Chicken Marsala

Published October 16, 2021

Originally from Cook’s Illustrated.

The best chicken marsala I have ever had. And the first recipe I ever made where I felt it was something I’d easily pay money for in a restaurant.

The original recipe calls for pancetta and I substitute bacon because I don’t live in Italy.

If the chicken breasts are huge (as they often are), it may make sense to slide them into thinner cutlets or pound them. They need to cook evenly in the pan.

The Marsala Wine you must use is Colombo brand, sweet. This is much better than any others.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (about 5 ounces each)
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• Table salt
• Ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 oz bacon cut into 1/8 wide sticks 1 inch long (cutting across the bacon strip)
• 8 ounces white mushrooms , sliced (about 2 cups)
• 1 medium clove garlic , minced (about 1 teaspoon)
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups marsala wine (sweet)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice from 1 small lemon
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces, softened
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

To make:

• Pat chicken breasts dry. Flour goes into plate. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper and then coat both sides with flour. Shake off excess flour.
• Add oil to hot skillet and heat until oil shimmering. Place chicken cutlets in a single layer into the skillet and cook until golden brown on one side (about 3 minutes). Flip them over with tongs and cook 3 minutes longer. They should feel firm when pressed with your finger. Remove from pan and put on a plate.
• Skillet to low and add bacon, saute until crisp, about 4 minutes. With slotted spoon move bacon to paper towel lined plate.
• Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium. Saute until liquid from mushrooms evaporates.
• Add garlic, tomato paste, bacon. Saute until tomato paste starts to brown.
• Take pan off heat (to avoid fire) and add marsala. Return to high heat and simmer vigorously, scraping browned bits from pan bottom until sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced to about 1 1/4 cups (5 minutes or so).
• Turn off heat, add lemon juice and accumulated juices from chicken. Add 1 tbsp butter at a time. Taste and adjust salt/pepper, stir in parsley.
• Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve. Eat.