Chicken Scarpariello combines crispy chicken and potatoes, sweet fennel sausage, red bell peppers, and spicy cherry peppers in a pungent vinegar-based sauce. This sweet and sour dish is perfect for gatherings and special dinners, but so good you may just make it all the time!
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Editor’s Note: Originally published on Novemener 14, 2020. Updated with all new pictures, expanded information, and improved recipe on October 4, 2024.
Chicken Scarp, or pollo alla scarpariello in Italian, translates to “shoemaker style chicken” in English, but in my experience, and after asking several restaurant staff on Long Island, the consenses is that it means “chicken with a bunch of stuff”.
This beloved dish graces the menus of many Italian family-style restaurants and each one adds their own spin; I’ve seen it made with mushrooms, green bell peppers, pearl onions, and even olives.
Despite the variations, the chicken and vinegar seem to be constants for chicken scarpariello, and are key ingredients in my recipe for scarpariello chicken wings.
Chicken Scarp is an all-in-one dish but is great alongside garlicky greens such as sauteed broccoli rabe or sauteed spinach.
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And if you love the tangy sauce used here for chicken scarp, I use a similar sauce to top my pan fried meatballs – they’re amazing!
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Chicken. Bone-in chicken thighs are my preferred cut for chicken scarp. You can also make this with boneless skinless thighs, or chicken drumsticks. Yes, you guessed it, dark meat yields better results with this dish!
- Sausage. My go-to is Italian fennel sausage but you can also use spicy Italian sausage if the mood strikes you.
- Peppers. I love the combo of the sweet red bell peppers and hot cherry peppers. You could also include other types of vinegar peppers, such as peppadew.
- Wine. Use a dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Preheat your oven to 425f and set the rack to the middle level. Slice 2 pounds of small potatoes in half, slice 2 large red bell peppers into 1/4″ strips, halve 15 cloves of garlic, and quarter 5 large cherry peppers, removing the seeds. Mince 1/2 cup of Italian flat-leaf parsley. Toss the potatoes with 6 tablespoons of olive oil and season with 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons of Diamon Crystal kosher salt and spread them onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, cut side down. Roast the potatoes in the oven for 30 minutes or until nicely browned on the bottom sides.
- Cut off any excess overhanging fat from 3 pounds of chicken thighs, then dry them very well with paper towels and season with 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt and set aside. Note: I like to season the thighs right before searing them in step 5 below so that they don’t wick off excess moisture, but either way will work.
- Heat a large oven-safe pan to medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 1/2 pounds of Italian sausage and sear until the sausages are brown, but not cooked all the way through, about 7-10 minutes total. Remove the sausage links and once cool enough to handle, slice them into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
- Add the bell pepper slices and cook for a few minutes or until they begin to soften, then set aside with the sausage and tent with foil to stay warm.
- Add the chicken to the same pan, skin side down, and sear until golden, then flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Use a bit more olive oil if needed and work in batches to prevent overcrowding the pan. Once seared, move the chicken to a plate and tent with foil to stay warm.
- At this point if there is too much oil or fat in the pan, discard some leaving about 1/4 cup in the pan. Add the garlic cloves and saute until golden, then add the cherry peppers and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add 1 1/4 cups of dry white wine and 3/4 cup of red wine vinegar and turn the heat to high. Boil the mixture for 5-7 minutes or until the liquid reduces by half, then scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge any brown bits.
- Add 1 1/4 cups of no-sodium chicken stock and bring to a boil until the liquid reduces by half, about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat.
- Add the bell peppers, sausage and potatoes, then toss to coat. Nestle the chicken pieces into the pan with the skin side facing up and spoon the sauce on top of everything and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 20 minutes at 425f, then remove the foil and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 185-195f. Note: if the pan you used cannot accommodate all the ingredients, simply move everything to a baking dish or large roasting pan as I’ve done in the pictures below.
- When the chicken has finished cooking, add the parsley and toss to coat. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Top tips
- Use dark meat. Chicken thighs are juicier and far more forgiving to cook with. I highly recommend using them for chicken scarp over chicken breasts.
- Use homemade chicken stock. Whenever possible, I recommend using homemade chicken stock. It not only gives you greater control over the sodium levels in your dishes, but it elevates the flavor.
- Thickening the sauce. If you find the sauce to be a little thin toward the end, you can strain it and cook in a pan to further reduce. If you properly reduced it in stages, initially, this step is almost always not needed.
More chicken recipes
If you love chicken scarpariello, be sure to try these other great chicken recipes!
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Chicken Scarpariello
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120ml) extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 1/2 pounds (680g) Italian sausage
- 3 pounds (1.4kg) chicken thighs trimmed of overhanging fat
- 1 tablespoon (10g) Diamond Crystal Kosher salt divided
- 1 teaspoon black pepper divided
- 2 pounds (908g) small potatoes cut in half
- 2 large red bell peppers sliced into 1/4" strips
- 15 cloves garlic halved
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) dry white wine
- 3/4 cup (180ml) red wine vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) no-sodium chicken stock
- 3 large hot cherry peppers or to taste, quartered and seeds removed
- 1/2 cup minced Italian flat-leaf parsley
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425f and set the rack to the middle level. Toss the potatoes with 6 tablespoons of olive oil and season with half of the salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes out onto a parchment paper lined backing sheet cut side down. Roast the potatoes for 30 minutes or until nicely browned on the bottom sides.
- Heat a large (14-inch works well) oven-safe pan to medium heat with the remaining olive oil. Add the sausage links and sear until brown but not cooked all the way through (about 7-10 minutes total). Remove the sausage links and set aside. When the links are cool enough to handle, slice into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the bell pepper slices and cook for a few minutes or until they begin to soften. Remove the peppers to the same plate with the sausage and set aside and tent with foil to keep warm.
- Dry the chicken pieces very well with paper towels and season with the remaining salt and pepper on all sides. Using the same pan, sear the chicken pieces skin side down until golden and crisp then flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes. If required use a bit more olive oil for searing. Work in batches to not overcrowd the pan. Place the seared chicken pieces on a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
- If there is too much oil and fat in the pan, pour it out, leaving a 1/4 cup in the pan. Add the garlic cloves and saute until golden, then add in the cherry peppers and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the white wine and vinegar and turn the heat to high. Boil for 5-7 minutes or until the liquid reduces by half. Make sure to scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge all of the flavor bits.
- Next, add in the chicken stock and bring to a boil once more and again reduce by half (about 5 minutes) then turn off the heat.
- Add the bell peppers, sausage, and potatoes. Toss to coat. Nestle the chicken pieces into the pan with the skin side facing up. Spoon the sauce on top of everything then cover the pan tightly with foil. Bake for 20 minutes then remove the foil and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 185-195f.
- RIght when the chicken has finished cooking, add the parsley and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- Chicken thighs are juicier and are far more forgiving to cook with. They are recommended for this dish.
- If you don’t own a 14-inch pan, the dish can be baked in a large baking pan.
- If the sauce is a little thin at the end, strain it and cook in a pan to further reduce and concentrate. This is not often required.
- Dry white wines such as Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc both work well for the wine component of this recipe.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days in the fridge and can be reheated covered with foil in the oven at 325f until warmed through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on November 14, 2020. It was completely updated on October 4, 2024.
i like chicken scarpiello using mashed potatos yours, ervin arrighi
Chicken Scarparielloor(Or, Shoemaker’s chicken)is a favorite of mine. I’ve been making it for years. Mine is a bit different.
Another great recipe, James! Such complexity of flavors—acidity from the red wine vinegar, sweetness from the red bells, and some heat from the hot peppers, unfold on your tongue!!! Wegmans was out of hot cherry peppers the day I shopped so my experience as a chef influenced me to find a suitable substitution. I knew I had hot Calabrian peppers in my fridge. They are hot and a little smokey but I wasn’t convinced they were going to cut it. I decided to pick up a jar of the sweet hot peppadews. I gave them both a taste test. The peppadews were hot with a sweetness. The Calabrians pack lots more heat. I decided to go with the peppadews and to make it interesting, I de-seeded a couple of the Calabrians and threw them in. I like like dangerously in the kitchen! I then followed the recipe out the window. I understand why this is your favorite dish. I gambled with the hot peppers and it paid off. Next time I see the hot cherry peppers in the store, I’m going to grab some and make this again!
I’m not a big fan of altering somebody’s recipe. I love it when they say, I added this and that and it wasn’t that good! Why bother? The sauce was so good that I poured some over some cantaloupe chunks that I had cut and it was even great on that! Such flavor! You have to try this!
Hi Chef Mike, we’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe and appreciate your comment!
I had a cold rotisserie chicken hanging around and decided to try your Chicken Scarp. After searing the sausage, I seared the cut up chicken. As my spouse doesn’t like heat, I used mild cherry peppers, along with 1/4 cup of their juice. Bell peppers were $1.75 each so I used the smaller Mini-Peppers, cut in half. The wine and vinegar made this dish. I also added 1 sliced white onion. along with a tsp of oregano and rosemary each.
We enjoyed your recipe with warm and crusty garlic bread. It was so very tasty, the wife packed some of the leftovers for her lunch the next day. Your recipes remind me of the great Italian cooking I enjoyed while living in Upstate New York. I’m a long-time subscriber to your channel on Youtube, and like that you include family members in your culinary adventures.
Thanks for the great comment, Bobby, and so glad you enjoyed. Thanks for sharing how you prepared this using a rotisserie chicken!
Do you have instructions for how to bake this in the oven?
Hi Lisa, our recipe is cooked in the oven. The instructions are all within the recipe card (step 1 starts with preheating the oven). Are you looking to skip the searing process on the stove top? We don’t have instructions for skipping that as the searing of the chicken, sausage, peppers, garlic, and making the sauce in the pan is an important part of the recipe.
I agree, this is my favorite too. For me it’s all about the extras so I doubled both peppers, added 50% more sausage and doubled the sauce. Since the chicken, sausage and veg give off liquid in the oven I reduced the sauce down to almost nothing before adding it to the dish. I’ll save any extra to maybe throw into a pot of beans. Also, I cut the sausages only in half for baking. When I sliced them into bite-sized pieces they came out dryer than I like. Going to try this with turkey thighs too, just give them an hour or so head start before adding everything else. Then I can debone the thighs and slice them for presentation when they’re done, like I do for thanksgiving.
Thanks for the comment, Carter!
I’ve made this twice now and it turned out very well both times! The only change I made was to toss a few extra cherry peppers in, as the ones I found aren’t spicy. It’s a nice dish to feed a crowd alongside some type of salad.
I was thinking, though, that to make this dish in order to have leftovers for just myself and my husband, it would be nice to include more veggies—maybe some kale and/or carrots to make a it a complete one-pot dish. But then I’d be afraid of messing up the ratios of the sauce. So, do you have any suggestions for lazy cooks like me?
We’re so glad you enjoyed, Laura. You can certainly add more/different veggies to this if you’d like. I’m not sure how much you’re looking to make but you could scale the sauce up a little depending on how much you’re planning to add.
I stumbled across your site searching for the best Scarp I would find. I loved how the recipe was written, and your video was clean and engaging. I learn best by watching!
I’m not a fan of people rating recipes and then adding how they changed them. I followed this RECIPE to the T! I loved it, my guests loved it as well! Yes, it’s a lot of steps, but it’s easy to do. Wouldn’t change anything! I recommend making a few more potatoes because I kept snacking on them after they came out of the oven! Looking forward to continuing to follow you and your recipes!
Side question: What brand of cutting board did you use to put the raw chicken on? I’m looking to replace my old one. Thanks again
Hi Kim, we’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Jim uses various different plastic cutting boards to cut chicken. You can find one of the ones he uses in the shop that’s linked here on the website (from the homepage click on SHOP).
I made this for dinner last night and it was absolutely delicious! I used half hot and half sweet cherry peppers because I wasn’t sure how spicy it would be. It wasn’t too spicy so I’ll probably use all hot cherry peppers next time, I even bought the same large baking pan Jim recommended and I am glad I did, this recipe makes a good amount of food! Definitely going on my rotation ! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Jason!
My husband made this recipe tonight for company. It was delicious!
He wanted to keep it on the mild side for our company so used sweet sausage instead of hot but next time for us we will use the hot Italian sausage. Neither of us have ever tasted those peppers before and they were fabulous. We’re fans now! Great recipe! Thanks!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Laurie!
OMG! This is delicious! The only thing I changed was the amount of oil. I used olive oil spray for each step of the way. Also added about 6 garlic cloves and onions to the peppers. I didn’t have the hot peppers so I seasoned the sauce with crushed red pepper. Definitely worth the time it takes to make it.
So happy you enjoyed, Karen!