Dry sautee for mushrooms? Anyone tried it?

[MaryIsobel]

I have, and it was one of the best things that I have recently learned. Just put chopped or sliced or diced raw mushrooms in a dry skillet (I use non-stick) until they are golden, THEN add butter or olive oil + seasonings. Results in perfectly browned mushrooms that haven't soaked up an excess of oil or butter.

[heidih]

Yes much dicussed here.  Maybe start here 

 

I know @Fat Guy was enthused. I have done them dry fry also - sometimes if they are quite dry I add flicks of water. Concentrates flavor in commercial button tyoes.  

[haresfur]

Sometimes I do but I'm usually throwing them in with other things that are already cooking so then they get cooked in whatever oil and moisture is there already.

[TicTac]

I still find the texture of the end result when cooked in hot butter/oil from the start superior to a dry fried mushroom (with fat added at the end).

 

Experiment for yourself, but if you prefer a more moist and resilient interior, you will be in the fat camp.

[rotuts]

i do this n a large FonfLess ( non-stick )

 

I pulse the ceased mushrooms in a Cusi

 

put the pan on medium , the later to low

 

and cool , vac the results and freeze .

 

I take out what I need 

 

soups , ragu , etc

 

ad re-vac the bag and back n the freeze it goes.

 

no fat whatsoever ever.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

I have dry-sauteed chanterelles after foraging trips in our little camper van (Pleasure-Way). When foraging we sometimes get overly enthusiastic ("mushroom greed") and return with a lot of mushrooms to process, which has to be done almost immediately to preserve their freshness and quality. I have fond memories of my husband sitting out at the picnic table in a national forest campground cleaning chanterelles, and me inside with 2 pans cooking them until they release their juices and then packing them in ziplock bags. As I recall we put about 15 bags in our little bitty freezer to bring home to Mexico in a cooler. Removed the ice cube tray and everything else to make room. We dehydrate the boletus, so any processing has to be done in a real kitchen with electricity. 

 

They provided many delicious meals until they ran out. One of our faves was in a risotto--yummy! Subsequent years have been disappointing due to the ongoing drought and the loss of many trees that provide the proper environment and growing conditions. Productive locations we'd found over the years were completely barren the past few trips.

 

One thing we always do is carry a cheap paintbrush--1" size works best--in our foraging baskets to brush off most of the duff and soil before bringing them home. We have even gone so far as to strip out the spongy tubes of boletus edulis, both to reduce processing time as well as to return the spores to the ground. And we never ever take every last mushroom from a patch because the remaining mushrooms drop their spores as they age, prolonging the vigor of the patch. We specialize in chanterelles and boletus edulis, and sometimes we find a few Clavariadelphus truncatus, which is a sweet mushroom.  But they're quite rare.

 

By the way, a couple of 5-pound onion bags are ideal for gathering large mushrooms. Over the course of an afternoon a lot of the dirt and pine needles drop off. We always carry a few in our backpacks, just in case, which came in handy one year. We'd hiked into the Wheeler Geologic Area near Creede (Colorado), and upon arriving at the entry we discovered that almost the entire forest floor was covered with perfect boletus edulis. We were on our hands and knees harvesting like mad, because it was starting to cloud up. It's a 7-mile hike each way, and we staggered back as quickly as we could to our car carrying several full bags, which when dried filled 2 full gallon jars. I think I still have some of those mushrooms, though I'm starting to run out. We're heading back north this summer, but I have no confidence we'll find much. Sad.

[MetsFan5]

Yup,

it’s the only way I’ve ever sautéed mushrooms.