Pan Seared Chicken with Mushroom Marsala Cream Pan Sauce

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Place breasts on individual pieces of aluminum foil on a cookie tray or baking dish. The foil should be big enough to wrap over and full enclose the breasts for easy clean up.

Poke each breast with a fork several times, and sprinkle each breast with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. This will act like a mini-brine.

Cover the breasts with foil, so they are enclosed. Place on the middle rack in the oven and bake 30-40 minutes, or until they’re 145-150 degrees inside. Check temperature with a thermometer at 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from the oven. Open foil and move chicken onto paper towels. Pat dry. Any juice that’s in the foil can be used for a pan sauce if you’re making one.

Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil. Make a slurry with the melted butter, flour, and cracked pepper, and brush half on top of the chicken breasts.

Place the chicken slurry-side down in the pan, and brown for 3-4 minutes. While that side is browning, brush the remaining slurry on the other side.

Flip chicken with tongs when browned and brown the other side for 3-4 minutes, or until the chicken is 160 degrees internally.

Transfer chicken to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. You can make a pan sauce now, use a prepared sauce, or serve as is.

To make a pan sauce:

Sauté onions and mushrooms until golden brown. Clear a spot in the middle of the pan and add garlic and herbs. Mix into the onion and mushroom mixture and sauté for about 1 minute. Deglaze pan with Marsala and any reserved pan juices. Add chicken stock and cream. Simmer and reduce to desired thickness. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste.