Stuffed Mushrooms

[zilla369]

I'm going to offer stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer course for the chef's table at our restaurant.

My question is: most stuffed mushroom recipes do not call for the caps to be par-baked, but i often find when i eat stuffed mushrooms prepared by others, the caps are underdone (to my taste).

I think i'll toss the caps in evoo and thyme, s&p, then bake them for ten minutes or so before stuffing. Any reason why i shouldn't?

By the way, i'm planning on stuffing them with a chorizo, shallot, frizzled spinach and cream cheese mixture.

Post your stuffed mushroom success stories here.

[Malawry]

I don't pre-bake them. I usually stuff them and bake them in a moderate oven. But I put them in a shallow pan for baking and add a small amount of some kind of liquid to the pan to keep the mushrooms from drying out. Chicken stock is probably the most common liquid I use. But these are not "fine dining" mushrooms, these are casual home cooking.

I made some stuffed portabellos as the vegetarian alternative for work tonight, actually. Filled with a mixture of some leftover frozen spinach and the ends of white, wheat, and rye breads toasted in butter. (Gotta love watching that food cost...) I sprinkled with parmesan before baking. The girls who don't eat fish (which was tonight's meat entree) ate it. A lot of the fish eaters ate it in addition to fish.

[jsolomon]

I like to use spicy breakfast sausage, parm, EVOO, crackers, and a little egg to bind mine all together. I've never worried about them being underdone, but I usually use little button mushrooms so they cook in the same time frame as the egg sets in if you broil them in an already heated oven.

But, your recipes sound better. I'm taking notes, please don't sue on grounds of IP!

[chezcherie]

for mother's day last year, my 18 yr old "riffed" off an epicurious recipe, and came up with "matt's magic mushrooms." he did par-bake them for 15 minutes, brushed with combo of evoo and bacon fat (that's why he's my favorite child...)(okay, they are all my favorite!), then stufffed with minced shallot, garlic, spinach, the bacon that the fat came from, and feta.....serious good. i have used them for many parties, featured them in cooking class, and my assistant now used them in her catering menus.

[rachiesarah]

if i am feeling lazy i just take frozen spinach mix with shallotts and cream cheese s&p and bake..

if i am feeling naughty I make creamed spinach (onions, shallots, roux, sour cream & nutmeg if i remember) then stuff the 'shrooms, then pack on breadcrumbs that have been seasoned with herbs mixed with melted butter and bake.

i did the later with huge portobellos a few months ago and didn't par-bake/broil them.

though they did take longer whether 'cause of size or 'cause i didn't prep them properly.

[Abra]

I do roast them first, and believe in it. I got this technique from a recipe on Epicurious, and I think it makes the best mushrooms ever. The texture is right where you want it when you do them this way: Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with foil. Toss mushrooms and 1/4 cup olive oil or bacon fat in large bowl to coat. Sprinkle mushrooms with salt and pepper. Place mushrooms, rounded side down, in single layer on prepared baking sheets. Bake mushrooms until centers fill with liquid, about 25 minutes. Turn mushrooms over and let liquid drain onto pan. Bake mushrooms until brown and liquid evaporates, about 20 minutes longer. Stuff and bake until stuffing is done through.

[JerzyMade]

It's been a while since I've done them -- the kids thing that mushrooms are disgusting -- but the last time I did, I sprayed them with a little oil and prebaked for about 5 minutes (gills down).

I used goat cheese, fresh sage and shallots for stuffing (I think it was based on Martha Stewart's show) and I really recommend the combination.

[Anna N]

I will generally saute them briefly before stuffing them and have also tossed them in oil and pre-baked them until they just start to soften and wrinkle. I think the end product is much better when the mushrooms are given a short pre-cook of some kind.

[dano1]

i parbake, gill side down, on a sheetpan lined with parchment. This shrinks the cap, losing moisture. Now off to work to make a couple of 3 hundred of them ...........

danny

[DRColby]

I assume you're probably doing stuffe portabellos.

The way I like to do them is to remove the gills with a spoon or bird's beak knife back.

I like them grilled and stuffed with a mixture of precooked italian sausage that has had chopped spinnach and a blue cheese (Ilike Gorgozola) after the sausage has been drained.

I start by putting the mushrooms on the grill cap down first to get some of the moisture out and then turn them over and add ther stuffing and give them a good 10 minutes so the cheese has melted and the spinnach partially cooked.

You can do the same with large boletes. If you are licky enough to have morels large enough to stuff they are better off stuffed and then baked in the oven.

dave

[heidih]

Have they left the popularity building? For the last year or so I have been getting nice firm portobellos at the local 99cent store and can't seem to pass them up. Generally they are 5 oz. packets with 2 to 3 shrooms depending on size.

My standard stuffing is minced shrimp or a bit of Italian sausage or both with breadcrumbs, egg white, some fresh herbs and a touch of cheese. Today I had a lone portobella and a bit of leftover smashed potato and garlic & pepper shrimp that had been sauteed with fresh tomato and some oregano twigs. It was a fail on its own, but stuffed into the mushroom with eggwhite and cheese it became a light lunch that I which I had had more of. I put any leftover stuffing into an oiled custard cup and bake along with the mushrooms. I do prebake the mushrooms to soften. I do it gill side up and add the liquid that pools into the stuffing.

Any fans out there?

[Mjx]

I made some stuffed porcini with a sausage and chestnut-based filling. I can't remember exactly what I did (there was sage, and no bread), it was one of those 'clear the fridge' sorts of things, but the proportions of sausage and chestnut don't matter that much; these are the sorts of ingredients that you cannot really mess up.

[gfweb]

Have they left the popularity building? For the last year or so I have been getting nice firm portobellos at the local 99cent store and can't seem to pass them up. Generally they are 5 oz. packets with 2 to 3 shrooms depending on size.

My standard stuffing is minced shrimp or a bit of Italian sausage or both with breadcrumbs, egg white, some fresh herbs and a touch of cheese. Today I had a lone portobella and a bit of leftover smashed potato and garlic & pepper shrimp that had been sauteed with fresh tomato and some oregano twigs. It was a fail on its own, but stuffed into the mushroom with eggwhite and cheese it became a light lunch that I wish I had had more of. I put any leftover stuffing into an oiled custard cup and bake along with the mushrooms. I do prebake the mushrooms to soften. I do it gill side up and add the liquid that pools into the stuffing.

Any fans out there?

Portobellos are great. The word around Kennett Sq, PA ("mushroom capital of the world") is that they were always popular among the growers but a big-ass crimini mushroom (which is what they are) wasn't marketable. So t hey changed the name to portobello and things really took off.

[gfweb]

Kind of like Patagonian Toothfish morphing into Chilean Seabass

[heidih]

To explain the fish reference I like this http://shermanslagoon.com/comics/october-21-2013/

On the mushrooms - the funny twist is that I now see the little brown guys called "baby bellas"

[liuzhou]

I regularly do Chinese style stuffed mushrooms, which are fried and steamed rather than baked.

They are fresh shiitake mushrooms stuffed with a pork mince seasoned with he usual Chines suspects - ginger, garlic, spring onion, chilli, salt. Fry stuffing side down till browned, flip and fry the other side for about the same length of time. Add a little water/stock to the pan/wok, cover and steam for 4 to 5 minutes. Most of the liquid should have evaporated. What remains can be splashed over the mushrooms before serving.

Alternatively, I just steam them on top of the rice in the rice cooker, without the initial frying. When the rice is ready, so are they.

[Cheffriis]

I did some stuffed button mushrooms as a amuse for a evening one night @ work, kept the stuffing simple with finely chopped sun dried tomato and olive, grated parmesan then I wrapped them in bacon then again in spiced chicken skin. Baked them for 16mins (didn't par cook the mushrooms) and they came out crispy skinned and tender in the middle.

I think it does come down to the size of the mushroom and the cooking method involved ie: deep frying/ roasting etc.

[Smithy]

I haven't thought about baking stuffed mushrooms for quite a while. Most summers I do a few grilled portabellas. Brush with olive oil, grill gill-side down briefly to start them cooking; remove from grill. Stuff with a mixture of herbs, bread crumbs, maybe some crumbled sausage; sprinkle with grated cheese (usually something fairly dry like parmesan), and grill until mushroom is soft and cheese has melted. It's been a while. I like the sound of the flavor combinations y'all have posted upthread.

Hidden back in some cupboard is one of those impulse buys I do from time to time, and then wonder what to do with it: in this case, peeled chestnuts. Mjx, you've given me an idea. Thanks!

[Pam R]

One of my favorite, simple, simple stuffed mushrooms uses the mushroom itself as part of the stuffing. For crimini or button, remove the stems and finely chop them. Saute in butter or olive oil with salt, pepper, garlic and any herbs you like. You can also throw in some finely diced onion or shallot. Once soft, stir in enough bread crumbs to soak up any of the garlicky/mushroomy liquids - probably close to equal parts mushroom mixture to breadcrumbs. Season the mushroom caps (you can brush them with olive oil or butter if you like), then stuff and bake at 375 until the mushrooms are cooked through. I don't precook them.

I've never done it, but seems like adding some cheese (maybe chevre) to the mix wouldn't be so bad.

[Plantes Vertes]

Smithy, there's actually a recipe for that here.

[sandrew834]

I love stuffed mushrooms! Just like the commenter above, I probably have never made them the same way twice. No real recipe, just use whatever I have on hand to make the stuffing. Italian sausage works well, but I really prefer a meatless stuffing. I always add just a touch of green pepper, because I love the flavor. No matter the stuffing, I always drizzle the tops with olive oil just before popping them into the oven. It really does make a difference.

[Smithy]

Smithy, there's actually a recipe for that here.

Thank you!

[JAZ]

One of my favorite, simple, simple stuffed mushrooms uses the mushroom itself as part of the stuffing. For crimini or button, remove the stems and finely chop them. Saute in butter or olive oil with salt, pepper, garlic and any herbs you like. You can also throw in some finely diced onion or shallot. Once soft, stir in enough bread crumbs to soak up any of the garlicky/mushroomy liquids - probably close to equal parts mushroom mixture to breadcrumbs. Season the mushroom caps (you can brush them with olive oil or butter if you like), then stuff and bake at 375 until the mushrooms are cooked through. I don't precook them.

I've never done it, but seems like adding some cheese (maybe chevre) to the mix wouldn't be so bad.

Pam, I used to make an appetizer with sauteed mushrooms and roasted garlic in pastry shells topped with a little piece of Brie. The combination of mushrooms and Brie is excellent.

[Pam R]

I've never done it, but seems like adding some cheese (maybe chevre) to the mix wouldn't be so bad.

Pam, I used to make an appetizer with sauteed mushrooms and roasted garlic in pastry shells topped with a little piece of Brie. The combination of mushrooms and Brie is excellent.

I have some brie on order - I just might have to try it. Thanks! I think mushrooms work well with lots of different cheeses. Might have to try a few of them.

[merstar]

I do stuffed button mushrooms with a filling of mushroom stems, onions, spinach, breadcrumbs, Parmigiano Reggiano, spices and herbs. I drizzle them with a little extra virgin olive oil before baking, and I don't prebake them.