Anyone have a good Chicken Marsala recipe?

[clc053103]

Looking for one that uses onions or garlic...I tried one two weeks ago and it just was entirely too sweet! Also diet friendly would help (a few out there require heavy cream!)

thanks in advance,
Courtney

[boolady]

I know you said onions or garlic, but would you be interested in one that uses shallots? I have a really good one (no cream) I'd be happy to post. I guess you could easily substitute onions for the shallots, now that I think about it. :)

[clc053103]

oooh that sounds good- and I have shallots!!! Thanks!

[missym]

This is a yummy recipe that DH developed. It's pretty basic, but it turns out great every time.

2 chicken breasts pounded ~ 1/4� thick
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 T butter
4 T Olive oil
1/2 c Marsala wine
1/4 c Cream sherry
1/4 c Flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 t Black pepper

Combine butter and olive oil in skillet and sauté garlic. Turn heat up to high/med-high. Combine black pepper, salt and flour. Dredge chicken in flour and place into skillet. Cook approximately 2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Add Wine and Sherry to deglaze pan. Reduce heat and add mushrooms. Cover and simmer about 15 min until liquid is reduced by half.


Missy, mom to Gwen 03/03 and Rebecca 09/05

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[boolady]

This works with chicken or veal. Makes 4 main course servings.

8 thin-sliced chicken cutlets or veal cutlets (I have also done with 4 regular chicken breast halves)
1 1/4 t. salt
1 t. black pepper, plus more to taste
4 T. unsalted butter
2 T. olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces assorted mushrooms, sliced (I have used button or cremini)
1/2 c. sweet Marsala wine
1 sprig fresh rosemary
3/4 c. reduced sodium chicken broth

Sprinkle the chicken with 3/4 t. salt and pepper. In a large heavy skillet, melt 1 T. butter and 1 T. oil over medium-high heat. Add 4 of the cutlets and cook until golden brown, about 1 1/2 -2 minutes each side. Using tongs, transfer to a plate. Add another T. of butter and T. of oil (if needed) to the skillet and cook the remaining cutlets. Set aside on plate.

In same skillet, melt 1 T. butter, then add shallots and garlic, and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add mushrooms, 1/2 t. salt, and 1/4 t. pepper, and saute until mushrooms are tender and juices evaporate, about 3 minutes. Add Marsala and rosemary sprig, and simmer until the Marsala reduces by half, about 4 minutes.

Return cutlets to skillet and cook until just cooked through, turning to coat. Discard rosemary sprig and stir remaining 1 T. butter into sauce. Season sauce with more salt & pepper to taste, if desired. Transfer cutlets to plates, spoon sauce over top, and serve.

[bostonsmama]

A good way to take out some of the sweetness associated with Chicken Marsala (it is supposed to be sweet, though) is to temper some of the Marsala wine with a dry white wine. When we make it, we do 1/4 cup Marsala cooking wine (it'll have salt in it, making it more savory) and 1/2-2/3 cup white cooking wine. We also add marjoram to the chicken's flour coating and a dash to the sauce once it's simmering. Salted instead of unsalted butter will also help cut down the sweetness. Also, if you add a little salt, flour and butter to the sauteed mushrooms they'll form a nice, salty crust and help naturally thicken the sauce.

I use Better than Bullion (like a demi-glace) chicken paste instead of canned stock or bullion granuals for richer flavor. Omit the cream and sprinkle a little fresh flat-leaf parsley on at the end and the recipes above or any you could get online will probably be great. Also note that cooked onions will add their own sweetness to the sauce, especially shallots (yummy). Thinly sliced white onion rings will give you the most pungent for your buck (stay away from yellow-Mayan, red & vidallia as they're sweet). And both marsala and cream sherry are very sweet wines/wine mixes...how about making it with just a dry white wine like Pino Griggio or Chardonnay?

I don't remember the exact recipe I use b/c I've been doing it for so long now it's from memory, but as you go along, I'm sure through experimentation you'll find the right balance.

[clc053103]

Sorry for the late post- I used Jen's recipe and I was really happy w/ how it turned out! A great improvement over my first attempt. NExt I'm going to try adding a little dry white---and I would love to find Better than Bullion- where do you find it?

Thanks for the suggestions all!

[bostonsmama]

Hi there, sorry so late in getting back to you. Better than Bouillon is available at most chain grocery stores, and is allegedly carried at Trader Joe's (in chicken flavor only) for a steal at $2.99 for an 8oz jar. I usually pay anywhere between $3-3.99 at my grocery store, although full product availability online could cost up to $7.99. They offer organic and vegan varieties of their most popular bases-chicken, beef, veggie, and they are all gluten free and lower in sodium than canned broth or cubed/granular bouillon).

Cooks Illustrated did a review a couple years back and rated them all very highly, and in fact the beef base came in second to home-made beef stock, surpasing all other packaged, canned and powdered beef broths. I also like that you can easily control the depth of flavor & concentration with these pastes in a recipe by varying the amount of water or milk...to get a reduction/all-day simmered type of taste.

Here's the website for the product line to see what it looks like:
http://www.superiortouch.com/btb.htm

[clc053103]

Thanks! I found it in chicken and beef at the local Giant. A silly question- does it need to be refrigerated after opening? I can't see a mention of it on the jar- though I am going to check the website as well.

THanks again for your help!

[bostonsmama]

Yep, and it should last 6-9 months opened in your fridge. It has a bunch of salt, so it's well preserved, but b/c it has fresh chicken and beef product in it (not raw, but real), it needs to be chilled. I also stir it before use if I haven't used in a couple of weeks.

[clc053103]

I just made chicken marsala again last night- love better than boullion- it really doesn add a richer flavor!

i also took yuor suggestion of substituting chardonnay for some fo the marsala, and added a spring of rosemary (got that from Giada Delaurentis). DH loved it!

THanks for sharing your kitchen knowledge!

Courtney