Active Time
50 min
Total Time
50 min
My dad loved mushrooms, and he always ordered veal Marsala when we went out to restaurants. My mom didn't buy veal very often, so she adapted this recipe for chicken and made it on special occasions. He was also very fond of white Burgundy wine, which makes a wonderful accompaniment to this dish.
Food Editor/Stylist: Paul Grimes
Father: Elmer M. Grimes, Haddonfield, NJ
Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
Preparation
Step 1
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200°F.
Step 2
Bring broth to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over high heat, then boil, uncovered, until reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes.
Step 3
Cook shallot in 3 tablespoons butter in an 8- to 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until shallot begins to turn golden, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, 1 teaspoon sage, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
Step 4
Put flour in a wide shallow bowl. Gently pound chicken to 1/4 inch thick between 2 sheets of plastic wrap using the flat side of a meat pounder or a rolling pin.
Step 5
Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, 1 piece at a time, shaking off excess. Transfer to sheets of wax paper, arranging chicken in 1 layer.
Step 6
Heat 1 tablespoon each of oil and butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté half of chicken, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer cooked chicken to a large heatproof platter, arranging in 1 layer, then put platter in oven to keep warm. Wipe out skillet with paper towels and cook remaining chicken in same manner, then transfer to oven, arranging in 1 layer.
Step 7
Add 1/2 cup wine to skillet and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, about 30 seconds. Add reduced broth, cream, and mushrooms, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons wine and 1/2 teaspoon sage.
Step 8
Serve chicken with sauce.
Leave a Review
Reviews (668)
Back to TopLove this recipe but agree with another reviewer that you need to cook the mushrooms and onions longer than it says. I’ve made this several times over the past 5 years and it’s delicious every time. Double or triple the sauce though, you’ll want more! I have always done an online search to find this recipe again when I need it. This time I had to pay a subscription fee to get it. I’m not happy about that and will be canceling after my free month. I couldn’t figure out how to just print this recipe either so the screen shots I take will have to do in future.
Anonymous
NC
1/4/2024
can you make it ahead of time?
Anonymous
11/14/2022
As written (well done by the way), there is no way to go wrong.
RC Andrews
Augusta, GA
9/12/2022
Absolutely delicious! Used Forest Medley mushrooms. Added a nice touch to the recipe. Can't wait to make again. One of our top 10!
Rob DiMartino
Plum Island, MA
12/29/2021
Perfect in every way. I only stepped it up by frying my sage to add at the end. If you haven't tried fried sage, it will blow your mind!
Hubby's Favorite
Omaha, NE
11/4/2021
fantastic marsala
jeff
boston, ma
11/3/2021
Yum! It's perfect as written. We always serve alongside either the Mushroom Risotto or the Penne with Parmesan Cream.
Anonymous
10/17/2021
Like many things on this site it takes a lot longer to do things correctly. You can't properly caramelize onions in ten minutes. It takes at least 45 minutes. Same thing with properly cooking mushrooms to release their water and be properly cooked. Take your time and do it right.
haroldsmom3
Gainesville, FL
5/5/2021
This is a great "fancy" meal for someone special. I agree with others, use less heavy cream and butter. I used 3 T butter and 1/3 cup half/half, 1/2 cup low-fat milk. I prefer a thicker sauce so I made a roux with the milk (added 1T flour) then thickened the sauce with it. Does take some time to make but well worth it. Helps to prep the shallot mushrooms and chicken earlier in the day and put in frig for later when making the dish. I served over parpadelle pasta with asparagus on the side. I also agree with others to add more mushrooms. I used 12 0z cremini mushrooms and I would even use more next time. My husband really enjoyed this as did I! Thank you for this recipe!
robinsc5
Bay area, California
2/12/2021
This was excellent. I followed the recipe pretty closely, but reduced the heavy cream to 1/3 cup, which was perfect — thickened the sauce without overpowering it. Next time think I’ll use two full 8-oz. containers of mushrooms (not just the specified 10 oz.), as I thought there could have been more mushrooms overall. Served over wide noodles with Edna Lewis’s Creamed Scallions on the side, with a smooth chianti to drink. A lovely meal! One last note: I’m no pro chef and I’ve got a cramped kitchen ... but this took considerably longer than 50 minutes to get to table.
embo66
RVA
1/13/2021
Very tasty--but please advise me: I'd like it a little thicker. I did make the mistake of not putting the chicken back in the pan before plating. I do want is thicker though....and I agree, the cream was too much.
linda1167
12/18/2020
This is restaurant quality. So delicious and yummy. Feels lovely - made it exactly as is but skipped the lemon. I'll be brave and add it to the leftovers to see if I like it that way. Will be making this again and again.
smallkitchenbigpans
Los Angeles, CA
8/31/2020
I've made a variation of this so many times it's not to be believed. My wife and I are perpetually on diets, so I made some changes to drop the caloric content. First, I cut down on butter and oil. I will use spray oil to do all the sauteing. Second, ixnay to the heavy cream. Traditional Marsala dishes won't have cream, but I like the creamy sauce. To emulate that I use skim milk instead and thicken it by whisking in about a tablespoon of whole wheat flour and reducing the liquid. We serve it in bite-size chicken chunks over whole wheat linguine. A thicker pasta really works well. We love mushrooms too, so I double or triple the mushrooms. When I don't have shallots, any onion will do as a substitute. The base recipe here deserves a 4-spoon rating. Even though mine is
lfeder
Rockland County, NY
7/10/2020
Deeeelicious! Made this exactly as suggested and it turned out great. I'm learning to cook, and with this recipe my guests said they felt like they were eating in a fancy restaurant :) thanks for sharing!!! Definitely will make this again!!!!
Crispeey
PA
6/14/2020
This is very tasty. I made it as is except I used pre-made chicken cutlets and only added 3 tbsp of butter. Using the pre-made cutlets really reduced the time - it only took 20 minutes. Will definitely makes it again.
n_crutcher6157
Canada
5/25/2020
See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips
59 Date Night Recipes for a Romantic Night In
Candlelight dinner ideas that don’t involve making a reservation? Priceless.53 Chicken Breast Recipes for Flavorful, Juicy (Yes, Juicy) Dinners
Reinvigorate your weeknight dinner routine—and finally use up that pack of poultry in your freezer—with our best recipes for chicken breast.The 37 Most Popular Recipes From Gourmet
There's a treasure trove of beloved recipes from *Gourmet* hiding in the recipe archives of Epicurious. Here are your favorites.These 77 Chicken Dinners Are Winners
Our favorite roast chicken, chicken salads, easy baked chicken, and more.20 Ways to Use Mascarpone
Warning: you’re about to get into the thick of it.Our 20 Favorite Recipes of All Time
In honor of our 20th (!) Anniversary we put together a list of our 20 favorite recipes of all time.Pan-tastic Recipes
Whether you're simmering a sauce or frying up something tasty, looks like you've got a new right-hand pan. Unless you're a lefty.
