Chicken Scarpariello (or Chicken Scarp)

Chicken Scarpariello is everything I love about classic Italian-American cooking. Juicy chicken thighs, sweet Italian sausage, and spicy cherry peppers come together in a rich, garlicky white wine sauce that’s tangy, savory, and absolutely packed with flavor. It’s the kind of dish that deserves a big loaf of crusty Italian bread to soak up every last drop.

If you’ve ever been to a classic Italian-American red-sauce joint, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Chicken Scarp on the menu. Funny enough, it’s one of my favorite dishes to order at those restaurants, and there’s not a drop of red sauce in sight.

These are the dishes I grew up eating, whether they were home-cooked meals or dinners out with family. I’ve always wanted to recreate those restaurant favorites at home, and this Chicken Scarpariello is one I love keeping in rotation.

What is Chicken Scarpariello?

Chicken Scarpariello, also known as Chicken Scarp, is a classic Italian-American dish made with chicken, Italian sausage, peppers, and a tangy pan sauce. The combination of savory meat, spicy peppers, white wine, and vinegar gives the dish its signature bold flavor.

Unlike many Italian-American chicken dishes, there’s no tomato sauce here. Instead, the sauce gets its richness from the browned chicken and sausage, its depth from garlic and fresh herbs, and its acidity from the cherry peppers and their brine.

My version uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces. Everything simmers together until the chicken is tender and the sauce has reduced, then I finish it with butter and fresh parsley.

Ingredients You’ll Need

You don’t need a complicated ingredient list to make a great Chicken Scarpariello. The key is choosing flavorful ingredients and building the sauce in stages.

• Boneless, skinless chicken thighs: I prefer thighs over chicken breasts because they stay juicy and tender throughout cooking. Cutting them into bite-sized pieces also makes this version easy to serve and eat.
• Sweet Italian fennel sausage: I love using sweet fennel sausage because its subtle sweetness balances the heat and acidity of the peppers. Hot Italian sausage works just as well if you prefer a spicier dish.
• Hot cherry peppers: I use jarred hot cherry peppers packed in vinegar brine. They bring both heat and acidity, which are essential to the flavor of the sauce. You can use sweet cherry peppers for a milder version.
• Cherry pepper brine: Don’t throw away that liquid! It’s one of my favorite ingredients in this recipe. The brine gives the sauce its signature tang, and you can always add a little more toward the end if needed.
• White wine: I use white wine to deglaze the pan after browning the meat and cooking the aromatics. It lifts all those flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the skillet and adds another layer of flavor to the sauce.
• Chicken broth: This creates the base of the sauce and gives the chicken and sausage liquid to simmer in. Start with enough to cover the ingredients, then allow it to reduce.
• Fresh rosemary and sage: These herbs add a fragrant, earthy flavor that complements the sausage and chicken. A little goes a long way, so I like using just a few sprigs.
• All-purpose flour: A light dusting of flour helps the chicken brown and gives the sauce a little extra body as it reduces.
• Butter: I finish the sauce with butter off the heat. It adds richness and helps balance the acidity from the cherry peppers and wine.

How to Make Chicken Scarp

The secret to a great Chicken Scarpariello is building flavor in layers. I like to brown the sausage and chicken separately before bringing everything together in the sauce.

1. Season and Brown the Chicken and Sausage

Start by cutting the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and seasoning them with salt, pepper, and a light dusting of flour.

Brown the Italian sausage in a large, high-walled skillet with a little olive oil, then remove it from the pan. Add the chicken and brown it on all sides, working in batches if necessary.

Don’t worry about cooking either meat all the way through at this stage. They’ll finish cooking in the sauce.

2. Build the Flavorful Base

In the same skillet, add the sliced onion and smashed garlic. Cook until the onions begin to soften and the garlic becomes fragrant.

Pour in the white wine and scrape the bottom of the skillet to release all those browned bits, also known as fond. This is where so much of the flavor comes from, so don’t skip it.

Let the wine reduce by about half before moving on.

3. Simmer Everything Together

Return the browned chicken and sliced sausage to the skillet. Add the chicken broth, hot cherry peppers, cherry pepper brine, rosemary, and sage.

Let everything simmer until the chicken is tender, the sausage is fully cooked, and the sauce has reduced to your preferred consistency.

I like to taste the sauce as it cooks. If it needs a little more acidity, I’ll add some extra cherry pepper brine or a splash of white wine vinegar.

4. Finish with Butter

Once the sauce has thickened, remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the butter and fresh parsley.

The butter rounds out the acidity and gives the sauce a rich finish. Serve immediately with plenty of crusty bread.

A Red Sauce Joint Classic, Without the Red Sauce

Chicken Scarpariello is one of those dishes I can never resist ordering at a classic Italian-American restaurant. Juicy chicken, sweet fennel sausage, hot cherry peppers, and that tangy, garlicky sauce… what’s not to love?

My favorite part is the sauce. Between the white wine, cherry pepper brine, and fresh herbs, it’s packed with flavor. And trust me, you’re going to want a big loaf of crusty Italian bread to soak up every last drop.

Italian-American

Chicken Scarpariello

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Chicken Scarp is an absolute classic… use chicken thighs to get the maximum amount of tenderness and juiciness, get the best quality Italian sausage you can find, add a little acid and heat from the sliced cherry peppers, and grab yourself some crusty bread to scoop up all that delicious sauce.

Prep 20 minutes mins

Cook 35 minutes mins

Total 55 minutes mins

Makes 4

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Ingredients  

1x2xCustom

• ▢ 2 pounds chicken thighs cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• ▢ 1 pound Italian fennel sausage
• ▢ 1 yellow onion sliced
• ▢ 4 garlic cloves smashed
• ▢ 1/2 to 1 cup hot cherry peppers or sweet if you don’t want the heat
• ▢ 1/4 cup cherry pepper brine plus more if needed
• ▢ 2/3 cup white wine
• ▢ 2-3 cups chicken broth enough to cover
• ▢ 1-2 sprigs of rosemary
• ▢ 1-2 sprigs of sage
• ▢ 1/4 cup white wine vinegar options/if needed
• ▢ 2 tbsp butter
• ▢ AP flour as needed
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions 

Cook Mode

• Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces, add to a bowl and season with salt, pepper and a dusting of flour. Mix until combined then set aside.
• Heat a large, high-walled skillet over medium heat. Once hot, lightly drizzle with olive oil and add the sausage. Cook, turning occasionally, until all the sides are browned. Once browned, remove from the pan and set aside (don’t worry if the sausage is not fully cooked through).
• Drizzle the pan with a little more olive oil and add the chicken (work in batches if needed). Cook until the chicken is browned on all sides. Once browned, remove and set aside. While the chicken is browning, slice the sausage into bite sized pieces. (again, don’t worry if the chicken is not fully cooked, you will braise the chicken and sausage later).
• Add a little more olive oil to a pan along with the slice onions and smashed garlic. Lightly season with salt, and cook until fragrant and the onions are soft (about 3 minutes). Then deglaze the pan with white wine, and cook until the wine reduces by half. Scrapping the bottom of the pan to release all the fond.
• Once the wine reduces, add the sausage and chicken back to the pot. Then pour in the broth, add the cherry peppers and their brine, and the fresh herbs.
• Let the Scarp simmer until the sauce thickens and the chicken is tender (anywhere from 15-30 minutes, or even longer depending on the size of pot). Taste and adjust seasoning along the way. If needed add some white wine vinegar (or cherry pepper brine) a tablespoon at a time.
• Once thicken, remove the Scarp from the heat and toss with butter and fresh parsley.