Slow Braised Lamb Ragu
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 8 to 10
Ingredients
  • 1 bone-in lamb shoulder roast (about 3-4 pounds, see Notes)
  • 2 cups red wine
  • 2 cups stock (I used chicken but if you have lamb stock that would be great)
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 2-3 fresh bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon peppercorns
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small white onion, finely diced
  • 1 large carrot, finely diced
  • 1 stalk celery, finely diced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 4 ounces pancetta, diced small
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (Italian San Marzano are best)
  • Parmigiano Reggiano rind, optional
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
  1. Place the lamb shoulder in the Instant Pot and add the red wine, stock, onion, bay leaves and peppercorns. Pressure cook on high - 90 minutes if the roast is frozen, 60 minutes if it's thawed. Let the pressure reduce slowly on it's own.
  2. Remove the roast from the cooking liquid and let it cool on a cutting board until you can handle the meat. While it's cooling, strain the cooking liquid, discard solids. Shred the meat and discard and fat and bones.
  3. Add the olive oil to a stockpot or Dutch oven heated over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until softened and nicely caramelized, then add the garlic and cook for one more minute.
  4. While the vegetables are cooking, heat a skillet over medium high heat and add the pancetta, cook until much of the fat has rendered, then remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon and add it to the vegetables.
  5. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of the cooking liquid from the lamb, then add the shredded meat to the pot, along with the crushed tomatoes. If using, add the Parmigiano rind to the ragu. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the meat is very tender and shreds easily with a spoon, at least an hour, adding a little more braising liquid if the ragu appears to dry out while cooking.
  6. Remove the Parmigaino rinds, adjust seasonings, and stir in the cream; cook for 5 minutes, then serve over pasta of your choice.
Notes
You can cook your roast frozen or thawed. Note that a lamb shoulder roast has a lot of bone and cartilage so yields much less meat. My 3¼ pound roast yielded just under 1 pound of cooked meat.

I had half of a seeded jalapeño in my fridge that wasn't being used so I threw it in the braising liquid for the pressure cooking step just to add a small amount of heat to the sauce.

If you prefer a "saucier" ragu, double the tomatoes in this recipe or stir in a jar of marinara at the end.
Recipe by Cooking With Michele® at https://cookingwithmichele.com/2021/01/slow-braised-lamb-ragu-in-the-instant-pot/