Rigatoni with Spicy Calabrese-Style Pork Ragù

Why would you need to simmer this sauce for 4 hours. Makes no sense. Everything is ground up. I like the sauce, but I certainly wasn't going to simmer it to a mush

• rita.lugrine4893

• Philadelphia, PA

• 11/27/2020

Hi, I'm Italian and I must say that this recipe is perfect. I only would put red wine instead of the water, three/four cloves and dried mushrooms (possibly porcini), soaked in water. Thank you for your recipes, the only problem I have is to convert pounds, sticks, cups, spoons etc. all the time! I must be a mathematician each time I approach the stove :) Thank you again

• idina

• Piombino, Italy

• 10/24/2020

Have made this 3-4 times. My Granddaughter's favorite dish! Ii is so good, I find I don't even want pasta with it - just some crunch French bread to mop up the sauce. Wonderful. Freezes well.

• sandrajg

• Washington State

• 9/15/2019

Just a lovely homey recipe that perfumed my house all afternoon with mouth-watering aromas. The ragu is rich and meaty with great depth of flavor and a gentle warming level of spice (even with the spicy sausage). I substituted a cup of Zinfandel for the water added along with the meat and pureed tomatoes, which I suspect greatly contributed to the complexity of flavor. Definitely use tubular pasta (I used penne rigate) so that the sauce can get inside and serve with bread to wipe up any extra ragu.

• sitagaki

• 5/20/2019

This is near perfect. Used 1/2 of the meat and all of everything else. Rich, complex and al dente gives the rigatoni that essential 'bite.'

• bbnn

• NYC

• 12/29/2018

I have made this 3 times and it is delicious. I don't know what the cooks are doing who have had a bad experience with this recipe. It is one of my (very picky) granddaughters very favorites! I tried it with hot chicken sausage links and ground pork most recently and it was as delicious as always. Freezes well also. I chop all the veggies in my food processor until they are very finely chopped and they just disappear in the sauce. I cook it in a crock pot. You don't even need pasta, just a loaf of crisp sourdough to mop up the sauce.

• sandrajg

• Washington State

• 4/28/2018

Though I liked this, I definitely needed to add more spices. I found it very bland. I would say you should at least double the spices. Also I used tomatoes that we had harvested this summer and frozen. They worked just as well as using a 28 ounce can. You just have to measure the liquid once you put it through the food processor.

• mmmatysik8955

• Sheboygan, WI

• 12/19/2017

So good! Best sauce I've ever made, and the title it's spicy. It's just the right temp for me, but it was a little too much for some so you might want to ease up on the red pepper flakes and just have some on the table for the guests to add if they want.

• Stacy_DeCesaro

• Alpharetta, GA

• 9/11/2017

I wish Epicurious would put the cooking time on top of the receipe more consistently! I picked up this recipe for weeknight dinner, so there was no time for 4 hrs of simmering. It was still yummy with half hr though: o added some fresh tomatoes & got my canned tomatoes crushed. Very solid! And I froze some too :)

• lisovska_ol

• NYC

• 7/30/2016

Delicious to eat, easy to make and the added benefit is the house will smell wonderful while the sauce simmers. To Marrycees in reply to your question, yes I do drain off much of any remaining fat. But will make it less rich flavored if you do. So if you like the 'mouth feel' of that fat, leave it in. As another reviewer mentioned, I also substitute about half a cup of wine for half a cup of the water. This is fool proof to make, can be done ahead, freezes well and every time I've served it it results in clean plates and big sighs. A keeper.

• piacere

• Boise, ID

• 12/21/2015

Question: does anyone drain off the fat from the pork and sausage?

• marrycees

• Hudson Valley, NY

• 9/20/2015

咩……煮四个小时后,我预期tter flavors. I only made a few changes, wine instead of water and I had two bone in pork chops that needed to be cooked so I threw them in as well. Should have only made the flavor richer. High five for ease of preparation - one pot and a food processor! And cooking it for four hours if you're around is no big deal. But I've made better ragus from this site. Won't make this one again...

• lararaich

• Austin, Tx

• 8/24/2015

I made two versions - one with spicy sausage and extra hot pepper flakes and one with mild sausage - to suit the two different palates. Both were excellent! This is a keeper - very quick and easy to make - and just plain delicious!

• sandyps

• Malibu, CA

• 3/29/2015

My family LOVES this dish. I follow the recipe exactly except I add about 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes because we love spicy. I also cut the hot sausage into 1/2 inch pieces instead of just breaking it up. It's like having little delicious meat balls instead of just ground meat. I usually serve it with a whole grain crusty bread baked with a little olive oil and occasionally a small salad. I've been making this for a year or so and it never gets old. The directions are spot on, it comes out perfect every time. This recipe is NOT bland as other reviewers have mentioned. It's full of flavor! If you follow the recipe exactly and like this kind of dish you will love this recipe. It's one of our favorites.

• Kilyena

• Greensboro, NC

• 2/16/2015

It looks like I am in the minority, but I didn't love this. I prefer a richer sauce that will cloak the pasta.

• Anonymous

• Folsom

• 10/6/2014