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!

The post Chicken Marsala first appeared on Bear Dog's Kitchen.

POUND. CUT. COAT. FRY.

Let’s face it, eating healthy can be a pain.  We eat low carb as a life style choice and occasionally go full Keto to supercharge results.  It doesn’t take long to get some cravings for something a little less healthy.  These chicken tenders dipped in some ranch, hot sauce, or no sugar added BBQ sauce is a great way to stay low carb and feel like your cheating!

To Start

If you don’t have a meat tenderizer you can use a rolling pin to pound the chicken, this is what I used before I purchased a meat tenderizer.  The chicken tenders will truly be more tender if you take the time to do this step.  To tenderize, take a section of parchment paper at least a couple feet long.  Place the chicken breasts on one half of the parchment paper and fold the other half over the top of the breasts.  With the flat side of the meat tenderizer pound the chicken evenly until thinned nicely, probably leaving it about 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick.

Next

Next simply cut these tenderized chicken breasts to the size you would like them for serving / dipping.

To Cook

I pan fry these in a cast iron skillet.  A non-stick teflon pan will work fine too…

Dip each chicken tender in the egg and then into the dry ingredients coating thoroughly then place into the fry pan.

Paying attention to the first tenders placed into the pan, after about 2 or 3 minutes start checking the bottom side for browning.  Once well browned turn them over, working through all the tenders as they brown up.

The second side might cook a bit faster now that everything is heated up, including the chicken tenders.  Once the second side is well browned remove from pan and serve.  If you’re not confident on whether they are properly cooked through; use an instant read thermometer placed into the center of the biggest chicken tenders and make sure you reach 165 F before removing from the pan.

If you’re on a keto meal plan these have about 3 grams of carbs per serving (1/4 lb.) Don’t forget to check out my other Keto Friendly recipes!

Pan-fried Chicken Tenders

Print

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

Nutrition facts: 215 calories 15 fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 1 lb. chicken breast (or chicken tenderloins)
• 1 egg
• DRY INGREDIENTS:
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup canned parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. chili pepper (I use Chipotle Chili Pepper for an extra kick of heat)

Instructions

1. Trim any excess fat or skin so you have clean chicken breast.
2. Tenderize and pound thin: Place chicken breasts in parchment paper, pull enough off the roll to put the chicken on one end and fold the rest over the top of the chicken.  With a tenderizer mallet (smooth surface side) pound the chicken until thinned about in half (about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick).
3. Slice chicken into the size of tenders you want to eat, I do about 1 inch wide by 2 - 4 inches long.
4. In one bowl break and whisk the egg.
5. In another bowl add the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until well blended.
6. In a cast iron skillet add 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil and bring up to a med-high heat.
7. Dip each tender in the egg and then into the dry ingredients coating thoroughly then place into the fry pan.
8. Paying attention to the first tenders placed into the pan, after about 2 or 3 minutes start checking the bottom side for browning.  Once well browned turn them over, working through all the tenders as they brown up.
9. The second side might cook a bit faster now that everything is heated up, including the tenders.  Once the second side is well browned remove from pan and serve.  If you're not confident on whether they are properly cooked through; use an instant read thermometer placed into the center of the biggest tenders and make sure you reach 165 F before removing from the pan.

Notes

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. I use Frank's Extra Red Hot and Ranch primarily, which are keto friendly as well. There are a lot of low carb options out there now, like Sweet Baby Ray's No Sugar Added barbeque sauce and G Hughes' Smokehouse Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce.

The post Pan-fried Chicken Tenders first appeared on Bear Dog's Kitchen.