I am not sure when I had Chicken Marsala for the first time but I am hooked on these great flavors!  The Tender chicken, savory mushrooms, the thyme and of course the Marsala wine.  I make Chicken Marsala 2 or 3 times per month and eat the leftovers for lunch.  Yum!

CHICKEN MARSALA

To get the best flavor on your Chicken Marsala I recommend you use a cast iron pan.  Using a non-stick pan you won’t get all the flavor bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  This is an important part of making a rue.  You will be deglazing the pan to remove this which becomes part of the sauce, also called a rue.

Also, I recommend using Marsala dry cooking wine.  I have tried this with real Marsala wine (from the liquor store) both dry and sweet.  Surprisingly the sweet Marsala wine imparted pretty good flavor, however the dry Marsala wine failed to add much flavor at all. I have found the dry Marsala cooking wine, from the grocery store, imparts the best Marsala wine flavor of the three.  Probably because it’s formulated especially for cooking!

Tenderize

The first thing you do to make this great Chicken Marsala is tenderize your chicken breasts.  To do this, use a piece of parchment paper folder over with the chicken breast set inside.  Smack with a meat tenderizer, smooth side, until the chicken is approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.

Pan Fry Chicken

Once the chicken has been tenderized, cut it up into 3 – 4 inch chunks or whatever size you prefer in your dish at the end.  Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a gallon size Ziploc bag.  Place the cut up chicken in the bag, seal and shake until the chicken is well coated with the flour mixture.  Next you’ll want to get that cast iron pan ready.  Put it on med-high heat and toss in the butter.  Once the pan is hot and the butter is melted, go ahead and arrange the floured chicken breasts into the pan.  We’re just going to get these browned up on both sides, not necessarily cooked through.  They will finish cooking at the end.

Fry for 1 – 2 minutes until golden brown on the bottom and flip the chicken breast pieces over.  You may want to rearrange them a bit as they cook to try to get an even browning on all pieces and both sides.  If the butter and juices start to dry up or you notice the pan starts smoking, add another chunk of butter and maybe turn down the heat a bit.  Fry on the the second side until well brown.

Take the pan off the heat to stop the cooking process and remove the chicken from the pan.  Set aside on a platter for now.    Set the pan back on the heat and toss in another chunk of butter.   Your pan should look something like the picture below.  These burnt down bits are essential for developing a great rue, we’ll be deglazing this pan soon.

Mushrooms Garlic and Shallots

Toss in your sliced mushrooms, diced shallots, and minced garlic.  We like the sliced portabella mushrooms which are called Baby Bellas where we shop.  You want to stir the mushrooms, shallots and garlic to combine with the butter and remaining liquids in the pan.  Stir and fry for a few minutes until mushrooms start to darken in color and start to shrink up just a bit.

Deglaze the Pan

Toss in Marsala cooking wine and chicken broth.  Now it’s time to deglaze the pan.  As the Marsala wine and chicken broth start to come up to temperature, use a wooden spoon, fork or other utensil to scrape up the bits that were stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Continue to stir and combine until the pan feels smooth as you scrape across the bottom.

The Finish

As the pan comes back up to temperature (starts to simmer), turn down the heat to around a medium or even medium low.  You want to end up at a strong simmer as we want to start to thicken, or reduce, the sauce at this point.  Once you got it to a good simmer add the heavy cream and the fresh thyme and give a stir to combine the ingredients.  I strongly recommend using fresh thyme as it imparts a wonderful flavor and aroma.

Simmer for 8 – 10 minutes or until sauce appears noticeably thicker and reduced in volume.  Now go ahead and add back in the chicken you set aside earlier.  Stir again until well combined and simmer for another 4 or 5 minutes to heat through the chicken.  Ready to serve!

Not sure about Chicken Marsala?  Try this great Pan Fried Perch recipe!

Chicken Marsala

Print

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes 25 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. boneless chicken breast, trimmed
• 1/4 c flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. butter, unsalted
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 (8 oz.) packages sliced portabella mushrooms (Baby Bellas)
• 2 small or 1 medium shallot(s)
• 1 cup dry Marsala cooking wine
• 1 cup Chicken broth
• 1 tbsp. fresh Thyme
• 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1.  Tenderize your chicken breasts.  Take a piece of parchment paper folded over with the chicken breast set inside.  Hit firmly with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer until the chicken is approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.
2.  Cut tenderized chicken into 3 - 4 inch chunks or whatever size you prefer in your dish at the end.
3.  Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a gallon size Ziploc bag.
4.  Place the cut up chicken in the bag, seal and shake until the chicken is well coated with the flour mixture.
5.  Put your pan on med-high heat and toss in a tbsp. of the butter and a tbsp. of the olive oil.
6.  Once the pan is hot and the butter is melted, go ahead and arrange the floured chicken breasts into the pan.  We're just going to get these browned up on both sides, not necessarily cooked through.  They will finish cooking at the end.
7.  Fry for 1 - 2 minutes until golden brown on the bottom and flip the chicken breast pieces over. If the butter and juices start to dry up or you notice the pan starts smoking, add another chunk of butter and maybe turn down the heat a bit. Fry on the the second side until well brown.
8.  Take the pan off the heat to stop the cooking process. Remove the chicken from the pan to a platter and set aside for now.
9.  Set the pan back on the heat and toss in another tbsp. of butter and another tbsp. of olive oil.
10.  Toss in your 16 oz. of sliced mushrooms, diced shallots, and minced garlic.
11.  Stir the mushrooms, shallots and garlic to combine with the butter and remaining liquids in the pan.  Stir and fry for a few minutes until mushrooms start to darken in color and start to shrink up just a bit.
12.  Toss in Marsala cooking wine and chicken broth.  Now it's time to deglaze the pan.  As the Marsala wine and chicken broth start to come up to temperature, use a wooden spoon, fork or other utensil to scrape up the bits that were stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Continue to stir and combine until the pan feels smooth as you scrape across the bottom.
13.  As the pan comes back up to temperature (starts to simmer), turn down the heat to around a medium or even medium low.  You want to end up at a strong simmer.
14.  Add the heavy cream and the fresh thyme and give a stir to combine the ingredients.
15.  Simmer for 8 - 10 minutes or until sauce appears noticeably thicker and reduced in volume.
16.  Add back in the chicken you aside earlier.  Stir until well combined and simmer for another 4 or 5 minutes to heat through the chicken.  Ready to serve!