Merwins Chicken Marsala Food

CHEF JOHN'S CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• Season chicken breasts all over with salt and pepper.
• Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken breasts, skin-side down, in hot butter and oil until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook until breasts are almost cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Transfer chicken breasts to a plate.
• Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Saute mushrooms with a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper in hot butter until mushrooms are golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add minced shallot; cook and stir until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the top and cook and stir until the bitterness of the flour cooks off, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Pour wine into skillet and bring to a boil; cook and stir until wine reduces and sauce thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Add chicken stock; bring to a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, 3 to 5 minutes more.
• Return chicken breasts to the skillet, reduce heat to low, and cook chicken, turning once, until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 10 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove from heat.
• Move chicken to one side of the skillet and tilt the skillet so that the sauce pools at the bottom. Stir parsley and 1 teaspoon cold butter into the sauce, stirring constantly, until sauce is shiny and butter is completely melted. Transfer chicken breasts to plates and spoon mushrooms and sauce over the top.

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:

• 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.

MARSALA-MARINATED CHICKEN WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Prepare the marinade: Finely chop 2 shallots. In a large bowl, stir the chopped shallots with 3 tablespoons mustard, the honey, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Whisk in the Marsala then 1/4 cup oil. Refrigerate 1/4 cup marinade to use for the vinaigrette.
• Place the chicken and oregano sprigs in a large zip-top bag and add the remaining marinade. Seal the bag and turn it over a few times before laying it flat in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or, ideally, overnight, turning it once or twice while it marinates. (If you're in a rush, marinating it at room temperature for 30 minutes is a quick shortcut.)
• Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Peel the carrots, halve them lengthwise if thick, then chop them into 1 1/2-inch-long pieces. Clean the mushrooms and remove any tough stems. Quarter the whole shallots from root to stem and discard the skins. Place the prepped vegetables in a large bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade and place each piece skin side up on a large rimmed sheet pan. Scatter the vegetables around the chicken, arranging them in an even layer. Discard the marinade in the zip-top bag.
• Roast until the chicken is cooked through and its juices run clear, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter to rest. Stir the remaining vegetables and return the pan to the oven to cook until the carrots are starting to brown and become tender, the mushrooms are golden and beginning to crisp, and the shallots have caramelized, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the vinaigrette: Whisk the refrigerated 1/4 cup marinade with the vinegar, then the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Adjust the flavor as desired, adding more olive oil for a less acidic vinaigrette or more Dijon for something a bit sharper and creamier.
• Transfer the vegetables to the serving platter, scattering them around the chicken, and pour any cooking juices left in the pan over the top. Garnish with the chopped oregano. Toss salad greens with just enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad to taste and serve with the chicken and vegetables.