Pork ragu and other hearty meat sauces are one of the specialties of the Northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. They are paired with tagliatelle, the regional pasta, a fresh string noodle about 1/4 inch thick.

Pork shoulder is an excellent cut for a braised ragu – it’s inexpensive, and the long, slow cooking brings out quite a lot of flavor. I was at the grocery store recently and saw half pork shoulders, bone-in, for around $4. I had in mind making a ragu for tagliatelle, and decided to buy one.

Half a pork shoulder actually yields a fair amount of meat. In fact I decided to make two different versions of the braise.

So, I diced up some red onion, carrot, celery, and fennel, seared off the pork, sweated the vegetables, and braised the pork for over three hours. Halfway through I removed the pork, allowed it to cool a little, and shredded the meat with two forks, then returned it to the braise. I also returned its large bone, to add flavor throughout the rest of the cooking.

For this first version of the recipe, I finished the ragu with orange zest and escarole, a delicious, slightly bitter chicory that retains a slight crunch even when wilted.

The second version is finished with green olives and sliced, toasted almonds.

I don’t have a recipe to post for this pasta, since I wasn’t following one. Basically, if you know how to braise meat, just make a normal braise, and make a pasta sauce out of it. Be sure to break up the meat into smallish pieces, and leave the sauce a little loose, so it can coat the pasta. The best thing to do with pasta and sauces is to just combine ingredients that go well together, and not worry about how much of this or that.

Braising the pork shoulder in chicken stock and wine.

Heating a portion of the ragu, and wilting the escarole