Crispy Braised Pork and Peppers

By Ali Slagle

Updated January 22, 2026

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Ready In
3½ hr
Rating
5(100)
Comments
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Here’s a glorious pot of crispy shredded pork, silky-soft peppers and brick-red drippings to spoon over hero rolls, polenta, pasta, rice or sautéed broccoli rabe or kale. For fork tender meat with lots of browned edges, don’t cover the pot: Instead, cook it with a small amount of liquid uncovered in a low-temperature oven, so it simultaneously braises and roasts. The liquid here is a combination of water, vinegar and the pork and pepper’s juices, which concentrate into sweet, rich and subtly tangy drippings. If you’d like a bit of heat, add hot chiles, too.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • 3 to 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of more than ¼-inch fat, cut into roughly 2-inch chunks

  • Salt and black pepper

  • 2 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil, such as grapeseed 

  • Cloves from 1 head of garlic (about 8 cloves), smashed and peeled

  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 6 bell peppers (any color but green), stemmed, quartered and seeds and ribs removed

  • 1 to 3 hot, red or green chiles, such as Thai chile or Fresno, stemmed, halved lengthwise and seeds removed (optional)

  • ¾ cup red or white wine vinegar

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

4 grams carbs; 274 milligrams cholesterol; 985 calories; 33 grams monosaturated fat; 11 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams saturated fat; 78 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 986 milligrams sodium; 63 grams protein; 1 gram sugar

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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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the pork all over with salt and pepper (about 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 2 teaspoons fine sea salt). 

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oil in a large oven-safe skillet, braiser or Dutch oven over medium-high until shimmering. Add the pork and cook, in batches if necessary, until browned all over, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove.

  3. Step 3

    Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir until a shade darker, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1½ cups water and stir until the stuck-on bits are released. Add the bell peppers and chiles, if using, season with salt and stir until coated in the tomato paste and liquid. Stir in the pork and vinegar.

  4. Step 4

    Bake, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the pork is easily shredded when prodded with a fork, 2½ to 3 hours. Shred the meat using two forks and serve with the peppers and a spoonful of the drippings.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
100 user ratings
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Comments

Vince

This turned out fantastic. Many readers and cooks have shared how they made adjustments to recipes in the past. I’ll say I’m in that camp as well to this recipe. What I realize about recipes is they are a base unless one wants to follow to the rule. Isn’t that what cooking is all about. Anyhoo, I modified this by adding a few dry spices to the pork and added Spanish sofrito and in the end finished it off with cilantro (parsley too can add a touch of green freshness) and lime to cut the heat.

Jeff A.

Delicious. I added an onion and browned some sausage I had on hand and added for the last hour. I also stirred the pot a few times during the process to brown more bits and wouldn't change a thing. A keeper.

Myrto P.

Delicious, layered flavors, with a delightful array of different textures! Scaled down for just two, used some white wine to supplement fluid while braising, otherwise followed recipe. Served it with German spaetzle pasta (dried), a fine pairing. Will be making it again.

Chris-SFO

Can someone explain to me how “prep time” is defined???? I usually add about 15 minutes to the recipes in this app. But this one? It took me 45 minutes to prep the peppers and pork. Browning in batches, four, took about 20 minutes. Dinner is going to be eaten pretty late tonight.

Portland

I would make this again but reduce the liquid and add onion. Made as written except added some Jamaican/Louisiana spices. Used bell peppers and Pablano peppers. Also added roasted tomatoes. It does need more depth of flavor. Makes a lot of liquid as written. Used beef broth instead of water, but would reduce to 1 cup.

zcat

It’s a keeper, but next time I’ll add onions.

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