J.R. Johnson

Today is mushroom day. Not “a” mushroom day, the kind that’s dark and dank and often rooted in excrement, but a day for preparation.

Literally. Today we picked up 11 pounds of mushrooms from the good folks at Carleton Mushroom and I’m going to spend the next hour or so getting them cooked and into my freezer.

That’s six pounds of shiitakes and five pounds of cafe mushrooms. I’ll need to rinse, trim, cut and roast them, then let them cool before putting them in the freezer.

(Ok, I know what you’re thinking: That’s going to take longer than an hour. Like, way longer. You’re probably right:)

It’s worth it. Once they’re cooked, you can use them in many ways, and the shiitake taste like bacon.

Serious Eats has an article about this that’s helpful, but it’s a straightforward process. Here’s my stripped-down version:*

• slice mushrooms, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper
• bake at 400F for ~45 minutes (30 to 60 minutes, really, depending on the mushroom; the shiitake dry out faster, so keep an eye on them, but also they are delicious when mostly crispy)
• for stock: while the caps are roasting, chop and sauté any leftover stems with oil, salt and pepper, then add a couple of bay leaves and a whack-load of water and simmer on low until reduced by ~half or you get sick of waiting.

This is a shot from the last time I did this, with oyster and shiitake mushrooms.

In the end, we’ll have bags of frozen mushrooms ready for use plus stock from the stems.** (Stock is more more work to simmer down, then strain and freeze, but I hate wasting all those stems plus the result was worth it last time so I’ll do it again.)

Maybe I’ll finish in time to get down into the workshop (what? I like wishful thinking), but even if I don’t I’ll consider the afternoon well spent. And the next time future me is looking for a flavor boost for dinner or a quick addition to soup, pasta, rice, dumplings, or pizza, I’ll be glad I did.

* * *

* I’m not commercial kitchen level by any means, where cooks make an art of mise en place, but I do like being at least a little prepared. I’m more about shortcuts that take the pressure off and not opening a vegetable drawer to see nasty puddles of slime where mushrooms used to be. Because ew.

** The freezer tends to have bags of things like cubes of frozen spinach, tabouli, leftover lentils and rice, plus frozen citrus juice, chopped scallions, and whatever else I can think of to make life easier when the day’s been long and dinner seems like an insurmountable challenge. When I can make time for this, I’m happy I did. Whatever works for you? Do that.