The dry sauté
Hot dry pan first. Fat only after the water has gone.
Why
This is the technique that separates good wild mushrooms from disappointing ones, and it is counterintuitive enough that most people never try it. Mushrooms release a great deal of water as they heat. Add butter at the start and the mushrooms boil in a butter-and-water emulsion, absorbing fat while going soft and grey. Drive the water off first in a dry pan and the fat then fries a surface that is already dry, which is where browning and flavour come from.
How
- 01Heat a wide heavy pan until genuinely hot. Cast iron or carbon steel, not non-stick, which will not reach the temperature.
- 02Add the mushrooms dry, in a single layer with space around them. Crowding is the other half of this mistake: a crowded pan traps steam and nothing browns.
- 03They will squeak, then release liquid, then go quiet as it evaporates. That silence is the signal.
- 04Only now add butter or oil, plus garlic, thyme or shallot, and fry hard for a minute or two more.
- 05Salt at the end. Salt early draws yet more water out.
What this step actually needs
What this step needsCast iron or carbon steel pan$24.99Some links here are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through one we earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it never changes what we recommend. Prices were read from Amazon when this page was built and will have moved since.
Species this matters most for
The other techniques
Brush, do not wash
Clean with a brush and a damp cloth, not under a tap.
Cook it properly, and cook it through
Eight to ten minutes minimum, and longer for anything thick.
Drying
The default preservation method, and for some species an improvement.
Freezing, cooked
Cook first, then freeze. Never freeze raw.