There was a time in my life when I like so many others out there would drive down to one of my local "Italian" restaurants when I was in the mood for one of my favorite dishes, Chicken Marsala.  Now I've had this dish hundreds of times but I've only had it done well maybe a handful of times so you can imagine my frustration.  Well all this frustration became more than I could take and being the resourceful I guy I am I decided to break the cycle of disappointing Marsala experiences and create a version of my own, one that would live up to my lofty expectations.

Now there are a lot of things I love about this recipe.  Right up front its easy, pretty quick to prepare and actually quite cheap to make but it delivers a big plate full of hearty flavors that can only be matched by something like homemade beef stew.  I think if you make this dish this weekend you'll find that it becomes one of your favorites and may even get a slot on the weekly rotation.

Grilled Chicken Marsala

Equipment:

Charcoal or Gas Grill
10” Skillet
Tongs
Wisk
Chef’s knife

Ingredients:

2 lbs Skinless Chicken Breast       
1 lbs Brown Mushrooms           
1/2 Yellow Onion               
2 Cloves Garlic               
1 Tbs Butter                   
3 Tbs Olive Oil
1 oz Fresh Rosemary
2 Tbs Kosher Salt
2 Tbs Ground Black Pepper
1 Cup Marsala Wine
2 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth
2 Tsp Potato Starch
2 Tbs Fresh Parsley
2 Tbs Grated Parmesan

Preparation:

Sauce
Place skillet with the butter and 1 Tbs olive oil over medium high heat
Slice onions and mince garlic and add to skillet once hot
While the onions and garlic are browning slice mushrooms
Add 1 Tbs salt and the mushrooms to the skillet and toss to combine
Brown mushrooms over medium high heat stirring occasionally
Once the mushrooms are thoroughly browned (10 to 12 minutes) deglaze the skillet by adding the marsala wine
Add the chicken stock and allow to simmer for 10 minutes
Add the potato starch and stir in, sauce will thicken slightly
Reduce the heat to low

Chicken
Trim the chicken breast of all fat
Thoroughly coat the chicken breast in 2 oz olive oil, 2 Tbs kosher salt, 2 Tbs black pepper and 1 oz fresh rosemary
Grill the chicken for 3 minutes on each side or until done
Remove from the grill and allow to rest on a platter under foil for 5 minutes
Spoon finished sauce over the chicken breast garnish with chopped parsley and grated parmesan

Serving:

You'll want to serve this one family style from a great big platter in the middle of the table with the sides in smaller platters or bowls.  This dish looks really impressive all laid out and your dinner partners will think you are a genius when they tuck into it.  As for beverage pairing you can really go two ways with this one.  If you want to accentuate the meatiness of the mushrooms and the sweetness of the wine go with a great fall beer like a mai-bock or even a doppelbock.  If you want to show off the wine and its more delicate side pair it with an oak aged beer with a little acidity like Dogfish Head Burton Baton.

I hope you all enjoy it.

Cheers!

Grilled Chicken Marsala by Brewforia Beer Market is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at brewforia.com.