Substitution for Marsala Wine?

Honestly marsala has a very distinct taste so if I were you I'd just look for a different recipe involving chicken and mushrooms.

I'd simply not make any recipes that call for any sort of alcohol.
Try chili, soups, stews that use broth or a milk/cream/cheese base.
Try curry (there are so many curries to try - they can be sweet or hot or both and so far I've never met a curry I didn't like).
You don't want a 'substitute' for alcohol cause you're still thinking about it.
What's the point of coq au vin without the vin (wine)?
Try approaching it from a right angle and go for all sorts of non alcohol dishes.
There should only be about a bazillion to choose from!

The amount of alcohol left in any sort of vinegar is negligible.
This is in fact a topic of conversation in AA meetings - so maybe you can discuss it there and see what they say.
Go with plain white vinegar or apple cider vinegar if you want to try it.
If you want to skip it altogether - use lemon juice instead for acidic dishes.

Maybe try the recipe below and sub in apple cider vinegar in place of sherry vinegar. I've done that for many recipes because I always have apple cider vinegar and may not have the others the recipe calls for.

I admire you and your husband's dedication to keeping him on the track he wants to be on. My grandfather was an alcoholic and my dad has never had a drink in his life (now 84) because of it. He told me he didn't know whether he would become addicted or not so better never to have any. 😊

Here's an interesting discussion from my favorite cooking site:

https://www.chowhound.com/post/marsala-wine-substitute-84...

I'm reading that many people use prune juice with a little balsamic vinegar added to it. Also, unless you're making Chicken Marsala, you can simply skip the marsala and use a good quality chicken stock, like Kitchen Basics brand. Don't use the stuff in the cans. You might consider reducing the stock, by boiling it until it has less volume and is a little stronger.

ETA: After reading your SWH, I understand more about how you're committed to not using vinegars. I did some reading and there's a further discussion on Chowhound about how some people avoid all vinegars because it can trigger a taste reaction or taste memory in a recovering alcoholic. So it's not just about a negligible amount of alcohol that might be in vinegar - it's more than that. I respect your husband's decision to avoid vinegars and your determination to accommodate that. (But the cook in me needs to say that balsamic vinegar doesn't come from balsamic wine; there is no such thing. It comes from pressed grapes, including the skin, seeds and flesh, which is called "grape must", but it does go through a lengthy fermenting process.)

So, I think I'd stick with really good quality chicken stock, and just avoid recipes like Chicken Marsala that require a certain wine.

Have fun cooking!

G.,

This is what I found when I was searching for what else I could use so I didn't have to run to the store...

http://wine.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Substitute_for_Marsala_Wine

I was thinking perhaps juice as well to give it the color and sweetness. Maybe you could find mushroom stock? Someplace like Whole Foods might have it, otherwise I guess you could just use chicken stock. It might change the flavor of the original dish somewhat but who cares. I think it's great you are supporting your husband.

Online they suggest:

Non-Alcoholic Marsala Substitute

1/4 cup of white grape juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar

Stroganoff is easy to make, you can use this sauce for chicken and beef.. lots of recipes online for this..

Teriyaki sauce you can make with a can of coke and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of soy sauce..

Then their is lemon chicken, ginger/garlic chicken, a million options without using alcohol..

The only thing any suggestion found online was to try verjus -- don't know if you can find that in your area. Most say that not using marsala wine will change the dish as it is the marsala that makes the dish.

The site Wild Women posted has 1 recipe without alcohol. It does include a teaspoon or maybe a tablespoon of vinegar. I suggest the small amount of vinegar will not be noticeable when you eat the chicken. It just makes a more complex flavor.

Well, Marsala is such a unique flavor, I think it would be difficult to replicate that exact flavor. If it were me (I love Marsala dishes so I am familiar with the flavor), I would probably cook down some strong flavored fresh mushroom and use the cooked down juice mixed with some chicken stock to make a "fake marsala". If it was a sweet, I'd add sweetener (probably honey would work best?) otherwise just leave it as is. I might also add a little white grape juice if I had it laying around, but I wouldn't go out and purchase it since it wouldn't do enough to be worth the costs. I might also experiment with adding a touch of Worcheshire sauce to the mushroom/chicken stock . . . that actually sounds like it might work.

If I get a chance to experiment on my end in the near future as well, I will. I mostly write my own recipes and have a ton of substitutions for stuff figured out. We live rural and getting to the store for a forgotten ingredient is a huge pain, so I've learned to do a lot of work arounds :)

Good luck!!

I know a few alcoholics. Most tell me that they cook with wine and other alcohols due to the alcohol cooking off. There isn't any alcohol left in it once it's cooked.

You might research that and discuss it with your husband. Maybe he doesn't know that it's gone?

what about grape juice? the one from light colored grapes.