Preparing Mushrooms: The Topic

[Jaymes]

And whether or not mushrooms full of water matter also depends upon what you're doing with them.

I've got a friend that always drops her button mushrooms into a big bowl of water and then takes them out one by one to wash. This probably would not matter much at all if she were then putting them into a pan to saute or into a soup or sauce to cook.

But instead, she marinates them and puts them into a salad or serves them with toothpicks as an appetizer. No big surprise that water doesn't add any flavor whatsoever, and those 'marinated' mushrooms are watery and flavorless. And you can definitely tell the difference between them and marinated mushrooms that have not been presoaked in water.

I've tried to explain to her that if she's marinating the mushrooms, she shouldn't allow them to soak in water beforehand, but habits die hard, you know.

[joesan]

I concur with the efficacy of the Cooking Issues method - I just tonight sauteed some mushrooms that I'd thoroughly soaked in water. They didn't achieve a golden brown crust that I can get on non-soaked mushrooms but they really were less oily and full of good mushroomy flavour.

I've always not cared about wetting mushrooms to clean them but this time I thoroughly soaked them. It wasn't necessary to crowd the pan to get good results.

[Blether]

I wonder how washed -and-sauteed compares with simply cooked dry (no oil, no water).

[C. sapidus]

I just now tried the Wet & Crowded Mushrooms technique from the cooking techniques blog and, wow, what a revelation it is!

I did this the other day, totally by accident. I dumped too many mushrooms in the pan and watched them swim in their own liquid, but kept cooking them down until the liquid disappeared and the mushrooms browned. I was quite surprised to see the mushrooms turn out so nicely, and I am even more surprised that it took centuries for this method to be documented.

I wonder how washed -and-sauteed compares with simply cooked dry (no oil, no water).

We were just talking about that this evening. I think that dry-cooking mushrooms yields more of a roasty flavor, but I have never compared the two methods side by side.

[Shalmanese]

So I tried this technique again tonight and it continues to dazzle. At it's core, it's a braise-fry. Here's how I did it:

Slice dry mushrooms and add them directly to the pan on high heat, add 1/2 cup of water and some salt and clamp on the lid for 3 minutes. When you take off the lid, the mushrooms should be stewing in a pool of it's own juices. Continue cooking on high the lid off, stirring once in a while to prevent sticking. Once the liquid is almost gone, drizzle in 2 tbsp of duck fat and continuously stir the mixture. Once all the liquid has evaporated, it will transition from braising to frying and you want to keep it on high heat and stir until most of the mushrooms are brown.

One other advantage of this method is that it sets the colors into the mushrooms. With the dry fry, mushrooms can leak liquids and discolor something that it's later stirred into. I put these mushrooms in a polenta and there's a tiny bit of darkness but the golden yellow of the polenta is largely intact.

[Lapin d'Argent]

I always brush-wash my mushrooms under not-too-cold water, soaking them briefly if necessary. If they're pre-sliced, I might just give them a rinse in the colander.

I tend to cook them in a hybrid sort of way, kind-of similar to the one described by Shalmanese. I think in both these methods, damp mushrooms are an advantage, and old mushrooms perk right up.

First, I always use a fair bit of oil, just as I would for tomatoes. Exact quantity depends on the size of your pan and the quantity of mushrooms, but say about 1/4 cup.

Secondly, I add the sliced mushrooms to the medium-hot oil, salt, and then cover the pan to encourage the mushrooms start sweating. Once they are well on their way to shedding some of their liquid (usually in about 5 minutes or less), I uncover the pan, and squeeze in about a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. This further encourages them to shed some more lovely juice, and brightens up the flavor profile. Keep sauteing until the liquid is nearly gone, then add a generous splash of the fortified alcohol of your choice -- I like a nice brandy these days, but sherry is good too. You should now be able to cook the mushrooms down to a nice browned finish -- turn up the heat if necessary, but keep a close eye on them. If you want, finish with a little butter, and adjust the seasoning.

They'll hold, covered, in a low oven, while you finish your risotto or polenta, or whatever you plan to serve them with. A final sprinkle with a fresh herb is a lovely contrast.

[Edited to fix pesky typos]

Edited January 26, 2010 by Lapin d'Argent (log)

[Shamanjoe]

They'll hold, covered, in a low oven, while you finish your risotto or polenta, or whatever you plan to serve them with. A final sprinkle with a fresh herb is a lovely contrast.

I've never been one to eat mushrooms on their own, but I might be tempted to snag a bowl of yours.

As for washing the mushrooms, if you did soak them in water, would that make for a larger amount of mushroom-infused pan sauce later on? I've only cooked mushrooms a few times in my life, and they were finished with some beef stock and a dash of heavy cream.

edited to add a quote

Edited January 27, 2010 by Shamanjoe (log)

[Alcuin]

I was reading _La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy_ by The Italian Academy of Cuisine, a compendium of simple and many seemingly very old school dishes and I came upon something similar to this technique. It was for, I think, a simple sauteed mushrooms dish and called for boiling the mushrooms for five minutes before sauteeing them in oil and garlic. When I first read that, I thought it was crazy since it goes against everything I thought about mushrooms but now in light of this thread I'm re-evaluating it. Marcella Hazan talks about cooking things like eggplant and maybe mushrooms until they disgorge the oil they've soaked up and their spongy structure having collapsed. I guess the same thing's going on with boiling the mushrooms for five minutes. I'll have to give this a shot, though I'll probably do it in one pan. I do wonder though what effect this has on different mushrooms. Would more delicate mushrooms (like chanterelles) work as well, or would they turn to mush with so much cooking?

[isomer]

The Cooking Issues blog suggests that soaking them is not only OK, but better: Crowded Wet Mushrooms. A Beautiful Thing.. Go figure....

[paulraphael]

I've been trying the wet, crowded pan method, and am not fully convinced. The shrooms are fine, but don't end up with as much of the browned crust I get when I do them the traditional way. As far as oiliness goes, I've never found that to be a problem. I've only played with criminis ... maybe other mushrooms are different.

[Shalmanese]

I can confirm that this technique also works on eggplants. I again used 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan for 1 eggplant and there was visible oil in the pan at the end of cooking. With eggplants, the texture of the finished product depends on how long it's spent simmering & how long it's spent frying. A longer simmer will produce looser, mushier flesh while longer frying times firm it up and add bounce & toothsomeness.

[Lapin d'Argent]

They'll hold, covered, in a low oven, while you finish your risotto or polenta, or whatever you plan to serve them with. A final sprinkle with a fresh herb is a lovely contrast.

I've never been one to eat mushrooms on their own, but I might be tempted to snag a bowl of yours.

As for washing the mushrooms, if you did soak them in water, would that make for a larger amount of mushroom-infused pan sauce later on? I've only cooked mushrooms a few times in my life, and they were finished with some beef stock and a dash of heavy cream.

edited to add a quote

Shamanjoe -- you're welcome anytime! As for washing them, I don't think that affects the amount of pan sauce. That's more dependent on the amount of oil/butter/alcohol that you introduce to produce a glaze, plus the quantity and type of mushrooms. Baby bellas, for example, are going to throw more liquid than chanterelles, for example.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with beef stock and heavy cream -- except that a dash of brandy or port would probably have made things even better!

[Shalmanese]

A new technique I've discovered:

Slice about 1 lb of mushrooms and add it to the pot with half a bottle of red wine, some salt & pepper. Let it come to a boil and then reduce down, add 2 tbsp of oil/butter just before the wine is dried, cook until the pan is completely dry and then continue frying for a couple of minutes.

These mushrooms absorb the entire concentrated flavor of the red wine and, when you bite into them, it's a burst of amazingly concentrated red wine flavor. It's like nothing else I've ever eaten before, the experience is so strange I'm not even sure if it's good or not. All I know is that it's intense and it's something you definitely should try out if you have some leftover wine from the night before.

[Chris Amirault]

Interesting notes from Joel Robuchon on preparing mushrooms in the Wall St Journal:

A lot of cooks don't know how to prepare mushrooms properly. It looks simple, but it's not. For porcinis, most think you have to cook them at a high heat. You have to take your time in cooking them, in a medium heat. For chanterelles, you have to blanch them in salted boiling water for a few seconds before sauteing. For black trumpet mushrooms, you have to cook out their moisture in a pan with some salt, and drain the excess water before you saute. They can really be extraordinary, if you treat them right.

I didn't know that about chanterelles, and I have never cooked with fresh porcini (sadly). Can anyone corroborate Robuchon's advice? Or dare to opine otherwise?

[heidih]

Interesting notes from Joel Robuchon on preparing mushrooms in the Wall St Journal:

A lot of cooks don't know how to prepare mushrooms properly. It looks simple, but it's not. For porcinis, most think you have to cook them at a high heat. You have to take your time in cooking them, in a medium heat. For chanterelles, you have to blanch them in salted boiling water for a few seconds before sauteing. For black trumpet mushrooms, you have to cook out their moisture in a pan with some salt, and drain the excess water before you saute. They can really be extraordinary, if you treat them right.

I didn't know that about chanterelles, and I have never cooked with fresh porcini (sadly). Can anyone corroborate Robuchon's advice? Or dare to opine otherwise?

Of the three mentioned I have only cooked with chanterelles and only on a few occasions. It would be nice to know why on the blanch- perhaps because they are "dry" and that would allow them to get a bit of a pre-cook and then absorb the seasonings? I have an open mind. It kind of makes sense that the shrooms would be treated differently based on their unique characteristics. Perhaps we will hear from some more diversified mushroom cooks.

[Carlovski]

I really cannot believe how a few seconds blanching can make much difference in cooking - the heat penetration on the two methods is going to be about the same, and any more gentle cooking involved in the initial blanching on the outer layers will be negated by the sauteing. It's also not long enough to cook the insides to mean you can reduce the saute time (Which I could see making a difference).

But- I can see where he is coming from, you can't just treat a big bowl full of assorted 'wild mushrooms' as the same product, and expect optimum results by treating them all the same any more than you would with a bowl full of assorted seafood.

My perfect mushroom is one that has been fried to remove a certain amount of it's moisture (don't as for a percentage!) to concentrate it's taste, and with a bronzed, burnished exterior (butter is essential). Now not every mushroom wil achieve that perfect state in the same time - hence they may need a different amount of time in the pan, but blanching to me sounds like a culinary anachronism.

Carl

Edited October 7, 2010 by Carlovski (log)