Marinated mushrooms four ways.
I hoovered some delicious marinated mushrooms from the charcuterie board at a recent event and resolved to make them myself. Researching online recipes, I found a surprising variety of methods and even definitions of what “marinated mushrooms” implies. As executed, our marinated mushrooms taste test includes four preps with a focus on a/how flavorful is the mushroom itself and b/how well do the marinating ingredients complement the mushroom.
I worked with ordinary brown mushrooms (cremini) from the supermarket and trimmed the ends of the stems then quartered them (or halved in the case of smaller ones), I used good olive oil and a reasonable amount of salt and pepper for flavor balance plus some spices as noted below but was not going for a completed product, just a best practices technique.
Test #1: sautéed then marinated.
Test #1: sauteed then marinated. This is the method used in an NYT recipe and it might be argued the mushrooms aren’t really marinated but simply cooked then doused with vinegar before serving (not unlike that famous Rao’s chicken dish). I sauteed them lightly in olive oil with garlic then added vinegar to the warm skillet.
Test #2: boiled then marinated.
Test #2: boiled then marinated. This is a technique I ran across on the Mediterranean Dish blog. Boil the mushrooms 5 minutes, then drain thoroughly and toss with marinade. It’s counterintuitive because you’d think the objective in preparing mushrooms is to reduce their water content, not give them the opportunity to absorb more. But they retained their texture and flavor and were not waterlogged at all.
Test #3: boiled then pickled.
Test #3: boiled then pickled. I used the same boiling technique as test #2, then immersed the mushrooms in a pickling brine with half and half white vinegar/water, a bit of salt and pepper and sugar and a teaspoon of Penzey’s pickling spices. Also added a dash of olive oil, which I regret. These were refrigerated a couple of days before tasting.
Test #4: raw in marinade.
Test #4: raw mushrooms in marinade. I ran across a balsamic marinade recipe I liked and wanted to do something with uncooked mushrooms. Balsamic and red vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and a bit of thyme were heated to boiling then removed from heat and tossed with the mushrooms.
The results: a 2 ½ -way tie! The sauteed-then-marinated mushrooms in test #1 were closest to my charcuterie experience and were delicious. Boiling the mushrooms turns out to be a great solution: they retain their shape and texture while developing flavor and absorb the marinade without getting soggy. #2 was just as good as #1 yet with a completely different mushroom profile. #3 only gets half credit because I should not have added oil; will try again and expect an excellent result. #4 was a non-starter, with much less mushroom taste and an unsatisfying texture. I immediately recognized the dispiriting mushroom profile encountered in salad bars and poorly designed main dish salads.
Next test: I will tinker with #1 sauté, but start with boiled mushrooms as in #2. Look forward to having mind blown!
