Chicken Scarpariello

4.50 from 2 votes

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

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: italian-American

Diet: Diabetic

Servings: servings

Calories: 868kcal

Author: Vincent DelGiudice

Cost: $20

Equipment

1 dutch oven
1 kitchen shears

Ingredients

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

Instructions

Prepare the chicken thighs by trimming any excess skin hanging off. Then dry the chicken thighs well with a paper towel. Season both sides liberally with salt (1 tsp) and pepper, and rest for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

I like to split the chicken thighs in half. This gets crispier seared edges on more of the chicken thighs, and it lets people who aren't hungry for a whole chicken thigh and sausage try a little bit of both. I cut right along the bone using shears as shown in Image 1.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the olive oil is shimmering, place your chicken thighs in with the skin side down. Sear the skin for 4-6 minutes or until the skin is golden brown. Sear the other side for 3-4 minutes and then remove and set aside. We will finish cooking the chicken through in the sauce.
Reduce the heat in the Dutch oven to medium. Add the sausage and sear, turning it every minute or so, to brown all sides. Once all sides are browned, remove and set aside. We will finish cooking the sausage in the sauce.
Add your green pepper and onions to the pan. Do not wipe the pan clean. Sauté until peppers and onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cherry peppers and sauté for another minute, stirring often.
Stir in the cherry pepper juice, 2 tablespoon lemon juice, and the white wine. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until the sauce reduces by ¼.
Return the chicken and sausage to the sauce, burying them halfway into the sauce. Leave the skin of the chicken out of the sauce so it doesn't become soggy. Cover and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Then remove the cover and cook for another 10 minutes until the chicken reaches 180℉. (The sausage only needs to reach 160℉, but will likely follow the temp of the chicken).

Cooking chicken thighs to 180℉ is perfectly fine and usually preferable. Dark meat will be more tender and less chewy at 180℉ than when cooked to 165℉.

Remove the chicken and sausage from the sauce. Add 3 tablespoon of cold unsalted butter to the sauce and stir until it is completely emulsified. The sauce will thicken and become opaque. Return the chicken and sausage to the sauce to coat.
Serve chicken scarp over Crispy Garlic Parmesan Potatoes as shown in Image 9, or serve them over creamy Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Video

Notes

Pat the chicken thighs thoroughly with a paper towel to remove all of the water before searing. Any remaining moisture will create steam. 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 smoke, it is likely burning. Lower the heat and check the chicken.
I like to split the chicken thighs in half. This gets crispier seared edges on more of the chicken thighs, and it lets people who aren't hungry for a whole chicken thigh and sausage try a little bit of both.
The sauce can be very spicy if you use the hot cherry pepper juice. If your family does not like spicy, I HIGHLY recommend using white wine vinegar or sweet cherry peppers. 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 not ideal for kids. Be mindful of the level of spice.
Cooking chicken thighs to 180℉ is perfectly fine and usually preferable. Dark meat will be more tender and less chewy at 180℉ than when cooked to 165℉.
This is a dish better on day 2! It's a sauce that develops more overnight! Prepare for delicious leftovers!
Always add cold butter to the sauce. Cold butter will melt a lot slower and emulsify to make a true sauce and balance the spicy and sour flavors.

Nutrition