Restaurant-Style Chicken Scarpariello

One of my FAVORITE spicy Italian dishes. Chicken Scarpariello is the perfect dish to eat with a loaf of Italian bread to soak up all the delicious flavors of the sauce. It combines two of my favorite things: sausage and crispy chicken skin. A classic New York dish that will have people begging for this recipe to share with friends and family.

If you love this Italian chicken dish you will love these meals too: Easy Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken Pizzaiola, Restaurant-Style Chicken Marsala, Restaurant-Style Chicken Francese, Spicy Chicken Saltimbocca, or Restaurant-Style Chicken Saltimbocca.

What is Chicken Scarpariello

Chicken Scarapariello is a classic NY Italian-style chicken dish served with a combination of sausage and peppers and chicken. It is a sweet and sour vinegar-forward dish and depending on the type of peppers you use, can have a bit of a kick!

Scarpariello means shoemaker's chicken for which the true reason is unknown but if you ask any Italian they'll give you an answer like they read it out of a dictionary. Some believe it has something to do with the dish being thrown, or cobbled, together, like a shoemaker or cobbler.

Whatever they call it, this dish is unbelievably tasty. The sauce is liquid gold and serving it without a loaf of Italian bread is an unforgivable sin.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Vinegar. I like to use the vinegar from the cherry peppers. The recipe on Serious Eats does the same. It's a perfect vinegar for the sauce. It's a great way to eliminate waste, plus it's tasty. But it does make the dish a bit spicier, so if you're not looking for spicy, try using white wine vinegar instead.

Peppers. While going through the testing phase of this recipe, I tried cooking it with a lot of different peppers and I saw people use all different peppers including cherry peppers, bell peppers, peppadew peppers, or even homemade pickled Italian peppers. Use what you like or what you have. I love sweet and hot cherry peppers because my mom used to cook with them all the time in the winter. They combine well with green bell peppers.

Chicken. I've seen people use different kinds of chicken, but in my opinion, this dish calls for a skin-on chicken. I don't think this dish should be made with anything but bone-in chicken thighs because when the meat braises, it can become very dry. Bone-in chicken thighs have so much juice that when they braise in the oven they add a ton of flavor to the sauce without becoming dried out.

If you were to cook this dish using a different technique, maybe not braising at all, I could see using chicken breasts.

Sausage. I like to use a combo of sweet(mild) and hot Italian sausage. It's a preference thing and you could use whatever you prefer.

Step-by-step directions

This dish is a really easy one-pan style Italian dish that is great for serving a crowd.

Crispy Chicken Thighs

To get the crispiest chicken skin, we'll start by trimming the chicken thigh skin so that it only covers the top of the chicken thigh. Then pat it down with a paper towel until dry. Season chicken thighs liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.

Start with your dutch oven on the stovetop on medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Once shimmering, place your chicken thighs in with the skin side down. Sear the skin for 8 minutes without moving. When you flip them the skin should be golden brown. Sear the other side for 3-4 minutes and then remove and set aside (The chicken will not be cooked through).

Preheat the oven to 400℉. Drain any leftover juices from the chicken onto the plate with the chicken.

Searing the Sausage

Place the sausage in the dutch oven and sear on each side for 3 minutes. Try to roll the sausage to the next side before it starts to curl. The sausage should brown on all the edges as shown above. Remove and set aside (The sausage will also not be cooked through).

The Peppers and the Sauce

Lower the heat to medium and add oil to the pan if necessary, but some oil should remain from the sausage and chicken. Add your green pepper and onion. Saute until soft about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Stir in the cherry peppers and vinegar (or cherry pepper juice if you like it spicy) until combined. Add 2 tablespoon lemon juice and the white wine.

Bring the sauce to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan. Cut the sausage into thirds and add back to the sauce.

If the sauce is not enough, you can add some chicken broth. It should go halfway up the chicken thigh. Place the dutch oven in the oven for 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165℉.

Remove the chicken and sausage from the dutch oven. Add cold butter to the sauce and combine. The sauce should become opaque as shown in the image below.

Stir in the parsley and basil with another squirt of lemon. Pour the sauce with peppers and onions over the chicken and sausage and serve with crusty Italian bread or roasted potatoes.

Serving for a Large Group

Chicken Scarpariello is absolutely delicious and I highly recommend braising it in a dutch oven, but it can be hard to serve large groups of people if you have to fit all of the chicken in a dutch oven.

If you had to cook more chicken thighs and sausage, follow the recipe the same all the way up to simmering the sauce. Sear the chicken and sausage in batches when necessary to not overcrowd the pan.

Then place the chicken and sausage on a baking tray and pour in some sauce and peppers onto the pan. Cook the chicken for 15-20 minutes. Continue simmering the rest of the sauce in the dutch oven. When the chicken reaches 165℉ remove the pan from the oven.

Place the chicken and sausage on a serving dish or an aluminum tray. Add the remaining sauce to the tray.

Reheating and Storage

1. Chicken scarpariello can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer!
2. When you want to reheat from frozen, just set your dish in the fridge overnight and then reheat in the microwave and heat in cycles until warmed through. If reheating from the refrigerator, just place it right in the microwave or reheat it in a frying pan on the stovetop.
3. All Italian dishes taste better on day two. This sauce is not an exception. The chicken soaks up all the flavor from the sauce and tastes absolutely delicious.

Leave a review!

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Video Instructions

Restaurant-Style Italian Classics

📖 Recipe

Print Recipe

Chicken Scarpariello

A spicy dish with seared and braised chicken thighs, Italian Sausage, bell peppers, and cherry peppers. This dish is great to serve over crispy potatoes or with a loaf of Italian bread.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: chicken, dutch oven

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 500kcal

Cost: $20

Equipment

• 1 dutch oven

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
• 4 Italian sausage, mild or hot
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 4 sweet cherry peppers
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoon parsley, minced
• 10 basil leaves, julienned
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar or vinegar from the cherry peppers
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon butter

Instructions

• Season chicken thighs liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Start with your dutch oven on the stovetop on medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Once shimmering, place your chicken thighs in with the skin side down. Sear the skin for 8 minutes without moving. When you flip them the skin should be golden brown. Sear the other side for 3-4 minutes and then remove and set aside. (The chicken will not be cooked through.)
• Preheat the oven to 400℉. Drain any leftover juices from the chicken onto the plate with the chicken. Place the sausage in the dutch oven and sear on each side for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
• Lower the heat to medium and add oil to the pan if necessary, but some oil should remain from the sausage and chicken. Add your green pepper and onion. Saute until soft about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Stir in the cherry peppers and vinegar (or cherry pepper juice if you like it spicy) until combined. Add 2 tablespoon lemon juice and the white wine.
• Bring the sauce to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan. Cut the sausage into thirds and add back to the sauce. If the sauce is not enough, you can add some chicken broth. It should go halfway up the chicken thigh. Place the dutch oven in the oven for 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165℉.
• Remove the chicken and sausage from the dutch oven. Add cold butter to the sauce and combine. Stir in the parsley and basil with another squirt of lemon. Pour the sauce with peppers and onions over the chicken and sausage and serve with crusty Italian bread or roasted potatoes.

Notes

1. When searing the chicken thighs, it is best not to move them at all during the process to develop the best crust. Be mindful of the smoking though. If the chicken appears to be creating a lot of smoking it is likely burning. Lower the heat and check the chicken. 
2. None of the meat will be cooked through until it goes into the oven. I still use an instant-read thermometer to make sure that the temperature is right when I finish cooking them. 
3. The sauce can be very spicy if you use the pepper juice. If your family does not like spicy, I HIGHLY recommend using white wine vinegar. My son spit this out immediately because of the spice level.
4. It gets spicier on day two, especially the meat. As the meat sits in the juices overnight, this dish takes on more flavor and spice which is great but also not great for kids. Be mindful of the level of spice.