Pork Chops in Pipian Recipe (2024)

Are the chilies dried or fresh?

The directions call for pouring 2 cups of hot water over them (to hydrate) - dried chiles.

Sam's New York kitchen must have an exhaust fan: mine does not. The multiple exhortations to crank the heat would have had my smoke alarms screaming if I hadn't disabled them first. While searing the chiles, we recalled that time at the underground music venue the Cake Shop when someone's keychain pepper spray went off in their purse and cleared the place out to the street.

CAUTION!
When following directions to char chiles for the sauce we practically had to run out of the house since toxic fumes had us choking and sneezing for about 15 minutes. Perhaps 5 min heat up was a but too long for the pan. Yikes.

I love Sam Sifton's column and recipes, so this was a surprising disappointment. Also could not achieve the alluring red color, the texture was off putting, and the flavor just not there. A fair amount of work and coughing, too!

I'm generally a big fan of Sam's recipes, but this was a misfire. I cook a lot of Mexican food, and a cardinal rule from the likes of Rick Bayless and Diana Kennedy is to toast chiles for seconds until they're pliable. Otherwise they become acrid and bitter. I made this recipe with anchos, briefly toasted, and thought the sauce was bland and heavy. I deviated from the recipe slightly, but don't think my alterations were the problem.

Sam's simple recipe for pork chops results in a fantastic piece of meat. The flour helps to brown them which enhances the flavor. I made these for his pipian sauce and they were perfect.

Do not use Thai chilies in Mexican food. Totally different flavor and heat.

Toast the nuts/ seeds separately to avoid burning.

Ancho chilies don't work as a substitute or chilies de arbol or chipotles in a can. No wonder it was bland

Charing the chiles triggered the same reaction in our house!

As other people comment, beware of the toxic fumes when toasting the chiles; both me and my three-year old twins were coughing for quite a while afterwards.

Spicy, Smokey - jaw droppingly good! Definitely need to put your exhaust hood on high and open the doors to roast those chilis and definitely can toast/roast them for just a minute or two if your pan is hot enough. Do not burn them. I do think there is a mistake in the recipe. One *full can* of chipotle peppers plus the 8 chili de Arbol makes for a delicious smoky sauce that somehow perfectly complements the pork chop. It’s magic! You must add the sugar and vinegar and 1Tbsp of salt.

I first charred the chilis, but that seemed to take all the life out of them. They tasted burnt, even though I charred for only 2 minutes. So I tossed that batch and deseeded another 8, covered them with boiling water. No charring. Result was a deep orange sauce. Flavor was piquant and delicious.

I have made this recipe on several occasions for very different groups of people, and the response was uniformly "One of the best things I've ever eaten"

My husband and I loved this sauce and the pork chops. I omitted the chipotle completely and added a bit of peanut butter as I had no peanuts. I would half the peanut amount next time. Also used 2 teaspoons sea salt. The sauce was complex, delicious and had the ultimate amount of heat we would enjoy. A keeper when I’m in the mood to spend an hour on making a sauce. It was worth it.

DO NOT handle chiles with bare hands - ever.

My local Mexican grocer makes an excellent Pipian paste. All I had to do was ask about the homemade items in their refrigerated section. Likewise, the best mole sauce paste is available from Mole Juquilita online. They can easily be whipped up into a sauce with a bit of stock and tomato sauce (for mole). I have made these sauces from scratch, but most Mexicans buy their paste, at the market, it’s delicious and authentic. One pint of paste makes sauce for 4 meals for 4 people.

The fumes from roasted chillies are not toxic Yes they will make you cough and sneeze but toxic!!

So we adapted a tiny bit and added peanut butter (1.5 TBS) instead of peanuts which worked very well and achiote paste (1.5 TBS) deepened the flavour and gave it the right coloring.

BEWARE THE SMOKE FROM THE CHILES IN THE FIRST STEP!We burned our throats and were coughing all night. Otherwise, really enjoyed!

The arbol pepper solution was way too hot, even after seeding and soaking. Use a milder pepper...

I followed the recipe almost exactly except I only had sesame seeds and peanuts, no pumpkin seeds. I thought it was just mediocre and not worth the considerable effort. I love complex flavors and Mexican food but this somehow fell short. Would not make again.

I took a shortcut for the sauce, using a "readymade" green pipian mole I bought at Whole Foods. Thinned the mole with chicken stock, then added the cloves and cinnamon, two chipotle peppers, and tomato paste. I was afraid the sauce might turn gray because the pipian mole was a greenish yellow color (red + green=gray), but the chile and the tomato paste gave it a nice orangey color. Delicious and spicey (hot). One chipotle, as recipe suggested, would have done the trick.

The result was lovely but the process was painful: toasting the chiles made me cough as if I was about to lose a lung. I can't make it again, alas.

Toast the nuts/ seeds separately to avoid burning.

OK with nuts other than pipian and peanuts. Makes a whole lot of sauce, expect to use it with leftovers. We left out the sugar and it was fine. Those who want extra hotness could use two chipotles.