The Best Pork Bolognese Recipes

PORK BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, cook bacon over medium heat until fat is released, 5 minutes. Add onion, carrot, and celery; cook until soft, 6 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high; add pork and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, 7 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook until pork is coated, 4 minutes.
• Add wine; cook until reduced by three-fourths. Add 1 cup milk; cook until reduced by half. Add tomato sauce, broth, bay leaf, thyme, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour. Stir in 1/4 cup milk. Serve sauce over pasta, topped with cheese.

THE BEST PORK BOLOGNESE RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat bacon grease or olive/grapeseed oil.
• Add in the onions, carrots and celery and saute for 5 minutes or until tender and just browning.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add in garlic and saute for 1 minute.
• Add in pork, break it up and allow it to brown.
• Add in tomato paste, stirring to combine it with the meat and vegetables.
• Add in wine, water and Thyme.
• Season with additional salt and pepper and if adding sugar do so here (see notes).
• Turn heat down to low and allow bolognese to simmer for 20-30 minutes, checking back often to stir and see if additional liquid (water or wine) needs to be added.
• If you happen to have a Parmesan cheese rind, add it or a piece of it to the sauce (not necessary, just a nice way to use it up). And if you really enjoy garlic, add in some additional garlic for a stronger garlic flavor (adding some in towards the end gives a stronger flavor).
• Add in a few shakes of red pepper flakes (more if you like heat) and maybe additional salt, taste and decide.
• If you have the time, allow the bolognese to sit off heat for 15-30 minutes before serving, reheating if necessary. This deepens the flavor in my opinion and its fantastic the next day as well.
• Serve over your favorite pasta ( I like it over rigatoni best), adding fresh shaved Parmesan if you enjoy it.

THE BEST BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Combine the beef and pork in a large bowl. "Pull" the ground meat apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and incorporating the meat without compacting it. Continue to pull the meat apart until thoroughly mixed and no clumps remain.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Cook the pancetta, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and is golden brown on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the pancetta with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread half of the ground meat in an even layer in the pot and cook undisturbed until lightly golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps with the back of a spoon and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is lightly browned on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot. Repeat with the remaining ground meat.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, onions, bay leaf, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until very fragrant and brick red, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and cook until it reduces and thickens and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the stock, milk and browned meat.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add the Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated away and the mixture resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the sauce should release occasional small bubbles. If you have a small burner you should use it; the larger burners even at their lowest setting might cook the sauce too quickly. If the sauce reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of stock or water and continue cooking; repeat if necessary. The sauce needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf and Parmesan rind. Use the back of a spoon to break up any remaining clumps of meat for an even-textured sauce. Season with salt and keep warm.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta. If using fresh pasta, cook about 3 minutes. If using dry, cook until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions.
• Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, then drain the pasta and transfer to the sauce. Increase the heat to medium, bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, tossing the pasta constantly, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce is slightly thickened, adding pasta cooking liquid if necessary, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer the pasta to a platter and top with grated Parmesan.

PORK BOLOGNESE PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the grapeseed oil until warmed. Then add the ground pork, cooking until browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the meat from the skillet.
• In a second skillet over medium-high heat, add the wine, garlic and onions, stirring throughout the cooking until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the cooked pork, tomatoes and peppers, and then stir in the basil and thyme. Bring the mixture to a slow roll, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add the cream and finish for 5 minutes. Finish with salt and pepper to desired taste. Toss the bolognese with cooked pappardelle and serve. (Shelf Life: 5 days.)