Dry or sweet wine for Chicken Marsala

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joycee

Assistant Cook
Joined
Oct 30, 2007
Messages
4
Location
Fullerton, California
Hello from southern CA. This site looks like fun and sometimes I need a cooking question answered. I will be making Chicken Marsala this weekend and need to know should I buy sweet or dry Marsala wine? Hoping one of you can help. Thanks .....Joycee
 
Depends on what you like, but sweet Marsala isn’t that sweet. But dry Marsala does tend to be that dry. I’ve always used a sweet Marsala for this dish. DW loves it, and I tried dry Marsala once and was greeted with frowns. So, I’d suggest the sweet Marsala…….anyone who’s had it at Olive Garden or the likes was more than likely confronted with sweet Marsala.
 
joycee, welcome to DC.

The traditional recipe for chicken/veal marsala calls for dry marsala. That's what I use as well.

Using sweet marsala will give you a different taste. If you like sweetness in a chicken dish, you can go for that. It will still be chicken marsala, just a different version.
 
Interesting. America's Test Kitchen/Cooks Illustrated, Giada De Laurentiis, Tyler Florence, and many others all advocate sweet Marsala. And at one time, Kitchenelf advocated sweet Marsala by Superiore (check post #6 in that link). I've got to agree with Cooks Illustrated that the sweet has more depth of flavor and smoother finish.

Joycee, if you like Chicken Marsala, I’m sure you’ll make it or even Veal Marsala again, so if you can, try a sweet one time and then a dry the next and see what you think.
 
imho, DRY Marsala makes for a much better flavor for this dish. Sweet Marsala IS a dessert wine. I use it for Zabaglione.

Ran out of the dry one time and tried to sub out the sweet, and NO ONE ate it! :ohmy: never made that error again. I don't recommend the sweet at all.
 
Ran out of the dry one time and tried to sub out the sweet, and NO ONE ate it!

Wow, how incredibly rude. You need to get better friends. Not even a bite? How pretentious to decline on smell alone. That must have made you feel pretty bad to be around people like that. :(
 
Sounds like you might have some rude friends yourself.

Nah, it’s called a wife. She absolutely loves Chicken Marsala, and I cook it for her on request. Ran out of Sweet and used dry. She frowned and told me she preferred the sweet, but we both ate it.....unlike NO ONE ate it. There is a difference between a frown and flat out denial.
 
To all who replied to sweet or dry Marsala question. You were so quick to respond and advise me with different opinions. I am so glad I joined this group and will try one or the other and post my results.

Thanks thanks thanks
 
Hm, now that you mention, I better check what in the world I have been using all this time. Never occurred to me to even check kosher Marsala wine is not readily available here, so I used what I was able to find and never bother to check.
 
Cooks Illustrated recommends sweet, even for savory dishes like chicken marsala.

Personally I prefer dry.

It's totally a matter of taste -- what do you prefer? If you like a decided sweet note in your sauce, than sweet may be right. Remember that it will not be really sweet even if you use sweet marsala.
 
Well I just got back from my Bunker....My Marsala says....Dry. I wouldn't have known unless I looked. Sooo! Tomorrow, I will saddle up and ride into town in seach of "Sweet" marsala. I've always enjoyed the "Dry" but now my curiosity is up!
 

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