Braised Pork Chops with Vinegar Peppers is a simple but delicious Italian-American dish that’s easy enough for weeknights, but special enough for Sunday dinner.
I’ve been eating pork chops and vinegar peppers, also known as cherry peppers, for years and find the combination of pork and pickled peppers to be one of the best matches ever!
These pork chops are great served with a side of garlic sauteed broccoli rabe, and a starch, like crispy roasted potatoes or rice pilaf, and crusty bread to mop up the sauce!
How to make it
- Dry the pork chops off with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Picture of the vinegar or cherry peppers. These are hot as indicated on the bottle. They are about 5000 on the scoville scale. You can sometimes find sweet cherry peppers. Often they use high fructose corn syrup to take out some of the heat.
- Chop 4 large cherry peppers into quarters and remove most of the seeds.
- Chop 4 cloves of garlic and mince 1/4 cup fresh parsley.
- Heat pan to medium-high heat and add a touch of olive oil. Sear the chops for 2-3 minutes per side. Do not crowd the chops and/or sear in batches to avoid them touching.
- Set chops aside when finished searing.
- Lower pan heat to medium, add 3 Tbsp of olive oil and saute the garlic. After 2 minutes add the vinegar peppers and cook for 1 minute more.
- Next, turn heat to high and add 3/4 cup of white wine. After 2 minutes, add the 3/4 cup chicken stock and 1/4 cup of vinegar from the jar. Let the sauce boil for a minute.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low
- Add the chops into the sauce, spreading them out.
- Cover and cook for 1-1 1/2 hours minimum or until tender. Make sure to turn the chops over every 30 minutes to achieve even cooking.
- When the chops are finished they will be smaller and more tender. If they are not quite tender enough, feel free to cook them for another 15- 30 minutes or so. Finish by mixing the fresh parsley into the sauce.
Top tips
- The pork. Premium pork chops with a lower fat content will not need to be braised that long. A standard blade chop will take over an hour to braise and become tender so bear that in mind. You can also use a pork tenderloin cut into 1″ thick slices.
- Peppers. Cherry peppers are a bit spicy so if you don’t enjoy heat, you can use sweet vinegar peppers instead.
More pork recipes
Here are a few more pork recipes I think you’ll love!
- Pork chops Milanese – classic breaded chops for any day of the week!
- Grilled pork chops – with a simple balsamic glaze.
- Pork chops with apples – with maple syrup, cinnamon, sage, and apples.
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Pork Chops with Vinegar Peppers
Ingredients
- 6 1″ thick bone in pork chops
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 large cherry peppers
- 1/4 cup parsley
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 3/4 cup low sodium chicken stock
- 1/4 cup vinegar from cherry peppers
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Pat dry and season pork chops on both sides with total of 1 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper evenly. Chop 4 cloves garlic and quarter 4 vinegar peppers removing seeds.
- Heat a large pan to medium-high and sear pork chops in 1 Tbsp olive oil on both sides for 2-3 minutes. Remove chops and set aside.
- Lower pan heat to medium and saute the garlic in the remaining olive oil for 2 minutes. Next, add the cherry peppers and give the pan a stir. Add the wine, stock and vinegar to the pan and turn heat to high. Bring the sauce to a boil for 2 minutes then lower heat down to medium-low.
- Place all the pork chops into the sauce spreading around evenly. Cover and let simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the pork is very tender. Every 30 minutes, turn the chops over to achieve even cooking.
- Mix the parsley into the sauce. Serve the pork with sauce spooned over the top of each chop. Enjoy!
Notes
- The chops cooking time will vary based on thickness. The longer they cook the more tender they will get. 60-90 minutes will ensure a tender chop.
- If all the sauce evaporates towards the end of braising process just add a 1/2 cup of water and stir to combine.
- Serve with extra vinegar and peppers on the side, along with a loaf of Italian bread for the pan drippings.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious with sautéed potatoes
Hi Bill, we’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe and really appreciate the comment!
Delicious and absolutely NYC-Italian restaurant quality. I’ve made this recipe 3 times this summer so far. I’ve used thick, high-quality bone-in chops from the farmers market. I make the full amount of sauce for 2 thick chops (~1.7 lb total). I’ve served with fresh pasta (lemon linguini last night), over rice, with mini roasted potatoes soaking the sauce, always plus bread. Last night I used 1c total sliced cherry peppers (Cento’s in the latest round) and sweet pickled hot red peppers from the pickle guy at the farm market. This combination is my husband’s favorite. I also split the vinegar as half from the Cento jar and half from the sweets container. I also fine sliced the garlic with a mandolin. I also prefer to braise in the oven. I used a Vermicular sukiyaki-type Dutch oven, but for larger quantity of pork I use an enameled cast iron one, again in the oven for even heat. This meal is just outrageous. One night we did fresh chicken thighs (bone in) using the same method for a friend who doesn’t eat pork. Also delicious, but the pork is the bomb. Thank you so much for this recipe. The balance among the ingredients here is just perfect.
Hi Kathryn, thanks for the comment! We’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe and appreciate you sharing some of your methods!
I wasn’t familiar with this recipe & it sounds great. Can you do a mix of vinegary peppers plus add some red bell pepper?
Hi Theresa, yes, you can definitely add some bell pepper to this one! Hope you enjoy!
I’ve made these several times after finding you on youtube. They are just like the ones my mom used to make except she stuffed hers and stuffed the vinegar peppers with breadcrumb. I LOVE this recipe because it’s so versatile and the chops always come out PERFECT! Thank You!! I’ve found a piece of my childhood! LOL
Hi Linda, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the pork chops and really appreciate the comment!
Can this be made with chicken breasts and would you cook it for less time?
Love the pork recipe, but always have chicken on hand.
Hi Diane, this doesn’t really work with chicken breasts since it’s a braised meat recipe and chicken breasts don’t have connective tissue so they would dry out. If you want, you can cook the chicken breasts separately to 165f and then make the sauce separately and pour it over the chicken. Otherwise, you can use chicken thighs and allow them to braise in the same manner as the pork chops would.
This is a fantastic recipe. I made them in the instapot and did not need a knife to cut them!
My cousin and friend said it was the best they have had. Thanks for the great recipe.
Hi Frank, thanks for the comment and so happy you and your guests enjoyed them!
If you don’t want to use the white wine, what can I use instead? Suggestions please.
Hi Alexis, you can use chicken stock to replace the liquid in the wine.
Sounds terrific. I wonder if/how this would work with ribs.? Grilled or even par-smoked…than wrapped in foil with the sauce?
Hi Rob, thanks for the comment. I haven’t tested the recipe with ribs but if you happen to make it let us know how it turns out.
Jim, I had to share. I had the most incredible pork chop at a restaurant in Trumbull, CT last week. I came on your site because I knew you’d likely have a similar recipe so I could attempt to recreate, and sure enough you did. The night we had this pork chop scarpiello item, menu said pappadew peppers, so I bought a jar at my local ShopRite. Now to find decent pork chops. I love your site, your videos, your FB page. Sure enough you mentioned how the regular home cook can’t get excellent pork chops. It’s so true. They cut off all the fat—why??? I buy mine at Aldi! Anyway, the item at this restaurant said Wagyu style kurobuta (aka Berkshire) pork chops. It was incredible. They added some sliced sausage and served over buttery silk mashed potatoes. I cannot wait to try your method and will report back once I make it. I like the oven method of braiding. I love how you give us options.
And. . . If you ever find yourself on the ferry headed into Connecticut, check out this restaurant (Prime One Eleven—I am not related to them in any way, just Adored their chops) right up Route 8 just north of Port Jeff Ferry port in Trumbull. Here’s a pic of their dish on their FB page. Omg. I could’ve licked the plate. Luv Ya. Thanks for such great recipes.
Thanks for the comment, Brenda, and I’m happy you were able to find a similar recipe on my site. Please let us know how it turns out and will definitely keep your restaurant recommendation in mind!
I NEVER HAD KNOWLEDGE OF A REAL RECIPE FOR MY TAKE ON “VINEGAR PEPPER PORK” SO WHEN I GOT THE CHANCE TO PLAY ON LINE, I CAME UPON YOURS, I WAS SO DELIGHTED TO READ A PROFFESIONAL RECIPE SO LIKE WHAT INVENTED FROM MY UNTRAINED CHEF BRAIN. THANKYOU !!!!!
Hi Diane, thank you for the comment! Sometimes the best recipes are the ones that just live in our heads and are not written down!