What Is Chicken Marsala?
Traditionally, Chicken Marsala is chicken cutlets dredged in flour and fried, served with a sauce made with a Marsala reduction. It often includes mushrooms.
Chicken Marsala Special Ingredient: Pancetta
This recipe for Chicken Marsala is a favorite of my father’s and is adapted from one he found in Fine Cooking magazine years ago. It doesn’t have mushrooms (though you could easily add them) and gets tons of flavor from Italian pancetta. Pancetta is a lot like bacon (but better!); it’s the same cut, but salt-cured, not smoked. My father has been known to substitute bacon for the pancetta in this Chicken Marsala recipe, which also works, and is a little easier on the wallet. (According to him, “one can’t live on pancetta alone.”) He also sometimes switches out the Marsala for dry vermouth. To freeze chicken Marsala, put the chicken and sauce in a freezer-safe zip top bag with the air removed. Freeze for up to three months. Defrost the chicken. Once defrosted, reheat the chicken and sauce in a pan with a lid over medium heat until just heated through.
Wondering What To Serve with Chicken Marsala? Try These Ideas!
Creamy Polenta Shaved Vegetable Salad Lemony Broccoli Rabe with White Beans Duchess Potatoes Roasted Broccoli With Parmesan
Tawny Port, Dry Madeira, Dry vermouth, or fino Sherry will work as substitutions for the Marsala if you don’t have it.
Remove the onions from the pan, leaving any remaining fat in the pan. Add the onions to the cooked pancetta and set aside. Heat the skillet on medium high heat. You should have about 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan from the pancetta, if not add more olive oil to the pan. Sauté until just browned, on both sides. It should only take a minute or two. Cook all of the cutlets in the same way, adding more olive oil to the pan if necessary. Remove the cooked cutlets to a plate. Serve the cutlets with the sauce and a little freshly chopped parsley.
