Substitution for Marsala

The only marsala available locally is that "cooking wine" stuff, so I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a comparable wine which might be available for a turkey marsala type dish? Or is that the stuff that's commonly used for cooking? It just smells so aggressive that I can't imagine it as anything but overwhelming.

(We live in a dry county - yes, they still exist - and the only available wines within 50 miles of my house are at a grocery store, and marsala isn't on the shelf.)

Thanks in advance.
Shan

Cribari Cellars makes a California Marsala that I use. I purchase it at Harris Teeter and pay about $8 a bottle for it. I have the same problem using cooking wine, the major one being the amount of salt in the wine. The only other thing I can think of would be to try using sherry as I have made the switch before in a jam.


Dennis in Cary

Thanks Dennis. I wonder if maybe a mix of a decent sherry and that cooking marsala would be an option.

Or, maybe just make piccata instead. LOL

Do not, under any circumstances, use any so-called cooking wine. It is heavily laden with sodium and it is undrinkable. Never, ever cook with a wine you would not drink. Using a good sherry would be an option, as long as it isn't "cooking" sherry. You still need wine -- a dry white wine -- to make a picata sauce.

Agree absolutely on avoiding the "cooking" wine -- noxious stuff. I've you've time and no other alternatives, you might try soaking a few raisins in dry sherry to get a bit of an approximation of the maderized flavor of marsala.

Potable white wines aren't any problem - as a matter of fact, I've been cooking with them so much lately that I think my family is getting tired of lemons and wine in any combination, which is why I was thinking of doing a marsala dish instead (not to mention my husband spends about an hour picking out capers LOL).

I'll just hold off until the next time I get to a "real" liquor store.

It always struck me as funny that "cooking wine" is sold in dry counties - kind of a "there's your sign" kind of thing - if it doesn't fall under wine/liquor laws, it ain't wine. (Makes me think of the prison wine experiment at Steve Don't Eat It!)

I agree with Michael on not using cooking wines sold just for that purpose.

To me, "cooking" wine has always meant one the lower priced wines at the liquor store, good enough to drink, but not a super expensive label where the superiority of the wine might be lost when used to cook with other spices. This is for marsala and sherry. When it comes to red and white wines, I just use whatever we are drinking at the time.

You might also try Sweet Vermouth that should be avalible. I've used it in a pinch with good results. There are also vineyards that you can order from on the internet. Well good luck. Chow Jim

Thanks again for everyone's help. The raisin idea sounds interesting in its own right, doesn't it? I'm thinking if you soaked or simmered them in sherry it would hold up especially well with turkey.

Jim, I've recently seen a few people mention the vermouth idea. Definitely something to think about - whatever I decide to do, I'll report back. (Unless of course I don't follow up on any of it!)

Twister--

I use marsala fairly often for cooking and I personally don't think there's any acceptable substitute for the real thing. To me, anyway, the CA versions don't taste the same at all. But I also spend part of the year in a fairly rural area of Arizona where such things are hard to find and have concluded that the INTERNET is definitely your friend. Fortunately for you, Texas seems not to be a state that bans wine shipment (I can't see how the county could matter) so you can go to a place like Shopperswines.com ( https://www.shopperswines.com/search.asp?Name=Marsala&Search=True&Submit=Quick+Search ) and have them send you one or more bottles of REAL Marsala such as Colombo Dry for $7.99 plus, I'm sure, tax and shipping. I use Colombo regularly for cooking--it's not the best quality and if I were going to drink it I might spend a few bucks more for something better, but for cooking it's fine and, as our dogmatic friend Mr. Hoffman demands, it certainly is drinkable.

Marsala is a desert wine. As far as sitting down with a glass of it I don't think you would find it enjoyable. I use a Marsala wine called Florio imported from Sicily and only costs me about 9 dollars. I'm not a wine afficiondo by any means give me a glass of Fortisimo in a Welches jelly glass and I'm happy as a Pig in- or I ment to say clam. Try the internet call the vineyard and tell them you live in an area that is still in the dark ages and they will ship it to you from a medicinal company or what ever. Vivere mangarie bibita essere allegro. Ciao Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Jimeats

Marsala is a desert wine. As far as sitting down with a glass of it I don't think you would find it enjoyable.

Ah, I think you're wrong. I like desert wines by and large. I even like (don't get upset) Kosher wines like Manishevitz. I sipped some of the marsala I was cooking with--it's OK to my taste. Anyway, the same web site I mentioned above sells Florio I believe but it's few dollars more than Colombo and, having used both, I don't consider it worth more.

I LOVE you both. I don't know when my local laws changed, but while I wasn't able to order "out of state" wine the last time I checked, now I am! OK, I'll try to curtail my exclamation point usage, but I'm not sure I can. See?!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!! ;-)

Ordered, paid for, now it's just about the waiting.

Jim, my new favorite wine is a chenin blanc from Beringer that embarrasses me to even buy, much less publically like, so there's no telling how I'll feel about the marsala.

Seriously, though - TX had some crazy law not long ago that we could order/receive wine that was produced in the state of TX, but no others, so I was shocked to find I can actually buy wine online now.

:-)

Happy, happy girl.
Shan

quote:

Originally posted by txtwister



Seriously, though - TX had some crazy law not long ago that we could order/receive wine that was produced in the state of TX, but no others, so I was shocked to find I can actually buy wine online now.

:-)

Happy, happy girl.
Shan

You may be able to thank the U.S. Supreme Court which recently decided a case invalidating certain state laws against interstate wine shipment. But all I know for sure is the web site I mentioned above did not list Texas as among the states they could not ship to--and I'm pretty sure the county laws wouldn't stop them--so I figured you'd be OK. Since I'm from CA (and I used to own some stock in Fosters, the Australian company that now owns Beringer--see http://www.fosters.com.au/enjoy/wine/beringer_vineyards.htm ) were talking about big business for my home state here and we want everyone to be able to enjoy this great product of ours (except the Marsala which so far can't compete with the imported stuff).

On the topic of marsala: my very favorite EASY recipe for a festive dessert and/or to give as a gift comes from my northern Italian grandmother:

Cut good oranges into slice.
Cover with a bit of sugar.
Pour marsala over them.
Add a few maraschino cherries.
Marinate in fridge overnight.
Enjoy!!!

Personnaly, I think chicken marsala probably originated as a good use of the leftover inch of wine in the bottle from the night before's dessert with dinner guests.

Maybe the answer is to make another post asking for ideas and/or recipes for turkey tenderloins, cutlets or whatever you've got and you might come up with some different ideas instead of that yukky cooking wine.

quote:

Originally posted by RubyRose

Personnaly, I think chicken marsala probably originated as a good use of the leftover inch of wine in the bottle from the night before's dessert with dinner guests.

Maybe the answer is to make another post asking for ideas and/or recipes for turkey tenderloins, cutlets or whatever you've got and you might come up with some different ideas instead of that yukky cooking wine.

I don't understand what you're saying. I get the first sentence--makes sense. But does the second sentence mean you don't like Marsala and consider it "yukky cooking wine"--because we've already solved the issue of using stuff labeled as "cooking wine". She ordered some decent Marsala over the internet and it's "in the mail" as they say.

Personally, I love Chicken Marsala (or Veal Marsala) as long as it's made with good Marsala. I also do a variation where you put the sauteed veal scallops in a baking dish, cover each with a slice of provelone and a slice of prosciuto and pour your Marsala pan sauce over the top, then stick in the oven until the cheese melts.

I've used the aperitif Dubonnet (the red, not the white) as a good substitute for Marsala when cooking.