Pork Chops in Cherry-Pepper Sauce
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1(16-ounce) jar pickled hot cherry peppers
- 3tablespoons olive oil
- 3garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1cup dry white wine
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4bone-in pork chops, cut about 1-inch thick (approximately 10 ounces each)
- 1tablespoon neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed
- 2tablespoons cold salted butter
- 2tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
615 calories; 39 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 19 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 46 grams protein; 1121 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Make the sauce: Drain the cherry peppers, reserving 1 cup brine, then stem, halve, core and seed them. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat, and swirl the olive oil into it. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the garlic, and sauté, stirring frequently, until it begins to color, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the peppers, the reserved brine and the white wine, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the liquid has reduced by slightly more than half, 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat. (The sauce can be made a few hours ahead of time.)
- Step 2
When you’re ready to cook the meat, season it aggressively with salt and pepper. Place a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, and swirl the neutral oil into it. When the oil begins to shimmer, place the meat in the pan, working in batches if needed, and sear until the meat has browned, formed something of a crust and cooked through to medium-rare, 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Transfer the chops to a warmed platter.
- Step 3
Add the sauce to the large, heavy-bottomed skillet in which you seared the meat, and warm over medium-low heat. Whisk the butter into the sauce until evenly distributed and the sauce develops a velvety sheen. Spoon sauce over chops, and garnish with parsley.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Morrie Brown
I make this with the whole pepper. I pierce them before adding. I also use a half a cup of chicken or other stock. Leaving the seeds in makes it hotter, and keeping the peppers whole effectively makes them a spicy side dish. I have also made this with by adding a whole onion sliced very thin and sauteed with the peppers until slightly caramelized. Sometimes I will add a head of roasted garlic to the stock, spin it around in the Cuisinart and then add it for a richer umami flavor
Barbara
Prepare the pickled cherry peppers with garlic, butter, a bit of pepper juice and a bit of chicken stock or white wine, and toss in a pound of cleaned, shelled shrimp. Delicious over pasta.
Dan G.
Delicious dish!!! Sam misspoke when he called this agrodolce. Agrodolce means sweet and sour and usually implies vinegar and sugar reduced to a syrupy consistency. No sugar in this dish. Also, this dish is akin to Scarpariello sauce, which is I recommend you try.
David
I’ve made this twice: once with a jar of sliced hot cherry peppers, which was painfully hot, and once with a jar of whole mild cherry peppers. The second time’s the charm: the dish didn’t feel under spiced at all!
Dan E
Delicious. I did prep the OTB chops differently because mine were over an inch thick. I generously salted each chop w/Kosher salt and pepper 8 hrs before cooking and placed on rack in fridge. Removed 2 hrs before cooking to come to room temp. Blotted and seared in oil per recipe. Finished in 385 degree oven to 130 degrees. Remove and tent with foil for 10 mins. Served on warmed plate with this wonderful sauce on top. Tender, flavorful and juicy! Will definitely make again.
PAM
I couldn’t find hot cherry peppers whole, so I made this with sweet ones. They still have a little heat, and we thought it was great, if tamer than I envisioned.
Richard
Made this tonight with boneless skinless chicken thighs and it was delicious. I used less of the brine and wine. It has a nice umami tanginess and was great spooned over roasted potatoes. Timid folks might find it challenging. Start with small dollops for them.
Celia
Delicious. I couldn’t find hot cherry peppers so I used the sweet variety. I’m glad I did, I don’t like food too hot. Still had a nice kick. I used too much salt on the chops before searing, I’ll cut back. The reduced sauce melded beautifully with the drippings and fond left in the pan.
Bobbi
This sauce is a great way to jazz up plain, baked white fish, such as cod. I usually don't have wine so use vegetable broth. Just hold the salt if using broth, the broth/brine combo is very salty. I don't even salt the fish. I usually have to take brine from some other pickled pepper or pickled okra to make one cup. And I only find mild cherry peppers. Still turns out great.
Rose Swan
I grew up eating this fish but instead of wine, Mom used my Dad’s home made red wine vinegar. Absolutely delicious.
KW in Miami
This is the sauce on our favorite Fried Calamari (or Steamed Mussels) at an excellent Chicago-style pizza&pasta place in Marco Island FL. Thanks for sharing! The sauce is also good on an Italian Sub, or sauteed chicken, or just about anything.
Richard
The recipe says hot cherry peppers. How is that not clear? If you prefer sweet peppers, by all means use sweet peppers.
Jane in Alameda
Prepare the pickled cherry peppers with garlic, butter, a bit of pepper juice and a bit of chicken stock or white wine, and toss in a pound of cleaned, shelled shrimp. Delicious over pasta.
Serge Kappler
Truly and absolutely awful! Those peppers remain painfully hot no matter what you do to them. I can't believe Sam put this out there.
pmurphy
echoing the sentiment of another poster, there's absolutely no "dolce" to be found in this recipe. it's 100% agro. as in "burn your mouth off your face" hot and spicy. a good amount of tang from the vinegar in the reserved pepper brine. but zero sweetness. is there perhaps an ingredient missing from the list? sugar? honey? balsamic vinegar? idk. my hubs loves. but he is heat-seeker. i like balance. this makes my tongue cry.
Jed
Okay, folks: this is absolutely fantastic, and absolutely idiot-proof easy. I used *sliced* cherry peppers and saved even more time. Served with linguine aglio e olio, with a heavy shower of grated parmesan, and steamed broccoli. Perfection on a plate. Just fantastic, and restaurant-quality in no time at all.
Ellen
I used a jar of Mt Olive Sweet and Hot Salad Peppers, and it was wonderful. I totally got the agrodolce-I reduced on high heat for 12 minute and it became sweet (I may have over reduced it), Served with pasta with butter and Parmesan also. Loved it with juices from pork seeping in!
Harriet
Use 1/2 cup brine and 1/2 chicken broth Cut peppers in 1/2 inch pieces
Leslie
This is a go to dish when we are hungry and done with our pescatarian diet. I add capers. They work. Serve it with pasta cooked dente. Sauce on the pasta. I add some chicken broth to make more sauce.
Dianne
Used freshly grilled hatch peppers and substituted dill pickle juice. My company loved this! Hatch pepper season is over…..going to try this again with grilled fresh shisido peppers next time!
C H
I did 1/3 of the peppers and added tomatoes to the sauce to get similar color. It was still pretty hot so added chicken stock (as recommended by others) and honey. Helped mellow it out a little
Katherine
Used whole peppadew peppers, since my grocery store didn't have hot cherry peppers. Turned out very well with the addition of a few chile flakes.
Pretzel
I thought the level of heat was just right – but unless we measure Scoville units, there's no way to tell whether your "too hot" is the same as my "just right." Heat may vary with brand, or even with pepper-growing conditions. But I digress. It was a little on the tart side. It was also kind of overpowering for a flavorful grass-fed chop, but then again, I can't recommend factory-farmed pork either. I wonder how the sauce would be on tofu. Serve with polenta to soak up juice.
Dianne
Used fresh hatch peppers which I roasted over the gas stove, then bagged in paper to finish cooking. Did not peal them but removed the seeds as they were medium hot. Used pickle juice for the liquid. My guests LOVED this meal!
Dianne
Used fresh hatch peppers - seared them whole on my gas stove then bagged them in paper to finish cooking. I did not peak them, but I did remove the seeds as they were labeled “medium hot” and I wasn’t sure how much heat my guests would like. Used pickle juice for the liquid. My guests loved this recipe!!
Kate
Prepared as written. Tasty but wasn't able to achieve anything close to syrupy. Just a briny, thin sauce.
Heat for no reason
After everyone at the table…. Started to sweat. I asked myself, why me? Way to spicy for no apparent reason. I love spicy ? Tobasco is a favorite cousin. After dinner and everyone had cooled down I reread the recipe…. Nope didn’t make any mistakes. No thanks
rose c
Quick, easy, pretty good, few ingredients. The "salt liberally" instruction makes a nice crust on the chops, but don't also salt the pepper concoction. The brine/wine makes a dense, syrupy glaze and holds well until adding butter and pork juices (as recipe states). Next time, will maybe another clove of garlic, a little vinegar. I just topped & quartered the cherry peppers in the pan (mild, what I had), left the seeds and will do that again. Sweet corn-on-cob was a good side dish.
coffeegirl
Could only find sweet mild peppers in my area. Followed recipe exactly but found the sauce very sour. Added 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 tablespoons of chili crisp to balance out the sourness. Delish!
John
WAY too hot. Difficult to eat, that's how hot it was. Too much liquid in sauce. Never gets syrupy as described. Try just a Tbsp or 2 of brine (it's hot too). Cooking time for chops was way too long. I followed precisely and had well-done. Chops were even MORE than 1" thick. Still overdone. This recipe needs serious tweaking. Try using sweet peppers and adjust heat to taste with cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes or tabasco. Peppers' heat can vary widely. Go mild and adjust to taste.
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