Sometimes you need a pantry staple to add to other dishes. This recipe for Brined Mushrooms (Like The Kind You Get In A Jar) fits the bill nicely.
OK, let’s be honest. Who among us hasn’t bought a box or two of mushrooms only to lose them somewhere in that excavation site known as our refrigerator?
I sure have!
Now truthfully, mushrooms slightly past their prime lose their moisture and firm texture, but they gain in concentrated, ‘mushroomy’ flavor. It’s a trade-off. This recipe for brined mushrooms was born out of two needs — to use up some sad mushrooms before they were past all help, and to recreate the same, I hate to say it, almost rubbery (in a good way) texture as the mushrooms you get in a jar.
Why would I want to achieve the latter, you ask?
Since you asked, because, once upon a time I was a vegetarian (insert laughter here from people who know me now). Back then, I created a mock linguine and clam dish, using jarred mushrooms as ‘stand-ins’ for the clams. I would chop up those squeaky, chewy, briny, meaty, mushroom morsels and along with some garlic, chopped green onion, white wine, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, cracked black pepper, crushed red chili flakes, and dried kelp flakes I had a respectable dish. In fact, it was a delicious, surprisingly ‘oceany’ dish, if I do say so myself.
It just so happened that one day I wanted to cook up that pasta dish, but I didn’t have a jar of mushrooms. I did have fresh, or should I say, ‘fresh-ish’ mushrooms in the fridge. I remembered trying a recipe, like this one, for Vegetables à la Grecque. The recipe is essentially vegetables of your choosing (cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, etc.) poached in an aromatic liquid (which reduces and intensifies as the vegetables poach) and marinated in a mixture that includes the flavorful poaching liquid.
I remembered the texture of the mushrooms, post-poaching, as very similar to brined, jarred mushrooms. I decided to try my hand at simmering the mushrooms in salted water to see if that too, would be similar, and it worked.
Now, I routinely buy mushrooms in bulk and reserve some for this recipe. I store half cup increments in freezer bags in the freezer (note: they do get a little meatier and chewier once frozen).
Why have these on hand?
Well, brined mushrooms lend a nice meatiness to a quick pasta sauce, pasta or rice salad, or marinated veggie salads. Finely minced, they add nice complexity to vegetable relish recipes — the kind used for pressed sandwiches. They also work well in egg dishes, such as scrambled eggs, or individual frittatas (perfect for lunch, with a quick reheat in the microwave at home or at work).
Brined mushrooms have many uses. I’d love to hear your culinary suggestions for their use in the Comments section below.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
(1/2 cup portions)
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- 1 pound (16 ounces) Baby Bella mushrooms, cleaned, tough stem bottoms sliced off, sliced
- 4 cups water
- 2 teaspoons salt (regular table salt)
Ingredients
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- In a large saucepan, combine water and salt and bring to a boil.
- Add the sliced mushrooms to the boiling salted water, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- Drain hot mushrooms, spread mushrooms onto paper towels, pat dry with additional paper towels and allow to cool completely. Store covered in the refrigerator for several days, or freeze for longer storage.
Nutritional facts per serving (Please note: numbers are for reference only — the exact amount of salt retained by mushrooms may vary from batch to batch):
29 calories
0g fat
349mg sodium
4g carbs
2g fiber
3g protein