Add just enough fat to coat the bottom. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)

Add just enough fat to coat the bottom. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)

How to saute mushrooms to crispy, browned perfection

Various levels of heat affect our scrumptious fungus: There’s “sweating” and then there’s “sauteing.”

  • By James P. DeWan Chicago Tribune
  • Wednesday, December 13, 2017 1:30am
  • Life

By James P. DeWan / Chicago Tribune

Remember when Alice ate that mushroom in Wonderland?

“What can all that green stuff be?” Alice said. “And where have my shoulders got to? And oh, my poor hands, how is it I can’t see you?”

Oh, dearie, dear, dear. Poor Alice. If only she’d boned up on the works of Timothy Leary before she listened to that Caterpillar.

No bother, though, because our mushrooms are of another sort altogether, and today we’ll discuss how various levels of heat affect our scrumptious fungus.

Why you need to learn this: When it comes to mushrooms and the presentation thereof, the appropriate cooking method can be the difference between a genuinely delighted, “Yaaay!” and a disquietingly dyspeptic, “Ew,” from your assembled guests. Droopy beige mushrooms might be fine when submerged in a stew, but you don’t want them on a burger. For that, you want them, as Daffy Duck would say, “thauteed to a thucculent golden brown,” when they surely are one of life’s wee boons, even absent the psilocybin.

The steps you take: Let’s begin with some vocabulary: “Sauter” is the French word meaning “to jump.” In the kitchen, two different types of shallow pans are called “saute pans.” The sides of a “sautoir” are straight up and down, like an elevator to the stars, whereas the sides of a “sauteuse” are as sloped as the shoulders of an angsty teen. (You can impress friends with this tasty little mnemonic amuse: Sautoir ends with the letter “r,” which stands for “right angle.” Sauteuse ends with that “ess” sound, which stands for “sloped” or “slanted” sides.)

While a straight-sided sautoir is best for shallow-frying chicken and pan-searing steaks, when you’re sauteing mushrooms (or anything else), a sauteuse is just what the doctor ordered. You probably have more than one clanging from a hook in your kitchen.

More vocab and a distinction: “Sweating” is a moist-heat method of cooking in a small amount of fat over low heat. “Sauteing” is a dry-heat method of cooking in a small amount of fat over high heat.

Sweated vegetables release water that, because of the low heat, pools in the pan and prevents the vegetables from browning. Sweated vegetables are appropriate as a base for soups, sauces, braises and stews.

Sauteing, on the other hand, with its high heat, evaporates any released water (hence the “dry heat” moniker). In this dry environment, our old pal Mr. Chemistry browns our veggies via something called the Maillard reaction. Maillard reactions begin in the mid-200-degree range, above (and this is the important part) 212 degrees, the boiling point of water. Thus, if there’s water in the pan, the temperature must be lower than 212 degrees and the Maillard reactions can’t occur and your product won’t brown.

Sauteed vegetables, then, are somewhat crisp and golden brown, like autumn, whereas sweated vegetables are soft and limp and not brown at all, like a ghost dumpling. Sweated mushrooms might even look a bit gray, as if they’ve just been accused of murdering the butler.

Here’s what you do to saute mushrooms:

Cut mushrooms into bite-size pieces: slices, quarters, halves. If they’re small, you can saute them whole, like grasshoppers.

Place your sauteuse over a flame in the likes of which the souls of your mortal enemies will roast eternally. When the pan is nearly smoking, like Willie Nelson, add just enough fat to coat the bottom. (A note about fat: I love clarified butter, but any high-smoke-point oil will work: canola, peanut, grapeseed oil, etc.)

Spread your mushrooms evenly over the bottom of the pan, no more than two layers deep, like an “SNL” after-party. In other words: Don’t overcrowd the pan. Here’s why: Cold mushrooms cool down your hot pan, causing them to sweat instead of saute.

Now, dig this: Once you add the ’shrooms to the pan, don’t touch them. Oh, I know you, and your inclination is to shake the pan or grab a spoon or spatula and poke a little, shake a little, poke a little, shake a little, poke, poke, poke, shake a lot, poke a little more.

Don’t you do it, though. Not with a spoon, not with a knife, not with a spatula, not on your life. You should not poke them here or there. You should not poke them anywhere.

I really shouldn’t have slammed that third martini.

Anyway, wait a minute until the pan comes back up to temperature, then leave it a bit longer, until the mushrooms start to brown.

Season with salt and a grind of pepper. You could even add a bit of minced garlic or shallots.

When your mushrooms are nicely seasoned and brown on the bottom, toss or stir them in the pan. They’ll be done in less than a minute, after which you can serve them immediately over a seared rib-eye, stir them into your favorite sauce or hold onto them to make omelets tomorrow morning.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.