Instant Pot Pork Ragu with Capers (2024)

Instant Pot Pork Ragu is a delicious & simple way of cooking a meat sauce that tastes like it has been cooking all day in just an hour.

It is a hearty meaty shredded style of ragu with fresh tones that lighten it up, it is perfect served with pasta or over a nice cheesy polenta.

Pressure Cooker Shredded Pork Ragu

This recipe joins a long list of ragu recipes on my site. I have everything from venison ragu to beef cheek ragu and red lentil bolognese to mushroom ragu and loads in between.

Like many, I associate ragu recipes with Italy andmore specifically with pasta recipes. However, the word Ragu actually derives from theFrench Ragouter, which means “revive the taste”.

In fact, there are a whole host of French Ragout recipes that predate any and all Italian Ragu recipes.

I cook this delicious pork ragu in an Instant Pot, it reduces the cooking time of what is traditionally a slow-cooked dish to something you can just about do for a midweek dinner.

For instance, my lamb ragu takes 3 hours to cook. This pork recipe comes in at around an hour in the Instant Pot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a different cut of pork?

Yes, but you do want something with a decent fat content. Pork blade or Boston Butt for my US readers is the best sub, but you could get away with leg too.

Can I use a stovetop pressure cooker?

Can I cook this in the oven or on the stovetop?

Yes, you can simmer it on the stovetop on a low heat or in the oven at around 160°C or 320°F for 2-2½ hours.

Can I cook this in advance?

Serving Suggestions

Pasta is a quick and easy option for ragu recipes.

I have not strayed from that link here and I have served this Instant Pot pork ragu with orecchiette pasta.

But it will work well with lots of different types of pasta, everything from tagliatelle to farfalle. You could even make a batch of my homemade duck egg pasta and turn it into pappardelle.

Don’t get tunnel-visioned though, ragu sauces are wonderful spooned over cheesy polenta.

They are equally good spooned over a baked potato, which I incidentally recently found out you can cook superbly in an air fryer!

You can also use it to make dirty fries or spoon over some nachos and bake in the oven with some cheese.

So many options, so little time!

Equipment Used

I only mention specific brands of equipment if I believe that it makes a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Instant Pot, you can use a stovetop pressure cooker and take 5-7 minutes off the cooking time.
• Sharp kitchen knife.
• Chopping board.
• Weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.

Yield: 2 Servings

Instant Pot Pork Ragu Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Pork Ragu that tastes like it has been slow cooked for 24 hours in an hour or so thanks to the Instant Pot that's perfect served with pasta or over some cheesy polenta.

Ingredients

• 300g (10oz) Pork Shoulder
• 2 Tbsp Cooking Oil
• ½ Tsp Salt
• ¼ Tsp Black Pepper
• 100g (⅔ Cup) Onion
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 125ml (½ Cup) Chicken Stock
• 175ml (⅔ Cup) Tomato Passata
• ½ Tsp Sugar
• 1 Tsp Dried Oregano
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 35g (¼ Cup) Capers

Instructions

1. Peel the onion, cut it in half and then cut it into a 2-3mm (⅛") dice.
2. Peel the garlic cloves and then slice them as finely as you can.
3. Set your Instant Pot to saute mode and when it is hot add cooking oil.
4. Season the pork shoulder with the salt and pepper, then sear it until it is nicely coloured on all sides, then remove and set aside.
5. Throw the onions into the pot and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.
6. Add the garlic and saute for a further minute, then turn off saute mode.
7. Return the pork to the instant pot and pour over the stock, passata, and red wine vinegar.
8. Sprinkle over the sugar, and oregano and then toss in the bay leaf, close the lid and cook on manual mode at high pressure for 35 minutes, with a natural pressure release.
9. Remove the pork from the pot and place the pot on saute mode (high) and reduce the liquid by a third
10. Whilst the sauce is reducing shred the pork.
11. Roughly chop the capers.
12. Add the capers and pork back onto the pot and stir to combine.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 636Total Fat: 47gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 30gCholesterol: 137mgSodium: 1191mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 38g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

Did you make this recipe?

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