Marsala Chicken Meatballs
Published Sept. 19, 2024

- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2large yellow onions (about 10 ounces each), finely chopped
- ⅓cup bread crumbs
- 1¼cups dry Marsala wine
- 5tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1pound ground chicken
- 1pound sliced button or cremini mushrooms
- 2tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
To a medium bowl, add 1 cup of chopped onion, plus the bread crumbs, ¼ cup wine, 2 tablespoons olive oil, a hefty pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper; mix until combined. Add the chicken and mix until combined. Form the meat mixture into 14 balls (about 3 tablespoons each), setting them on a sheet pan or plate.
- Step 2
Heat a large (12-inch) heavy skillet or braiser over medium-high, and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Step 3
Sear the meatballs for 2 to 3 minutes, until a dark brown crust forms on the bottoms, then flip, and continue searing for 2 minutes on the other sides. Return the meatballs to the sheet pan or plate.
- Step 4
Adjust heat to high. Add the remaining onions to the skillet and cook, stirring every 2 minutes, until golden, translucent and slightly darker on the edges, about 6 minutes, turning the heat down as necessary.
- Step 5
Add the mushrooms and cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced in volume and slightly darker in color. Sprinkle the flour on top, mix to coat the mushrooms and onion and continue cooking for 1 minute, lowering the heat as needed.
- Step 6
Carefully pour the remaining 1 cup of wine into the skillet while constantly stirring. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the caramelized bits off the bottom of the pan and cook for 2 minutes, until the wine reaches a thicker, honey-like consistency. Add 1¾ cups of water and bring to a vigorous simmer. Season with a hefty pinch of salt.
- Step 7
Return the meatballs to the skillet. Adjust heat to medium, partially cover and simmer for 12 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the meatballs are cooked through.
- Step 8
Taste and season with salt. Sprinkle parsley on top and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
Very tasty with a few mods: Chop onions for the meatballs finely in a food processor and squeeze out most of the water using a kitchen towel before adding to chicken. Brown the rest of the onions and the mushrooms very well. Do the mushrooms in batches. Add garlic and thyme to the onions and mushrooms before adding flour. Replace water with chicken stock. Finish with a splash of sherry vinegar.
Also, don't return cooked meatballs to sheet pan they were first on. That's raw chicken. Change out pans.
Very nice result! Delicious with egg noodles. Pretty much followed recipe, though replaced water with chicken stock. My mushrooms from grocery were cut quite thick, so I did a quick rough chop of the entire pack. This is a definite do-over!
Meatballs were incredibly moist. I did not have marsala - a dry madeira worked just fine. I found that I needed to add a bit of salt. I think chicken broth would have covered that with added flavor - in Step 6.
Excellent! Read the comments and adjusted: added more bread crumbs- half as much added (seasoned regular breadcrumbs); after mixing, placed in frig for 15 min for ease of shaping the meatballs (don’t over work them); once formed, placed meatballs on cookie sheet into the freezer for 10 min to help them keep their shape while browning; rough chopped the mushrooms. Cook onions and mushrooms for the length of time as instructed- a must! Added 2 minced garlic gloves, thyme, parsley to onions & mushrooms before the flour. Sauce did thicken when pan deglazed (had to add a bit more Marsala wine); used chicken broth instead of water, added a bit more after meatballs cooked to keep sauce more liquid rather than too thick. Seasoned again with salt, and a splash of sherry vinegar. Served over pasta in a shallow bowl with simple roasted broccoli! A huge hit!
Love this and I serve it with orzo - yummy and easy!
