Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

Serves/makes 4

Stock

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) dry Marsala wine

3/4 cup (180 ml) homemade chicken stock or low-sodium store-bought broth

1 packet unflavored gelatin, such as Knox (2 1/2 teaspoons; 10 g)

Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets, each pounded about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick (1 3/4 pounds; 780 g total)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

About 1 cup all-purpose flour (5 ounces; 140 g), for dredging

1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed

All

10 ounces (280 g) cremini mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced

4 medium shallots (6 ounces; 165 g), minced

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon (about 3 g) minced fresh thyme leaves

3 tablespoons (45 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 teaspoon (5 ml) soy sauce

White wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, or fresh lemon juice, to taste

Minced fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions

1.
Combine Marsala and stock in a mixing bowl or large measuring cup and sprinkle gelatin all over the surface. Set aside.
2.
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 a clean plate.
3.
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.
4.
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 the pan seems too dry at any point.
5.
Pour Marsala mixture into the pan, making sure to scrape in all the gelatin. Bring to a boil, whisking and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until liquids are reduced by about three-quarters.
6.
Add butter and soy sauce and whisk constantly until emulsified and the sauce takes on the consistency of heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper. Taste the sauce and adjust with a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice, as needed.
7.
Return chicken cutlets to the 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.
8.
Transfer to a warmed serving plate, spooning sauce all over chicken. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Misc.

Notes

I found that reducing by 3/4 took a bit longer than 10 minutes (on med-high heat)