The Importance of a Dry Sauté

No one likes a soggy mushroom. In fact, texture is one of the most common reasons listed when mushroom haters are asked Why?

The slimy texture of many mainstream mushroom dishes is due to 2 conditions.

1. The type of mushroom used (I will have a separate post referring to this conundrum)

2. The cooking method. This is easier for consumers to experiment with if they are unsure of purchasing specialty mushrooms.

Mushrooms are like sponges and can hold lots of water. This water seeps out during the cooking process and can stop the mushrooms from becoming a desirable texture. By performing a dry sauté, and removing excess water, you can elevate the taste and texture of mushrooms.

Introduction

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Agaricus bisporus is the most common cooking mushroom found in grocery stores.

Don't recognize the name? How about Portabella? Cremini, Baby Bella, Button, White mushrooms? All Agaricus bisporus!
While they're the most common to be bought; they are also the most common mushroom for people to not like.

Proper preparation and cooking can turn these grey, slimy shrooms into meaty, umami flavor bombs.

I make sure to complete a dry sauté at the start of any mushroom based recipe.

Improved Searing

No one wants a mushy mushroom. Excess water leads to drowned mushrooms which cannot brown or sear.

Like meats, mushrooms go through the Maillard reaction; caramelizing sugars and umami molecules to enhance the flavors.

A study found searing enhances umami flavor by up to 7x.

Nutty Flavor

The excess water in cooked mushrooms can dilute the flavor. It will leach out into the cooking liquid and could be lost during serving.

Removing most of the water concentrates those flavors. Improved searing adds a layer of nutty umami.

Meaty Texture

Dishes like Maitake pulled pork, portabella burgers, shitake bacon, and mushroom stews will benefit from this technique.

The texture and complex, savory flavors of true searing lead to meatier flavors in the mushrooms.

Certain mushrooms are selected for their textures which may have the same fibrous chew as meat.

This cooking method highlights those textures.

More Accessible

Rehydrated dried mushrooms have degraded textures. Usually used in soups and sauces.

This method increases the versatility of dried mushrooms in the kitchen.

Add dry sauteed mushrooms to pizza, omelets, and more.

Umami is a Japanese word for savory, meaty, complex flavors. It is one of the 5 main flavors.

Find more here: https://www.rd.com/list/13-foods-with-natural-umami/

Easy-Peasy Prep

It's great that this essential cooking step is one of the easiest ways you can prepare mushrooms.

Larger pieces of mushrooms are best suited for this technique. If the pieces are too small, they will shrink beyond desired size as the water evaporates. Studies from labs at Harvard University found some mushrooms to be made of up to 90% water. So cut your mushrooms in quarters, halves, or thick slices depending on the size of the species.

You're almost done with the prep now.

A medium heat is best to start; medium-high will be used later in in the recipe.

Any pan will do, but I like to use a cast iron skillet. That flavorful mushroom water will do great things for the pan's seasoning.

Sit back and sauté
Be patient & listen to the sounds

Once the pan reaches the desired heat, add your mushrooms. try not to overcrowd them; some overlap is okay but avoid piling them into the pan.

As the water begins to release, you'll hearing sizzling start. Soon, as the steam and heat cook the other mushrooms, a big pool of juice will gather in the base of the pan. This will bubble and eventually boil off.

As the juice reduces, I add a bit of salt and toss the mushrooms around. This will help release the last bit of moisture.

Soon, all the liquid will be gone.

There will be a shift in the sizzles!

As the last of the moisture evaporates, there will be an audible shift in the sizzles. It will change from a wet splattering sizzle to a higher pitched, almost whistle like sound.

At this point, toss the in a few pads of vegan butter ( I like the Earth Balance Soy free sticks) or olive oil.

Any time you're trying a new mushroom, I recommend adding just salt, pepper, and thyme to them. This will showcase their natural flavor profile.