Chef Johns Chicken Marsala Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

Steps:

• Place chicken in a bowl and drizzle vegetable oil over chicken; toss to coat.
• Whisk kosher salt, garam masala, ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika, ground turmeric, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom together in a small bowl. Season chicken with spice mixture and turn to coat evenly.
• Melt clarified butter in a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Cook chicken thighs in hot butter until browned on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. When cool enough to handle, cut chicken into bite-size pieces.
• Reduce heat under the skillet to medium-high. Stir onion into skillet; saute until onion softens and turns translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir. Saute until paste caramelizes, about 5 minutes. Stir garlic and ginger into tomato-onion mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Pour the crushed tomatoes into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Pour in coconut milk and chicken broth; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until flavors blend and sauce is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes.
• Stir chicken, any accumulated juices from the chicken, cilantro, and red pepper flakes into tomato mixture; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until chicken is cooked through and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

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!).

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 MILANESE

Steps:

• Place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap, or a cut-open zip-top bag, and use a meat pounder to flatten the meat to about 1/4-inch thickness.
• Season chicken on both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper, and cayenne, and transfer to a large plate. Sift flour over both sides of the chicken until the surface is completely coated. Transfer to a clean plate.
• Brush away any excess flour from the plate. Sprinkle about 1/4 inch of panko onto the surface of the plate.
• Pour the egg over the floured chicken and use a brush to paint evenly over the meat. Flip and repeat on the other side. Once chicken has been thoroughly coated with the egg, pick up each piece with tongs, letting the excess egg drip off, and place on the plate of panko.
• Generously sprinkle panko over the top of the chicken and press in with your hands or tongs. Flip the chicken over, and sprinkle more panko over the top. Repeat until the chicken is well breaded all over.
• Sprinkle a light coating of the Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top of the chicken and press lightly into the breading with your hands. Flip and repeat on the other side.
• Transfer to a plate sprinkled with more panko. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until you're ready to pan-fry.
• To make the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over high heat; add the mushrooms and a large pinch of salt. Cook mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in flour. Cook, stirring occasionally, for another 2 minutes.
• Pour in Marsala and lemon juice and use a spatula or spoon to scrape any caramelization from the bottom of the pan. Pour in chicken broth and raise heat to medium-high. Season with black pepper and cayenne and bring to a simmer. Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, until it reduces and thickens slightly. Keep hot until needed or let cool and reheat when needed. Before serving, some freshly chopped parsley can be stirred in.
• Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the breaded chicken to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Serve immediately with Marsala sauce underneath or spooned over the top.