Old School: Pork Chops with Pickled Cherry Pepper Sauce

Old School Style
Thick Bone-In Pork Chops
Pickled Sweet Cherry Pepper & Garlic Sauce 

I remember these pickled sweet cherry peppers from my childhood. They’re slightly tart and mildly spicy. In the ’60s, my mom would serve them on her relish tray. When I saw this recipe for pork chops topped with cherry peppers at Saveur here, I thought of my dad. That very evening I picked up a jar of peppers and stopped at the butcher shop on the way home from work.

The recipe comes from Bamonte’s Italian-American restaurant in Brooklyn, NY and has been a favorite on their menu since the 1950s. Bamonte’s is one of Saveur’s TOP 100 in the Travel Edition, chronicling the greatest gustatory hits of journeys abroad and close to home. They say, “Each one is worth going out of your way for.”

Pork Chops with Cherry Peppers Recipe

• 2 thick bone-in pork chops
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 12 pickled cherry peppers, halved
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• ¼ cup chicken stock
• (I added 2 tsp. Dijon mustard)

Heat oven to 425°. Season chops with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Fry chops, flipping once, until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer pan to oven; roast until pork is cooked through, 18–20 minutes. Transfer chops to a plate. Return pan to medium heat, add remaining oil, garlic, and peppers; cook until garlic is golden, 3–4 minutes. Raise heat to high, add wine, stock, and mustard (if using); cook until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Spoon sauce over chops.

Dad would have liked this one. ❤️

Update:

Original photograph from 2013 below; photos above have been updated.