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.
Jim what do you serve the Chops with?
Hi Bob, the chops are great with broccoli rabe sauteed with garlic and oil and roasted potatoes.
I used the pressure cooker. The chops were so tender we only used a fork, no knife needed. The flavor was the best I’ve had. Everyone I make them for loves them. Bravo for this recipe!
Could this dish be cooked in crock pot with potatoes and hot pepperd
Hi Jan, this recipe hasn’t been tested in a crockpot but you likely could do it. If you happen to try it, let us know how it turns out.