This method for preserving wild mushrooms works well with most types of mushroom and ensures you always have a stock of gourmet, sautéed mushrooms in the freezer.
As is common with seasonal produce – sometimes nature send you a glut. For me it was a truly epic quantity of St. George’s mushrooms – about 4kg of them! I actually had to stop picking because I couldn’t carry anymore. They were everywhere!
All in one little patch of grass – the ground was laden. I had to watch where I trod carefully, picking just a little patch of grass to kneel on here and there while I harvested.
As usual, passers-by eyed me warily, the looks on their faces changing to deep misgiving when they realised what I was actually doing. I will never cease to be amazed by people’s lack of curiosity about the food growing, literally, in their back garden. When bought from a restaurant supplier, these mushrooms cost about £40/kg ($60), yet no one in the fancy suburb I was looting was remotely interested. In fact, they were horrified. All the more for me.
With so many of these mushrooms in your kitchen you need a way to preserve them. Not all wild mushrooms benefit from drying – freezing is a great method for all fairly substantial wild mushrooms – something slender like winter chanterelles or amethyst deceivers won’t work so well.
To prepare them for freezing, the mushrooms are dry sautéed or roasted in an uncrowded pan or baking tray. This drives off the excess water and browns the mushrooms, creating additional, more complex, mushroom flavours which will enhance any dish you use them in.
This method also makes them more freezer-safe. The texture of cooked, browned mushrooms will be much more similar when defrosted than if you freeze them with all the water still inside.
The other benefit of preserving mushrooms in this way is that you can make a beautiful, rich mushroom stock in the pan when you are finished.
Preserving wild mushrooms
Ingredients
- as many wild mushrooms as you've got!
Instructions
Stove-Top Method
- Cut the mushrooms onto pieces - the size depends on your preference and what you intend to use them for.
- Heat a large frying pan (I use a cast-iron skillet) over medium high heat and cook the mushrooms in a single layer, without any fat, until they are browned on all the major surface areas. Turn them as necessary to achieve this. Do not crowd the pan, or else it will become swamped with water and the mushrooms will stew in their juices instead. You will need to work in batches. If it looks like there's too much water in the pan, turn up the heat. The liquid should leave the mushrooms and caramelise on the pan almost immediately, but be careful not to burn either the mushrooms or the residue that is left in the pan.
- When you have finished, turn off the heat, set the mushrooms aside and add some water to the pan. Scrape up all the mushroom residue. If you have successfully avoided burning the lovely, caramelised mushroom juices as you cook, you will be left with a beautiful, dark, rich mushroom broth. If you have an absolutely huge quantity of mushrooms to sauté it may be better to deglaze the pan a couple of times as you cook, as if the dried juices sit in a very hot pan for too long, they will burn. To check if you have avoided burning it, simply taste the stock after. If it is bitter - unlucky! If not, enjoy an incomparably delicious stock!
- Freeze the mushrooms and the stock (if not using immediately) in portions - either in freezer bags or in containers.
Oven Method
- Cut the mushrooms onto pieces - the size depends on your preference and what you intend to use them for.
- Preheat the oven to about 230c. Arrange the mushrooms in a single layer on a baking tray. You may need to use more than one baking tray, depending on how many mushrooms you have. You do not need any fat. Roast until they are browned on all the major surface areas, stirring as necessary to achieve this. Do not crowd the tray, or else it will become swamped with water and the mushrooms will stew in their juices instead. The liquid should leave the mushrooms and caramelise on the pan almost immediately. You are less likely to burn the mushroom residue using this method (as opposed to the stove-top), but the stock that will result is less intense.
- When you have finished, remove the tray from the oven, set the mushrooms aside and add some water to the pan. Scrape up all the mushroom residue. If you have successfully avoided burning the lovely, caramelised mushroom juices as you cook, you will be left with a beautiful, dark, rich mushroom broth. To check if you have avoided burning it, simply taste the stock after. If it is bitter - unlucky! If not, enjoy an incomparably delicious stock!
