Quick and easy, this chicken Marsala is packed with flavor, thanks to Marsala wine, sautéed mushrooms, shallots, and garlic. The secret to success with this version is to slip extra gelatin into the chicken stock—which helps give the sauce a glaze-like consistency that’s just like the best restaurant pan sauces—along with a few other small tricks (hello, soy sauce!).
Why It Works
- Lightly dredging the chicken in flour helps it brown quickly, prevents it from overcooking, and also gives it a silky, velvety texture.
- Unflavored gelatin adds a restaurant-quality viscosity to the sauce, making it rich and glaze-like.
- Soy sauce rounds out the savory flavor of the sauce and underscores the mushrooms perfectly.
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| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups Marsala wine
- 1/3 cup homemade chicken stock or low-sodium store-bought broth
- 1 packet unflavored gelatin such as Knox (2 1/2 teaspoons; 10g)
- 4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken cutlets each pounded about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick (1 3/4 pounds; 780g total)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (5 ounces; 140g), for dredging
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more if needed
- 10 ounces cremini mushrooms stemmed and thinly sliced
- 4 medium shallots (6 ounces; 165g), minced
- 2 medium cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves minced
- 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- White wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, or fresh lemon juice, to taste
- Minced fresh parsley, for garnish
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Combine Marsala and stock in a mixing bowl or large measuring cup and sprinkle gelatin all over surface. Set aside.
- Season chicken cutlets all over with salt and pepper. Pour a roughly 1/2-inch layer of flour into a wide, shallow bowl. Dredge each cutlet in flour, tap off excess, and transfer to clean plate.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in batches if necessary, add chicken and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Using a slotted spatula, transfer to paper towels to drain.
- Add mushrooms to skillet (do not drain remaining oil) and cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms have released their juices and browned well, about 10 minutes. Add shallots, garlic, and thyme and cook, stirring, until shallots are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add more oil if pan seems too dry at any point.
- Pour Marsala mixture into pan, making sure to scrape in all the gelatin. Bring to a boil, whisking and scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan, until liquids are reduced by about three-quarters. Add butter and soy sauce and whisk constantly until emulsified and sauce takes on the consistency of heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper. Taste sauce and adjust with a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice, as needed.
- Return chicken cutlets to pan, swirling to bathe them in the sauce and warm them through. If the sauce begins to break at any point, swirl in a splash of water to bring it back together. Transfer to a warmed serving plate, spooning sauce all over chicken. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Recipe Notes
Good, drinkable-quality Marsala wine can be found for very cheap, so please try to avoid Marsala "cooking" wine (which has added salt and preservatives and doesn't taste nearly as good), if at all possible.
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