatoes aren't an essential ingredient in all ragus, they do figure prominently in many of them. Due to the long-cooking nature of most ragus, canned tomatoes (whole peeled or crushed, in particular) are the best choice. Tomato paste also provides depth, intensity, and umami to ragu rossos.

Whether it's stirred into the sauce or grated on top, hard cheeses like Parmesan (or imported Parmigiano-Reggiano) or Pecorino Romano provide an added layer of flavor to hearty ragus. Nutty Parmesan is always a solid choice, but Pecorino Romano adds a funky note that enhances the pork flavor in the ragus featured in this class. If you like to stockpile your cheese rinds, a long-cooking sauce like one of these ragus would be the perfect place to add one. Just add the rind when you add the liquid elements.

Long ribbons of egg pasta are a traditional accompaniment to meaty ragus. Pappardelle, which translates to "gulping down," is commonly 1/2 to 1 inch wide, which provides ample area to surround tender chunks of braised meat and sauce. Traditional Italian extracted pappardelle (from brands like De Cecco and Bionaturae) has a rough-hewn, porous surface that soaks up sauce and helps the pasta become part of the ragu.

Tagliatelle is another egg pasta commonly served with ragus. Like pappardelle, it is a flat, ribboned pasta, but it hovers closer to 1/4 inch in width. A classic match with Ragu alla Bolognese, tagliatelle can be swapped with pappardelle in most dishes. If you're purchasing dried tagliatelle, look for traditional Italian brands; the dye used to extrude the pasta produces a rough surface that soaks up the sauce of meaty ragus.