Pork ragù over creamy polenta

It has been a whirlwind month, with not much cooking going on. But in the past month I did help launch a new product and officially became an alumnus of Boston University’s Questrom School of Business…pretty exciting!

This dish was a bit time-consuming, but not all that labor-intensive. Per the recipe, the pork can be cooked 5 days ahead…I did cook the pork ahead of time. 

Pork butt

I used 1.7# of pork butt and skipped the bay leaves (in the pork) and the fresh parsley. Draining the drippings (per step 1) led to burning the onions. After adding the tomato paste, I could see that the bottom of my beloved Le Creuset Dutch oven was burnt. Luckily I managed to save everything by scooping out the onion mixture and swirling some water in the pot to get rid of the burned stuff. Another tip is to be careful when ripping the tomatoes as I had a shirt casualty from squished tomatoes. 

Ragu in the works

I had a lot of ragù leftover, which I froze and later used as a sauce with some rigatoni. I do heart leftovers!

Pork ragù over creamy polenta
Source: Bon Appetit, March 2015
Serves: 8

Ingredients
2 pounds skinless, boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), cut into 3 pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons tomato paste

Shredding the pork

1/2 cup full-bodied red wine
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
4 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups coarse polenta (not quick-cooking)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (from about 2 ounces), plus more for serving
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Olive oil (for drizzling)

Directions

Final product

1. Season pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Cook pork, turning often, until evenly browned, 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a platter and pour off pan drippings.

2. Wipe out any burned bits from pot, but leave the golden-brown pieces. Add onion and garlic to pot and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is starting to brown and caramelize. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly darkened in color, 5-8 minutes. Add wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until reduced by about half, 5-8 minutes.

Dinner is served!

3. Add tomatoes, crushing with your hands as you go, then add thyme and rosemary. Stir in 2 cups water. Add pork with any juices that accumulated on the platter; season with salt and pepper.

4. Bring liquid to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until pork is falling-apart tender and sauce is thickened, about 2.5-3 hours. Using 2 forks, break up pork into pieces or shred it; taste and season with salt and pepper. 

5. To prepare polenta, bring 6 cups of salted water to a boil in a large pot. Whisking constantly, gradually add polenta then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, whisking often, until polenta is tender and creamy, 20-25 minutes (if polenta becomes too thick too soon, loosen mixture by adding more water and continue cooking). Add butter and 1/2 cup Parmesan to polenta and whisk until melted; season with salt and pepper.

6. Spoon polenta into bowls or onto a platter and top with pork. Scatter with parsley and more Parmesan over top and drizzle with oil.