Chicken Marsala

There is nothing more boring than chicken breasts. Except perhaps turkey breasts. They are the embodiment of uninspired and are usually dry, tough and bland. However, when those same breasts are butterflied, pounded thin and sauteed in a skillet (and not overcooked!) they are delicious! This is the basis for great flavourful recipes: Chicken Piccata, Schnitzel, and today’s gem, Chicken Marsala.

This recipe has several steps but once your ingredients are prepped, it moves pretty quickly, making it suitable even for a weeknight. I like to serve it alongside linguine, but a fettuccine or egg pasta would work just as well.

Chicken Marsala

America’s Test Kitchen

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
table salt and ground black pepper
2 ½ ounces pancetta (about 3 slices) cut into pieces- 1 inch long and 1/8 inch side
8 ounces white mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced (about 2 cups)
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tsp)
1 tsp tomato paste
1 ½ cups sweet Marsala wine
1 ½ tbsp juice (from 1 lemon)
4 tbsp (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves

Halve the chicken horizontally, then cover the chicken halves with plastic wrap and pound the cutlets to an even ¼-inch thickness. Pat the chicken breasts dry. Season both sides of the breasts with salt and pepper.

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position.  Place a large ovensafe dinner plate on the oven rack and heat the oven to 200 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Meanwhile, place the flour in a shallow baking dish or pie plate.  Working with one piece of chicken at a time, coat both sides with flour.

Cook the cutlets in two batches: place 4 floured cutlets in a single layer in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip the cutlets and cook on the other side until golden brown, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to the heated plate and return the plate to the oven while you cook the remaining cutlets.

Return the skillet to low heat and add the pancetta: saute stirring occasionally and scraping the pan bottom to loosen the browned bits, until the pancetta is brown and crisp, bout 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the mushrooms and increase the heat to medium-high: saute, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan, until the liquid released by the mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and cooked pancetta; saute while stirring until the tomato paste begins to brown, about 1 minute.  Add the Marsala and simmer vigorously, scraping the browned bits from the pan bottom, until the sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced to about 1 ¼ cups, about 5 minutes.

Off the heat, add the lemon juice and any accumulated juice from the chicken.  Whisk in the butter 1 piece at a time. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the parsley. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.