Copycat Recipe for Carrabba's Chicken Marsala

"A clone dish from Carrabba's Restaurant. I have not tried this yet, but will soon and add more comments. Sounds wonderful!"
 
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photo by DeliciousAsItLooks photo by DeliciousAsItLooks
photo by DeliciousAsItLooks
photo by Anonymous photo by Anonymous
photo by Dan M. photo by Dan M.
photo by Anonymous photo by Anonymous
photo by Roni H. photo by Roni H.
Ready In:
30mins
Ingredients:
7
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Pound chicken breasts to even out thickness and lightly salt and pepper.
  • In large skillet, saute chicken in 2 T melted butter until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side.
  • Remove from pan and set aside.
  • Melt remaining butter in pan and add shallots and mushrooms.
  • Cook until mushrooms are lightly browned.
  • Add Marsala and bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from bottom of pan.
  • Add cream and lemon juice and return to a boil.
  • Season with salt and pepper.
  • Return chicken to pan for about 3 minutes to reheat and finish cooking.
  • Serve with buttered fettucini.

Questions & Replies

  1. What is marsala and where can u get it
     
  2. umm, it doesn't mention the spaghetti, but it's basically the most important ingredient also for the shallot is it the green part?
     
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Reviews

  1. I LOVE this recipe. I double the sauce, but I only double the Marsala and then 1.5 the cream. Tips: you MUST use cream anything else will curdle. The lemon is a MUST it brings it all together, REDUCE your Marsala or else it tastes like Kailua and cream, and finally, always use DRY Marsala.
     
  2. Sorry to upset the applecart here but this recipe lacks the most important ingredients to take this to the level of Carrabba's! Firstly, the seasoning of the chicken breasts. It is imperative to use pinches of salt, pepper, a pinch of oregano, and a very light sprinkling of ground marjoram and thyme! Secondly, to GRILL (do not fry) THE CHICKEN after seasoning. Thirdly, the ADDITION OF CHOPPED PANCETTA (not prosciutto) to the first stage of the sautéed ingredients is crucial for bringing this whole recipe together! It would also be helpful to mention that using a good quality of dry Marsala such as Colombo is very important!
     
  3. I like chicken marsala but always felt it was just a tad shy in the flavor department. I tried a couple of recipes from here, side by side, and this one won hands down! The little splash of lemon juice really knocked this baby up a few notches to unbelievable mouth watering levels. I highly recommend folks try this one out! I also added about 1/4 cooking sherry which made the recipe really sing.
     
  4. If you want to wow this dish, season your chicken generously before searing and cook til it's nice and golden. I used JM Exotic Foods Sicily Blend along with the salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken and it was wonderful! After sautéing, I transferred the chicken to a cookie sheet and kept it warm in a 300 degree oven. I also transferred the sautéed mushrooms to the chicken before making the sauce. Once the sauce was reduced, I brought everything back to the skillet to simmer for a minute. I used half and half and it did curdle but it completely cooked out during the reduction process. Don't be afraid to REALLY reduce the sauce, if you need more sauce, triple the liquid ingredients. I doubled the sauce for just 2 large chicken breasts and it was barely enough to really cover the chicken and mashed potatoes. This is, by far, one of the tastiest dishes I have ever made and intend to make again at least monthly!
     
  5. I made this recipe last night, and it was amazing what I did differently though is that the end I took my noodles and sauteed them in some of the marsala sauce and they turned out just like Carrabba's. My only recommendation in this is what I'm going to do next time is to double the marsala and do one and a half times the other ingredients because the marsala needs to have a little bit stronger presence in this recipe! Otherwise it is the legit real deal so happy I could make this for a fraction of the price of one serving at Carrabba's!
     
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Tweaks

  1. First of all, this recipe might look the same but the taste will be very different for 2 key reasons or potentially 5 reasons. Here is why. Carabba’s cooks their food over a grill with oak and pecan wood which gives that dish such a unique taste. You aren’t going to get that from this recipe because this recipe says pretty much topan sear. Okay that tastes great too but it’s not really anything like theirs so I slowly figured it out. The sauce base also has finely chopped prosciutto ham, likely cooked along with the onions. If any recipe I’m using uses butter as part of the recipe I use ghee instead so it doesn’t over-caramelize from the butterfat solids. As for the wine, I inquired at some point which exact wine it was, and it’s Colombo Brand, and “Marsala Fine IP” dry variety. It’s used both reduced and straight up. This is how to create Carabba’s replica at home. For starters, it’s best to have a grill, either a plug in indoor or one outside to achieve that extra layer of flavor. * 3/4-1 teaspoon Colgin Brand liquid smoke - PECAN wood flavor. For a less pungent smoke flavor use Colgin Apple liquid smoke. * 3/4 cup of chicken broth * 1/4 cup columbo ip Marsala wine * A few dashes of black pepper * 2 Whole Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts, shaven in half OR 4 pieces of thin-cut boneless, skinless chicken breast. Mix these ingredients and let it marinade for about an hour. For less smoke taste and if marinading, use less smoke flavor liquid. Once that time has elapsed, add this to a small frypan: * 4 tablespoons ghee or unsalted real butter (1/4 cup, or 1/2 stick) * 2-3 slices of thin cut prosciutto ham chopped into almost a paste. (Look for the prosciutto cured with Juniper berries) * 1/4 - 1/3 cup of fine chopped shallots or red onion * 8 ounces, (1/2) sliced white button (or baby Bella for richer Unami taste) * 1/2 teaspoon fine ground black pepper * 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic or * 1/2 cup chicken broth (or the brine / marinade is fine too) * 1?2 cup heavy cream * 1 teaspoon lemon juice Bring to boil then reduce slowly and if needed, thicken with a light flour or cornstarch slurry. Once all is right with the sauce, grill the chicken or just cook it along as this part is reducing. The smoke liquid at this point would make it taste very close, but the final key is the Malliard effect from the grilled chicken itself, so: Turn on a countertop grill to 375F for the chicken, let it sear and get charred linesman about 4-5 mins. Have foil and a spray water ready to go, then the moment you take it off, put it foil, spray it with water and seal it for about 5 mins. That’s just a way to keep meat that’s over boiling temp from completely drying out when it or anything comes off the grill. ??
     
  2. They use 1 slice prosciutto, diced, which isn't included in this recipe, and 1/4 cup LOMBARDO Dry Marsala wine.
     
  3. Substituted minced onion for shallot and whole milk for the cream. I also added garlic and Parmesan. It was amazing.
     
  4. Add a splash of Worcester sauce and red burgundy cooking wine. Salt is key.
     
  5. Tried this with wild mushrooms. OMG fabulous!##
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I live in upstate New York. I am retired and now have time to enjoy my children, my grandchildren and great grandchildren.
 
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