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.

THE BEST CHICKEN MARSALA

Steps:

• Set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Cut two 12-inch sheets of plastic wrap.
• Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise, making 6 roughly equal pieces; they should look like large chicken tenders. Place one sheet of plastic on a clean cutting board. Put a chicken piece in the center of the plastic and top with the other sheet of plastic. Pound the chicken with the flat side of a meat mallet, starting in the center and working your way to the edges, until the chicken is 1/4 inch thick and 6 to 8 inches long. Transfer to the wire rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Liberally sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.
• Mix the flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a generous amount of pepper in a shallow bowl or plate. Dredge the cutlets in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 1 minute. Sear 3 cutlets until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the cutlets to a plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and sear the remaining 3 cutlets until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. It's ok if the chicken is not completely cooked through; it will finish cooking in the sauce.
• Add the mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the same pan and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, until the mushrooms are slightly softened and just beginning to release some liquid, 3 to 4 minutes. (The mushrooms will soak up the oil quickly and dry up the pan; that's ok, more liquid will release as they cook longer.) Add the shallots and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, until starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat. Pour in the wine and 1/2 cup water. Return the pan to high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the liquid reduces by a third and starts to thicken, 6 to 7 minutes. Whisk in the butter and continue whisking until it is melted and the sauce has thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the cutlets and any accumulated juices to the pan and cook, flipping halfway through, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes.
• Remove the chicken to a platter and stir the parsley into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with more parsley.

CHEF JOHN'S CHICKEN AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Season chicken on all sides with salt and ground black pepper.
• Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in an ovenproof skillet. Place chicken skin-side down in skillet and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.
• Turn chicken over; stir mushrooms with a pinch of salt into skillet. Increase heat to high; cook, stirring mushrooms occasionally, until mushrooms shrink slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer skillet to the preheated oven and cook until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 15 to 20 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Transfer chicken breasts to a plate and loosely tent with foil; set aside.
• Set skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat; cook and stir mushrooms until brown bits start to form on the bottom of the pan, about 5 minutes. Pour water into the skillet, and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. Cook until water is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Stir in any accumulated juices from the chicken into the skillet. Stir butter into mushroom mixture, stirring constantly until butter is completely melted and incorporated.
• Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mushroom sauce over chicken and serve.

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.