Fried Mushrooms

Hey there Honey's and New-Bees!

This might seem like a pretty easy culinary skill, but it wasn’t until a couple months ago that I realized I was frying mushrooms the wrong way. Maybe saying the wrong way is a little strong because my fried mushrooms still tasted pretty good, but they were always mushy, grey and wet. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Well if it does keep reading!

So while I was out for coffee with a friend the conversation turned to food, more specifically our shared love for mushrooms and putting some over steak. I confessed to her that as much as I love the pairing, my mushrooms never really look that appealing because they are so slimy and grey looking, so she shared with me how she fries them so that they are a beautiful golden brown with a slight smokey taste – and are definitely presentable.

I’ve since researched, fried, and eaten mushrooms more times than I care to admit since then, but I can now confidently say I cook some pretty damn good mushrooms and am happy to pass this skill onto you!

Start by selecting a non-stick pan with a large surface area to maximize their contact with the pan then coat it with a thin layer of olive oil (or any oil with a high smoke point). You only need a small amount of oil here so I usually to take a paper towel and wipe up any excess oil that’s on the pan.

Heat your pan on high and give it a little time to warm up (not too long with non-stick) before placing the mushrooms. A good rule of thumb that I like to follow is I place my hand a couple of centimetres (or inches for my American friends) over the surface, if you feel the heat radiating from the pan then you know your pan is warm enough so you can go ahead and start adding your mushrooms.

Place your mushrooms on the pan in an even layer making sure not to overcrowd the pan (you  might need to do this in batches). A lot of moisture is released when you’re frying mushrooms, and if you overcrowd the pan then moisture will get trapped underneath all the mushrooms in a pool of water, which prevents the moisture from being released and you’ll end up with soggy mushrooms 😔. So be patient and do your mushrooms in smaller batches – those couple of extra minutes will really go a long way.

Once you’ve added the mushrooms cook them on high without stirring them until all the water has been released and has evaporated, then flip them so that they can brown evenly on both sides. Once evenly browned season them with a little salt and pepper, and/or add any additional spices like garlic, shallots, or chives as desired, cook until fragrant and serve!