Marsala Chicken Meatballs
Published Sept. 20, 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
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
502 calories; 27 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 26 grams protein; 1101 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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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!
I’ve made this recipe several times and love it. As other reviewers recommended, I found adding garlic, thyme and chicken broth (instead of water) improved the flavor substantially. Here is the most important thing: Reviewers who complained that the meatballs were too wet to form used panko instead of the dried breadcrumbs the recipe specifies. DON’T use panko. It does not absorb water like regular breadcrumbs do.
Because ground chicken is usually just the white meat, I use half white meat and half dark meat ground chicken whenever I make chicken meatballs.
These were good!I had no problem forming the balls (running your hands under cold water does the trick) and then I put them in the refrigerator for for an hour before cooking them. I only used about 3/4 cup Marsala in the sauce and maybe a cup of water to which I added some chicken Better Than Bouillon. The sauce thickened up nicely from the flour and was plentiful enough to serve over wide egg noodles. This was a tasty dish and a nice twist on Marsala.