how to make marsala sauce for steak | Family Cuisine

Steak with a rich, slightly sweet and savory Marsala sauce may be the best steak recipe you make. Steak Marsala with a buttery mushroom Marsala sauce will be a show stopper whether for family or your next dinner party.

Steaks are great with minimal effort whether grilled with an herb marinade or covered in a creamy cognac sauce. However, steak Marsala with a buttery mushroom sauce is a great alternative for a special occasion.

Reading: how to make marsala sauce for steak

Be prepared for a savory sauce made with sweet Marsala wine that compliments a steak of any cut. Since the sauce is so flavorful, you can get by with using a cheaper cut of steak like a top sirloin. Most people have tried a chicken Marsala recipe or maybe pork marsala, but you’re going to love those great flavors with steak.

What is Marsala and how long will it last

Marsala is a fortified wine produced in Marsala Sicily. Its unique flavor comes from the grapes grown only in Sicily and it’s fortified with Brandy. It comes either dry or sweet. Want to learn more about this interesting wine, check out Wine Folly.

For the Marsala mushroom sauce, I used a sweet Marsala. Since it’s a fortified wine, once opened you can store it in a dark place for ages and it will still retain its flavor. However, if you don’t want to make Steak Marsala every night, try using some in my family’s favorite dinner recipe, Chicken Marsala Meatballs.

What can you use instead of Marsala

If you’re all out of Marsala or you can’t find a bottle at the wine store, Madeira is the closest substitute. You could also use Port or Sherry but other wines will not give you the same savory rich flavor you get with Marsala.

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If you aren’t a fan of alcohol, use about ¼ cup of chicken broth instead of the wine. While I love the flavor the Marsala adds, the mushrooms are the key ingredient so it will be still be a fabulous dish.

What you’ll need

• Two types of mushrooms – To get a rich mushroom flavor, I used dried porcini mushrooms and fresh cremini mushrooms. Cremini mushrooms are young portobello mushrooms, called baby bellas and are more flavorful than the more common white button mushrooms. Porcini are a wild mushroom with an aromatic woodsy flavor that in my area can only be find dried. (affiliate) With dried mushrooms, you have to reconstitute them with water but the rehydrating liquid adds so much flavor to the sauce. Don’t pour it out! If you’re interested in mushrooms, check out this helpful post from Epicurious.
• Marsala wine – keep a bottle in your pantry, it lasts forever
• Shallots and garlic
• Fresh rosemary and parsley
• Pantry items – chicken broth, butter, flour and lemon juice

How do you make a rich, buttery mushroom sauce

Step 1: Reconstitute the dried mushrooms.

Step 2: Cook the fresh mushrooms, start by covering them with a lid to release the moisture then remove the lid and let them get golden brown and remove.

Step 3: Cook the steaks in the same skillet and remove to a plate.

Step 4: Add shallots, garlic and butter, then add flour and seasonings and the reconstituted mushrooms.

Step 5: Once softened add Marsala wine and chicken broth and let it thicken.

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Step 6: Once thickened add back the browned mushrooms and pour over the cooked steaks.

This might sound like a lot of steps but it really won’t take long and the magical flavor is worth every step. This took me about 40 minutes from start to finish. You can shorten the time by browning the mushrooms ahead of time.

This will turn out to be one of your favorite steak recipes, try serving it with mashed potatoes or egg noodles so that you don’t miss a single drop of this amazing sauce. It’s such an impressive dish you’ll be stocking up on bottles of Marsala so that you always have a bottle on hand.

FAQ’s and tips

What sides would be great with steak Marsala

• Mashed potatoes
• Corn pudding
• Roasted cauliflower
• Mac & Cheese
• Crunchy roasted potatoes
• Cucumber and corn salad
• Broccoli salad
• Spinach and strawberry salad
• Sour Cream knots
• Buttery dinner rolls

What dessert would go with Marsala steak

• Chocolate cobbler
• Banana cream pie
• Lemon chiffon pie
• Blueberry lime cobbler

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Adapted from Cook’s Country, Feb 2019

If you make Steak Marsala, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! I would love to see your creation.

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