Chicken Scarpariello is a dish beloved by many in the New York metro area. Our recipe combines crispy chicken and potatoes, sweet fennel sausage, red bell, and spicy cherry peppers, in a pungent vinegar-based, arguably drinkable, sauce that will appeal to your sweet, and sour taste buds. Be sure to serve with a loaf of Italian bread to soak up every last drop.
Pollo alla Scarpariello translates to Shoemaker Style Chicken in English. So what exactly does that mean?
After asking several restaurant staff in and around the Long Island and NYC area, the consensus is that it means “chicken with a buncha stuff”.
This dish graces the menus of many (ALL) Italian family-style restaurants, such as La Parma, Piccola Bussola, or Tony’s Di Napoli, each with their own spin.
I’ve seen it made with mushrooms, green bell peppers, peppadew peppers, pearl onions, and even olives.
Despite the variations, the chicken and vinegar seem to be the constants here, and the key ingredients in my recipe for Scarpariello chicken wings.
I say this all to say, keep an open mind with this dish. If there is an ingredient that you’d like to toss in, go for it. This is a pretty safe dish with which to take liberties and I encourage it!
Oh, and feel free to just call it chicken scarp for short – everyone else does!
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Begin by slicing the bell peppers to around 1 inch thick.
- Pat dry the chicken thighs and season them with salt and pepper.
- Mince the parsley. Chop the cherry peppers into quarters and remove the seeds if you want. Peel 10 cloves of garlic and cut them in half.
- Toss the potatoes with a 1/4 cup or more of olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and a half teaspoon of black pepper. Roast the potatoes cut side down on parchment paper (425f oven for about 30-40 minutes) until crispy.
- Pan sear the sausage links on medium heat until brown (about 10 minutes total) but don’t cook them all the way through. Remove the links, when cool enough to handle, slice on a bias and set aside.
- Pat the chicken dry one more time and in the same pan, sear the chicken pieces skin side down until brown and crisp (about 10 minutes). If needed you can add some olive oil when searing but there might be enough drippings from the sausage.
- Once the skin on the chicken is crispy, remove, and set aside.
- To the same pan, add the garlic and saute until golden (about 3 minutes). Then add the cherry peppers and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Time for the sauce – add the white wine and turn heat to high. Cook for about 3 minutes to reduce the sauce and scrape the bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Then add the chicken stock and vinegar and allow to cook for another 10 minutes to further reduce the sauce. Note that you may want to open a window during this stage. The cooking vinegar can be pungent!
- Turn heat off and add the bell pepper strips and sausage slices giving them a gentle toss in the sauce. Then nestle the chicken into the pan with the skin side facing up.
- Pop into the oven and bake uncovered for 60 minutes at 350f. After 60 minutes, remove from the oven and add the potatoes. Return to the oven and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and add the parsley, giving it a gentle toss. Serve and Enjoy!
When to serve chicken scarpariello
This dish can feed a crowd and is a perfect dish to make ahead for any gathering you might be hosting.
You could serve it in a Sterno rack. I like to serve it alongside a tray of sausage and peppers and chicken marsala.
It’s great for holidays and Sunday dinners with family, but can certainly be enjoyed on a weeknight for no reason at all!
Since this dish is a complete meal in itself, you don’t really need to make a side dish, however, I always like to add a side of greens just to balance it all out.
My favorite side greens include sauteed broccoli rabe (also a staple in Italian family-style restaurants), green beans with garlic and oil, and my kids’ favorite, garlic broccoli.
When hosting a gathering, you may want to consider a few other dishes that could be considered “family-style”, such as chicken piccata, or linguine alla vongole.
I can’t think of a better crowd-pleasing drink to serve alongside these than our moscato sangria.
If you like chicken scarp…
…you will love these dishes too!
I’m a big fan of hot cherry peppers. Because of this, I use them quite a bit in my everyday cooking.
You’ll find them in all these recipes:
- Pork Chops with vinegar peppers
- sheet pan roasted broccolini with sausage
- Orecchiette with sausage, broccoli rabe, and cherry peppers
- Italian hero
- Ciambotta
And if you want more bone-in chicken recipes check out our:
- Garlic butter roast chicken – Crispy and juicy plus easy to make whole chicken dish.
- Chicken cacciatore – Bone-in chicken braised in a delicious tomato sauce with oil-cured olives.
- Italian baked chicken and potatoes – Chicken and potatoes roasted to perfection.
- Chicken Vesuvio – A Chicago classic with seared chicken, potatoes, and peas in a lemon wine sauce.
If you’ve enjoyed this chicken scarpariello recipe or any recipe on this site, give it a 5-star rating and leave a review.
Watch the video below where Jim will show you how to make this recipe with easy-to-follow instructions.
Some people learn by watching. If you’re that type of person, you can find most of our recipes on YouTube and our Facebook Page.
Chicken Scarpariello
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken thighs
- 1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage
- 2 pounds potatoes chopped
- 2 large red bell peppers sliced
- 10 cloves garlic halved
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken stock or homemade chicken stock
- 4 large cherry peppers quartered and seeds removed
- 1/2 cup parsley minced
- 3/8 cup olive oil divided
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Toss the potatoes with a 1/4 cup of olive oil and season with 1 teaspoon salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Roast potatoes cut side down on parchment paper or oiled baking tray (do not crowd) for 30 minutes at 425f or until crisp.
- In a large oven-safe pan sear the sausage links over medium heat until brown but not cooked through all the way (about 10 minutes total). Remove sausage and set aside. When the links are cool slice them on a bias.
- Dry off the chicken pieces with paper towels and season with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. In the same pan, sear the chicken pieces skin side down until well brown and crisp (about 5-7 minutes). If required use a couple of teaspoons of olive oil for searing. Remove chicken and set aside.
- To the same pan add the garlic cloves and saute until golden, then add in the cherry peppers and cook for 2 minutes.
- Next, add in the white wine, turn heat to high, and cook for 3 minutes to reduce. With a wooden spoon scrape pan bottom to remove flavor bits.
- Next, add in the chicken stock and vinegar and cook for 10 minutes more to continue to reduce the sauce.
- Turn heat off and add the bell pepper strips and sausage pieces. Toss to coat. Nestle the chicken pieces into the pan with the skin side facing up. Bake uncovered for 60 minutes at 350f.
- After 60 minutes remove from oven and add in the potatoes. Return to oven and cook for 10 minutes more.
- Finally remove from oven and add in the parsley and toss. Enjoy!
Notes
- Chicken thighs are juicier and are far more forgiving to cook with. They are recommended for this dish.
- 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 like Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc both work well for the wine component of this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We love your recipes, but run into a problem with bell peppers because of food allergies. What do you recommend as a good substitute for the bells in your recipes?
Hi Jim, thanks for the comment. If the allergy is just to bell peppers, you can substitute other peppers such as cubanelles, however, since I’m not sure the extent of the allergy I can’t really advise you on what peppers to substitute.
MY DAUGHTER CAN NOT EAT PEPPERS, I REPLACED THEM WITH ARTICHOKES HEARTS.
Love this dish and all of your wonderful recipes.
Hi Nicholas, thanks for the comment. We’re so happy you’re enjoying the recipes!
This was my 1st James recipe I made during the pandemic, and continues to be my absolute favorite. Only change was I use boneless chicken breasts instead of thighs (I KNOW! cardinal sin 😱).
I also love his Chicken Vesuvio.
Hi Eileen, thank you for sticking with us for so long! We’re so happy you’ve enjoyed this recipe and the vesuvio as well. Thank you for the comment!
We used to live in North Jersey and as you said it was a ‘staple’ on many Italian American restaurants, we love it. Now that we’re in the Midwest, I had to ‘hunt’ for the brined cherry peppers which are hard to get here, but I finally found them at a specialty market! Here this dish is unheard of, but I made yours and it reminded us of our Jersey years, delicious!
Hi Steven, I’m so happy you enjoyed the chicken scarp and it reminded you a bit of home. Thanks so much for the comment!
I have no complaints about the recipe, but the statement that prep time is 15 minutes is “outrageous”. I timed myself, even working faster than usual, and the prep time was 1 HOUR and 15 minutes before the pan went into the oven.
Hi Don, the 15 minutes prep time is to chop the potatoes, slice the peppers, and halve the garlic. Anything that requires cooking whether in the pan or in the oven is factored under cooking time.
Until my boyfriend took me to Jimmy’s in Asbury Park, I’d never heard of Chicken Scarpariello. It’s his favorite dish there. I live in NYC and honestly don’t eat out that often because it’s just too expensive. Your trove of recipes have supplanted the desire to go to overpriced Italian restaurants in the city. This is the fourth recipe I’ve made in two weeks and it was fantastic. I roast potatoes all the time and have never thought to use parchment paper and place them all cut side down. It made such a difference. They turned out perfectly crispy. Going forward, I’ll be roasting all of my potatoes this way.
Hi Jennifer, I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes and you found the parchment paper to be helpful. Thanks for the comment and rating!
Awesome. I had only chicken breast at home and added some mini oyster mushrooms with the roasted potatoes at the end for 10 minutes.. 30 minutes was enough in the oven for the boneless breast pieces. I also flavored with fresh tarragon, since I had some and had no basil. Served with garlic bread and homemade marinara likewise flavored with fresh tarragon, over fresh linguini from Eataly in Chelsea. Phenomenal dinner. Next time (and there will be a next time!) I’ll try to be a purist. ;). Comparison for me is to Dominick’s in the Bronx. Parma II in Huntington is in my sights next time I head east. Next up is your recipe for pork chops with vinegar peppers, Thank you!
Hi Kathryn, so happy you enjoyed the scarp and let us know how you like the pork and vinegar peppers when you try it!
I made this years ago and couldn’t find the recipe and was delicious. Then I saw your video (which I love all of them so far, by the way!) However, I reduced the sauce as much as I could but the sauce is overwhelmingly sour from the red wine vinegar. I tried to balance it some by adding sugar. I’m hoping that it will mellow out with everything else added while cooking in the oven.
Hi Angie, the sauce by itself can be a bit strong depending on the vinegar you use, but it is meant to be incorporated with all the other ingredients. Hopefully you enjoyed once you combined everything together.
This was delicious! Made this two days in a row; once for my kids as I babysit for my grandson once a week and always cook them dinner and the following evening for my husband and myself. Don’t be afraid of the hot peppers; the sauce will taste quite spicy during the ten minute simmer stage but it definitely mellows out while in the oven. Everyone declared this a total keeper!! Thx Jim!
Hi Linda, so happy you and the family enjoyed this one and really appreciate the comment and review!
My Family is wild about this dish. On my menu today. Thank you for sharing your talent.
Hi Fayette, thanks for the comment and I’m so happy to hear you and your family enjoy the chicken scarp!