Slow Cooker Pork Puttanesca Ragù

By Sarah DiGregorio

Slow Cooker Pork Puttanesca Ragù
Con Poulos for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Total Time
10 ½ hours
Rating
4(1,861)
Notes
Read community notes

This hearty ragù has all the punchy, briny flavors of traditional puttanesca (tomato, anchovies, capers, olives and red-pepper flakes), and introduces pork shoulder to the equation, making a particularly rich and meaty Sunday sauce. Deep flavor is built by starting the dish in a skillet, searing the pork and caramelizing the tomato paste until concentrated. The mixture might look dry as it gets transferred to the slow cooker, but as it cooks, the pork tenderizes and releases its juices. Before serving, add more tomato, along with lemon and parsley, to balance the deep, long-simmered flavors with fresh ones.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings
  • 3 to 3½pounds boneless, skinless pork shoulder
  • Kosher salt
  • 1tablespoon olive oil, plus more as needed
  • 8large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 4anchovy fillets, finely chopped, or 1 tablespoon anchovy paste
  • 2(6-ounce) cans tomato paste
  • ⅓cup pitted kalamata olives
  • ¼cup drained capers
  • 1tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 2teaspoons red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste
  • 1teaspoon dried oregano
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1(14.5-ounce) can whole or crushed tomatoes
  • 2tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
  • 1cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, lightly packed
  • Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

530 calories; 36 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 780 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Using a sharp knife, trim and discard the large hunks of fat from the pork shoulder then cut the meat into 4 even pieces. Season the pork generously on all sides with salt. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Working in two batches if necessary, brown the pork on two sides, about 5 minutes per side. Using tongs, transfer the pork to a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker.

  2. Step 2

    Add the garlic and anchovies to the skillet, along with more oil if needed, and cook over medium, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly and scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, until fragrant and slightly darkened in color, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the olives, capers, vinegar, red-pepper flakes, oregano and a generous amount of black pepper. (Do not add more salt at this point because anchovies, olives and capers can be quite salty.) Scrape the mixture into the slow cooker with the pork and stir until combined.

  3. Step 3

    Cover the slow cooker and cook on low until the pork is fork-tender and the sauce deepens in color, about 10 hours.

  4. Step 4

    Using two forks, coarsely shred the pork. Pour the can of tomatoes and juices into the slow cooker, crushing the tomatoes with your hands, if using whole. Add the parsley and lemon juice. Taste and add more red-pepper flakes or salt if necessary.

  5. Step 5

    Serve the ragù over polenta or sturdy pasta, like rigatoni or pappardelle, topped with Parmesan to taste. (If serving the ragù with pasta, loosen the ragù with a bit of pasta cooking water, adding it spoonful by spoonful, to help the sauce coat the pasta.)

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,861 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Jake

Update to my prior note on using Instant Pot. As noted, I added about 2 C of stock (chicken) and cooked at high pressure for about 55 minutes. Pork came out perfectly. I refrigerated overnight and then removed the fat from the top in the morning (essential step as the pork has lots of fat). Shredded pork. That evening reduced sauce to about a cup (~15min), then added the tomatoes, lemon and parsley and some fennel, added only 1/2 pork. Served over pasta. Really good, but a bit salty.

Barbra

I did not have 10 hours to prepare this recipe, so I put the slow cooker on high for 5 hours. It turned out perfect and so delicious with polenta. My family loved the flavors.

Kathleen

You can omit it.....however, the anchovy ends up melting while cooking so it is undetectable as an anchovy taste. It adds umami and a, "Hmmm, I dunno what it is, but I like it!". I add anchovies/paste to many dishes and no one has a clue.

Hannah

This was great! I followed directions exactly except I only cooked the pork for 8 hours (short on time) and it was still tender! It was definitely very salty, I think you could skip the salting of the meat before browning and it’d still be great.

Scott

1. I do not own a slow cooker 2. I did not have 10 hours to spare That said, I browned the meat in my pressure cooker (old school type unit) and added one additional 28oz can of whole peeled tomatoes that I crushed by hand along with 1/2 cup of homemade stock. I brought the pressure cooker to medium pressure and left it there for one hour. After a slow release of pressure I was gifted with fall apart fork tender pork which I served for dinner as the recipe suggested. You're welcome ;-)

Michele Sellers

Took previous cooks' advice and added 2C of stock (homemade) and maybe about a cup of red wine. Cooked in instapot for 50 minutes and served with cauliflower "polenta". It was utterly delicious and we had a ton of leftovers, so I served it for New Year's Day brunch with a poached egg to rave reviews.

Conrad

Used a veal chuck roast and a Dutch oven, the dish was phenomenal. Added a stock, a second can of tomatoes and anchovies as seen in the comments - Cut the veal into 1 inch cubes and browned in a Dutch oven Deglazed the Dutch oven with white wine after frying the garlic and anchovies (used an entire tin) Added 2 cups of chicken stock the can of tomatoes to the veal, braised in the over at 350 for 2.5 hours Added a second can of tomatoes and a dash of anchovy paste

Joy

Swapped a slow cooker for a dutch oven. Updates to the recipe included: added the can of tomatoes when I put in the olives/capers/etc, added about a 14oz can of water when I added the tomatoes, and cooked for about 5 hours at 300 degrees in the oven. Next time I may add a few more olives, but overall really enjoyed the flavor, thick sauce the dish created and tender pork.

Deb

Based on your comment, I added 1/2 cup of beef broth to the pork while cooking in crock pot. Based on another reader I did not salt the pork. No other changes. My family loved it, I served it over polenta. We like capers and kalmata olives and garlic so it appealed to us very much. Was very appreciative of comments like yours to help me get it right on the first try. TY

Emily

This was wonderful! Followed the recipe to the letter, but I used a 3.5 quart slow cooker. I was worried it might be too small for all that pork but it cooked just fine in the prescribed 10 hours. Will definitely make again

Pat

My husband does not like anchovy. Will this be good without the anchovy paste?

Geteb

Wonderful recipe - my tweaks: whole 3.75 lb bone-in shldr roast (bone adds lots of gelatin to the finished product) - not cut up 7 hrs in my slow-cooker added 1 C chicken stock to deglaze pan w/ tomato paste doubled garlic & olives (cuz I double most all aromatics in all my recipes cuz I'm a puttanesca (!)) added 28 oz of my canned tomatoes at the beginning Lovely, lovely strong pasta/polenta topping - will definitely make again

Jim

I followed Jake’s lead and added a little stock (1 cup ) to the instant pot. Cooked for 90 minutes, took out the pork, put the instant pot on sauté and added the tomatoes. Perfect! The recipe doesn’t indicate whether you should add the pork back into the sauce, but it makes for better presentation if you keep them separate.

Lynn

Don’t you cook the canned tomatoes with the meat? It says to cook the meat for 10 hours and then add the tomatoes, but it doesn’t say anything about continuing to cook them.

Jake

I added about 2 C of stock and cooked for 55 minutes. I haven’t gotten past that step, but the pork is flavorful and easily shredded. My plan now is to cool overnight, remove fat and then reduce the liquid as much as possible before adding tomatoes etc. The current flavor is not very intense as I would want for puttanesca, so I may add more olives and anchovies.

Jocelyn W

Loved this. Slow cooking makes the pork soft and delicious.

One of my favorite NYT recipes

Do yourself a favor and buy good quality canned San Marzano tomatoes and don’t be tempted to add them before the end as the recipe calls for. The fresh tomato flavor of the finished sauce is amazing and yet it has that ‘simmered all day’ deliciousness as well. We always eat it over polenta but I imagine it would be great over pasta too.

Melissa Smith

Recipe perfect as is. My family absolutely gobbles this up-kids love it served over gnocchi!

Excellent, Guests Loved It

Definitely worth making. However, it initially didn't make much sauce. I added a cup of red wine and a second can of tomatoes halfway through and that fixed it. A bit spicy but we like it that way.

S

This is really good! Super tasty on pasta. 5.17.23

silverio

Added 1/2 cup each of beef stock and red wine (dry Marcella. All I had). Used bone in shoulder.

Michelle K.

We made slight modifications...swapped the kalamata olives for castlevertranos, swapped half the tomato paste for harrissa, and added the 28 oz can of tomatoes with the olives, capers, etc...set it in an oven at 300 for 6 hours or so. Amazing over polenta.

Melissa

We skipped the anchovies and used more capers; this was amazing on thicker pasta and buns, and we can't wait to try it in a puttanesca-style Cubano! We used 3.5 lbs of pork loin (sold in 7 lbs size from Costco for $9!), and still very flavorful in a slow cooker.

did not take 10 hours

I’m four hours into cooking time in a slow cooker and it’s already starting to fall apart. Granted, my slow cooker is very large and quite new. Might take longer in an older, smaller slow cooker.

Jules

Loved this recipe. Only critique I have was I was a bit baffled by the tiny amounts of olives and especially anchovies the recipe called for, especially with the amount of meat. I put a tin of each in and it barely made a dent in giving it a classic puttanesca taste.

Brian

Dutch Oven to brown meat/vegetables and as slow cooker (6hrs in 275 oven). Yes: deglazed pan w calvados, garlic, onions, carrot, celery, anchovies, gochugaru chili flakes, thyme, oregano. No: olives & capers. 15 oz crushed tomatoes and 1 1/2 cup chicken stock for slow cook. 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon and check seasoning before serving w sturdy pasta & parmigiana. Thanks Sarah for steering me away from jury rigging Instant Pot as slow cooker.

Mike Diamond

Completely inedible. The dish could only be described as caustic. It had the viscosity of bunker fuel.

BLC

This was delicious, especially since so little effort was required. Used a whole tin of anchovies and tripled the olives, Castelvetrano rather than Kalamata. Added a half cup of juice from a 28 oz can of tomatoes at the start, Cooked on low 8 hrs. Crushed the tomatoes into the cooker after adding back the shredded pork at the end. Set cooker to Warm for a half hour then stirred in an extra tbsp of red wine vinegar before serving with gnocchi, it didn't need the parm. Basil and parsley to finish.

Whole can of crushed tomatoes

I know the recipe only calls for a 14.5oz can of crushed tomatoes but I’ve only ever been able to find larger 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes. I have made this multiple times with both amounts and actually prefer to use the full 28oz cans.

Ashley

This is outstanding, a delicious variation on briny, deeply flavored brasied pork. I used country style pork strips for easier prep and handling and they were gorgeous. I was distracted and forgot to add the canned tomatoes until after cooking (!!!), and was so disappointed, but it still came out rich and deeply flavorful. Looking forward to making it again and having the tomatoes meld properly!

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