Pork Chops and Vinegar Peppers

Family Secrets
The best of the recipes, techniques, and methods practiced by our large extended Italian-
American family, with emphasis on the legacy handed down to us by the original immigrants.
Pork Chops and Vinegar Peppers
By Ray Zara, La Lama Mountain Ovens, 575-586-2286, rezara@parshift.com
_______________________________________
I recently found myself in the rather un-enviable situation of having to prepare a dinner for one. It was just
one of those days that I craved something different, very Italian, not too complicated, and fast. Since I
have an inherent dislike for fast foods and frozen dinners, my need for speed was creating a real
problem.
The solution to my dilemma came when I recalled having dinner a very long time ago, in a little hole in the
wall restaurant in the Iron Bound section of Newark, New Jersey. Iron Bound is not an ethnically diverse
neighborhood, it is predominantly Italian and Portuguese. This was one of my favorite places because it
was close to my office, the food and service were outstanding, and the prices were right.
Occasionally I would be invited to have dinner with an interesting acquaintance of mine who traced his
roots back to Naples. For reasons I never really understood at the time, the great food and service just
got better when my friend accompanied me to dinner. The owner would whisk us to a private table in a
little alcove and he would wait on the table personally. There was never a menu, my friend and the owner
had a brief conversation in Italian and food and wine would magically appear. Try as I might, I was never
able to pay a check in his presence, and as a matter of fact, I never saw a check presented.
One dish that was served during one of these rather interesting dinners was pork chops and vinegar
peppers, and the owner was kind enough to share the recipe with me, which I immediately added to my
growing list of favorites. I have never seen this dish on any menu in any restaurant. It is simply cucina
rustica at its best.
The dinner was always presented very simply: three nice pork chops with sautéed vinegar peppers, a
large tossed salad dressed with a
mild vinaigrette, a good bottle of dry
red wine, and a basket of great
Italian bread. It just doesn't get any
simpler, or any better for that matter.
If you are a major carnivore three
chops will suit you, but for the more
delicate two will do quite nicely. You
can increase this recipe to feed two
or more people simply by adding
more sauté pans to the stove.
Family Secrets #048 - Originally Published 07/2000 by La Lama Mountain Ovens
© 2000 Ray Zara - Attributed Copies Permitted for Small Quantity Non-Commercial Use Only.
Commercial and Quantity Reproduction Requires Author's Permission - rezara@parshift.com
La Lama Mountain Ovens, 2055 Lama Mtn., HC81 Box 26, Questa, NM 87556, 575-586-2286, www.parshift.com/ovens/

Family Secrets
The best of the recipes, techniques, and methods practiced by our large extended Italian-
American family, with emphasis on the legacy handed down to us by the original immigrants.
_______________________________________
Pork Chops and Vinegar Peppers
Total ingredients to serve one:
2 or 3 center cut, bone in, pork chops
cut 3/4 inch thick
3 tbls. olive oil
4 hot cherry peppers, pickled and sliced
1/2 cup pickling brine from cherry
peppers
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
Step One: Prepare the pork chops and cherry peppers
Remove stems and seeds from cherry peppers. Slice the
peppers into 1/4" strips. Lightly salt and pepper the pork chops
on both sides.
Step Two: Cook the pork chops
Place a heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is very hot but
not yet smoking add the pork chops. Sprinkle 1/2 of the minced garlic on the chops and cook for
about 2 minutes. Add the sliced cherry peppers and cook for another minute. When chops are golden
brown on the bottom turn them over. Add the rest of the minced garlic and continue cooking for
another minute, then add the brine. Turn heat up to high and finish the chops to your taste, no more
than two minutes to keep them tender. Remove the chops to a warm plate and reduce the pan sauce
by half. Spoon the cooked peppers over the chops, and pour the pan sauce over all.
You may use any kind of vinegar pepper in any heat range for this recipe. My personal favorite happens
to be hot cherry peppers because they are a nice fleshy pepper that stands up well in the sauté pan, and
the cooking process somewhat tempers the heat range. Vinegar peppers are available in all heat ranges
from hot, medium, mild to sweet. You could substitute hot banana peppers or even jalapenos. They do
not have the substance of a cherry pepper and will break down more. For those of you who would use a
sweet vinegar pepper, maybe you should consider the following idea – marry an Italian.
Altitude Adjustment: None
Family Secrets #048 - Originally Published 07/2000 by La Lama Mountain Ovens
© 2000 Ray Zara - Attributed Copies Permitted for Small Quantity Non-Commercial Use Only.
Commercial and Quantity Reproduction Requires Author's Permission - rezara@parshift.com
La Lama Mountain Ovens, 2055 Lama Mtn., HC81 Box 26, Questa, NM 87556, 575-586-2286, www.parshift.com/ovens/