Braised pork chops puttanesca is a super tasty recipe to perk up what can be a hum drum ingredient. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good pork chop, but sometimes, simply pan frying or grilling can get a bit boring. With this recipe, I was going for a tender, fall-off-the-bone texture by oven braising. I wanted to go in an Italian direction so I chose to braise in puttanesca sauce which always brings major flavor.
This recipe hit all of the marks. The pork chops become super tender with the moist cooking method and there’s nothing boring about the punchy puttanesca sauce. It’s also a fairly easy recipe to toss together. This isn’t the quickest recipe, but most of the cook time is hands-off while you wait for the pork chops to braise.
I like making this dish with bone-in pork chops because the bone adds flavor to the dish. But if you only have boneless, they will work here. Boneless pork chops have the added benefit of being really easy to portion into slices.
You’ll want to serve pork chops puttanesca with something that can sop up the sauce. Pasta, rice, polenta, or even mashed potatoes are great side dish options. Last time I made this recipe, we served it with leftover Greek rice pilaf which was very tasty. If you’re looking to go low-carb, zoodles would fit the bill!
Braised Pork Chops Puttanesca | Super Tender Oven Baked Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 2-4 pork chops about 1-inch thick
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large shallot sliced; ~1/2 cup
- 4 cloves garlic smashed
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- 3 anchovies (packed in oil) roughly chopped
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2-3 thyme stems
- ½ pint grape tomatoes halved
- ½ cup mixed olives (your favorite green and/or black) halved
- 2 tbsp capers drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F.
- Remove the pork chops from their packaging. Dry well with a paper towel. Then season all sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper.
- Heat a heavy, high-sided, oven-proof skillet (like cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add ½ tbsp olive oil to the pan. Sear the pork chops on each side until golden brown. This will take about 3-minutes on each side as long as your pan is hot enough.Remove the seared chops to a plate.
- Add the remaining ½ tbsp of olive oil to the pan and add the shallots. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the shallots soften and start to brown, about 3-minutes.Add the garlic, crushed red pepper, and anchovy. Cook for a minute. Then add the white wine. Bring the heat back up to medium-high heat and cook for about 5-minutes until the wine has reduced by half. Then add the tomatoes, chicken stock, thyme leaves, grape tomatoes, olives, and capers. Bring to a heavy simmer.
- Nestle the pork chops into the sauce so that they are at least halfway covered in the sauce. Cover your pan with an oven-proof lid or tightly cover with foil. Put the skillet on the middle rack of the oven and cook for about 30 minutes or until the pork chop is fork tender and hits 190-200F with an instant read thermometer.
- Remove the skillet from the oven. Remove the pork chops and set aside. Cover with foil or the skillet lid to keep warm. Place your skillet on a burner set to high heat. Let the sauce reduce by about half or until the sauce has thickened to your liking. This will likely take about 10 minutes. Stir the sauce frequently while it's reducing.
- If you are serving with pasta, remove the pork chops and about 1 cup of sauce to serve over the chops. Add about ½ lb of cooked pasta to the skillet and stir to coat.Slice pork into ½-inch slices and top with remaining sauce.
Notes
- I find that 2 large pork chops can serve 4 people a reasonable portion (especially if you are pairing with pasta). If you want larger servings, cook 3 or 4 chops. Just increase the salt and pepper for seasoning. This recipe makes enough sauce for up to 4 total chops.
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