Pork Chops with Vinegar and Peppers (CATKTV)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup table salt, plus more to taste
• 4 (8-10 ounce) bone-in rib loin pork chops, 1/4 to 1 inch thick, trimmed of excess fat
• Ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
• 2 anchovy fillets, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
• 1 medium sprig fresh rosemary
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar, plus 2 tablespoons to finish the sauce (optional)
• 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves [Didn't have this on hand at the time though I do now after the next recipe I'll blog about]

Dissolve sugar and salt in 2 quarts water.  Brine chops in fridge for 30 minutes.

Mise en place.

Browned chops.

Cook onion until just beginning to soften.  Do the same with the peppers added in with anchovies and rosemary.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant.

Add water and vinegar and reduce.

Nestle in the pork chops and cook in a 400 degree oven until center of chops registers 140 to 145 degrees.

Swirl butter into the sauce and peppers.

Another punchy, vinegar-infused Italian this though this time enriched with butter.  Pork chops were quite moist.

Didn't do a side dish, but I had salad and a bit of the Tuscan stew still on hand.

Chicken Braised in Vinegar (BRW)

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped pancetta or bacon
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed
• 1 chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into serving pieces, or 2 1/2 to 3 pounds chicken parts, trimmed of excess fat
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup good-quality red wine or balsamic vinegar
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish
  

Mise en place. Except for, notably, the chicken.


Browning the pancetta, herbs, and garlic in olive oil. An awful lot of olive oil.


Adding the rendered fat from the pancetta and browning the chicken, I was left with a crazy amount of oil left in the pan. After I reduced the sauce, it looked like all fat and I was right.
But one couldn't exactly pour out excess grease with all the aromatics.


The chicken was well cooked, but the sauce was quite useless. I accompanied it with some salted (to draw out moisture) and charred summer squash (at its peak in my repertoire, it's basically all I had for dinner).
If I was looking for a vinegar-y, Italian chicken dish, I'd probably just go back to the first dish I ever blogged about: Sweet and Sour Chicken, also from Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World. Though it was really really heavy.