Chicken Marsala Without The Mess Food

CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• Place the flour, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a ziplock bag. Add the chicken to the bag; seal bag tightly and shake to coat chicken evenly. Set aside.
• Heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. (Use a stainless steel pan for the best browning. Nonstick will work too, but you won't get that nice golden color on the chicken.) Place the flour-dusted chicken in the pan, shaking off any excess first, and cook, turning once, until the chicken is golden and just barely cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes total. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
• Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon of salt; cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the broth, Marsala, heavy cream, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon of pepper; use a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits from the pan into the liquid. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and gently boil, uncovered, until the sauce is reduced by about half, slightly thickened, and darkened in color, 10 to 15 minutes (you're going for a thin cream sauce; it won't start to thicken until the very end of the cooking time). Add the chicken back to the pan, along with any juices that accumulated on the plate. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce thickens a bit more, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve.
• Note: If your chicken breasts are large (like the ones in the photos that are about ¾ lb. each), it's best to first cut them horizontally to form four flat fillets, then pound them to an even ¼-inch thickness. If you pound large chicken breasts without first halving them, they'll be huge. Of course, you could also pound them thin first and then cut them in half vertically; the only drawback is that they'll lose their natural shape (which, admittedly, is not a big deal!).

THE BEST CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• Set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Cut two 12-inch sheets of plastic wrap.
• Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise, making 6 roughly equal pieces; they should look like large chicken tenders. Place one sheet of plastic on a clean cutting board. Put a chicken piece in the center of the plastic and top with the other sheet of plastic. Pound the chicken with the flat side of a meat mallet, starting in the center and working your way to the edges, until the chicken is 1/4 inch thick and 6 to 8 inches long. Transfer to the wire rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Liberally sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.
• Mix the flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a generous amount of pepper in a shallow bowl or plate. Dredge the cutlets in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 1 minute. Sear 3 cutlets until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the cutlets to a plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and sear the remaining 3 cutlets until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. It's ok if the chicken is not completely cooked through; it will finish cooking in the sauce.
• Add the mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the same pan and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, until the mushrooms are slightly softened and just beginning to release some liquid, 3 to 4 minutes. (The mushrooms will soak up the oil quickly and dry up the pan; that's ok, more liquid will release as they cook longer.) Add the shallots and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, until starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat. Pour in the wine and 1/2 cup water. Return the pan to high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the liquid reduces by a third and starts to thicken, 6 to 7 minutes. Whisk in the butter and continue whisking until it is melted and the sauce has thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the cutlets and any accumulated juices to the pan and cook, flipping halfway through, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes.
• Remove the chicken to a platter and stir the parsley into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with more parsley.

CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them; pound with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly.
• Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet. When the oil is nice and hot, dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Slip the cutlets into the pan and fry for 5 minutes on each side until golden, turning once - do this in batches if the pieces don't fit comfortably in the pan. Remove the chicken to a large platter in a single layer to keep warm.
• Lower the heat to medium and add the prosciutto to the drippings in the pan, saute for 1 minute to render out some of the fat. Now, add the mushrooms and saute until they are nicely browned and their moisture has evaporated, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Pour the Marsala in the pan and boil down for a few seconds to cook out the alcohol. Add the chicken stock and simmer for a minute to reduce the sauce slightly. Stir in the butter and return the chicken to the pan; simmer gently for 1 minute to heat the chicken through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

CHICKEN MARSALA WITHOUT THE MESS!

Steps:

• Start by making marsala sauce. Heat butter in saute pan; add mushrooms, garlic and shallot. Saute 5 minutes until mushrooms are done.
• Stir marsala into mushrooms and stir up any browned bits; simmer and reduce marsala by half.
• Separately, whisk cornstarch into a bit of the chicken broth until smooth; add remaining chicken broth. Pour this into reduced marsala and bring to boil; simmer 2-3 minutes to thicken sauce. Turn off heat and cover pan.
• Meanwhile, preheat grill to high heat.
• Toss raw chicken tenders with olive oil, salt and pepper (Note: if you are using regular size chicken breasts, cut them in half to make two long portions). Place chicken on hot grill and cook only 1-2 minutes each side.
• Place grilled chicken into marsala-mushroom sauce. Allow to simmer several minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thickened.
• **If you are making this meal for company, feel free to make ahead to this point. Then right before serving time, reheat it while you cook the pasta.
• Serve chicken over cooked pasta; garnish with parsley.

CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• Season the chicken tenders with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour, shaking off excess. Heat a 12- to 14-inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and brown each side of the chicken until golden brown, 2 minutes a side (you want to actually undercook the chicken a bit; it will finish in the pan later). Transfer the chicken to a plate.
• To the same pan, add the cremini mushrooms, butter, dried porcini and shallots and cook until deeply caramelized, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the gelatin and 1/4 cup of the broth together and let sit to bloom.
• Add the garlic to the pan and cook for another 20 seconds. Deglaze with the Marsala, scraping up any bits. Whisk in the remaining broth and the gelatin mixture and bring to a simmer. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Nestle the browned chicken in the pan and gently simmer for 3 minutes. Top with the fresh parsley and lemon juice. Serve with warm crusty Italian bread.

CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and Essence and stir to combine thoroughly. Quickly dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, add salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• Bread chicken breast on both sides in Italian breadcrumbs. Place a very large saute pan over high heat with olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add all the chicken breasts. Cook until lightly browned, then turn over and cook the same on the other side. Push the chicken breast to one side of the pan and drain all the oil out. Place chicken in the pan back on high heat and add garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, parsley, pepper and basil. Add Marsala, chicken broth, marinara and cream. Let it reduce on high heat until sauce thickens and is a golden brown gravy. Take the chicken breast out first and place on plates. Pour the Marsala sauce on top to cover the chicken, then serve.

CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
• In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

CHICKEN MARSALA (WITHOUT THE MUSHROOMS)

Steps:

• Cut chicken breasts in to small strips. Put chicken strips in a large bowl to coat with the flour, salt, pepper and garlic. I tend to add extra salt, pepper and garlic to give it a little more flavor.
• Melt butter in skillet. (Sometimes I add less butter just to make it a little healthier.) Add chicken until cooked and then add the shallots and saute until brown. Add wine, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, lemon juice and let simmer for approx 15 minutes. Add the cream and cook till heated through do not boil. Serve with Penne Pasta.