Stuart Brioza's Mushrooms in Pickle-Brine Butter Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What acid to add to mushrooms? ›

Balsamic Vinegar.

As with the marinade in these Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, the lightly sweet acidity of balsamic is a divine mushroom pairing. It balances the butteriness and gives depth to the mushrooms.

The classic ratio is super easy to remember and is easily scale-able depending on how many pickles you're making. It's 100% vinegar, 50% water, 25% sugar and 12.5% kosher salt by weight. So for example, 200g vinegar, 100g water, 50g sugar and 25g kosher salt (again, you can scale this up or down!).

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.

Use as the Acid in Any Recipe

Since pickle juice is almost entirely made of vinegar, it can be used anywhere you'd use vinegar or citrus juice. Try it instead of lemon juice the next time you make yourself a slice of avocado toast, or add it to guacamole if you're out of limes.

Olive oil: I cook my mushrooms in the skillet with olive oil (I like how it adds a golden brown crust and flavor). Butter, garlic, lemon, and thyme: After cooking my mushrooms, I stir in butter, garlic, fresh lemon zest, fresh thyme leaves, and a bit of lemon juice.

The key to a deep rich flavor and making the best sauteed mushrooms is to allow them to caramelize and add aromatics (garlic/thyme) and salt (soy sauce). I add lots of garlic but you can also add fry onions for the perfect sauteed mushrooms and onions burger topping!

Because apple cider vinegar is made from apples rather than barley, corn rice or wine, it gives pickles a mellower taste. Using a white distilled vinegar, for example, will create a harsher flavour. But as well as being gentler on your palate, using apple cider vinegar also adds health benefits to pickles.

Most pickle recipes call for distilled white vinegar. This is the clear, colorless vinegar made by fermenting grains. It has a mellow aroma, tart acid flavor and does not affect the color of light-colored vegetables or fruits.

This recipe, which she taught him, uses cider vinegar as the brine, which tenderizes it and yields flavorful drippings perfect for pan jus.

Do I need to wash the mushrooms before I cook them? Never wash mushrooms. Instead, Wipe off any dirt with a damp paper towel. You can wash them but they won't be as good in texture/color.

How do you make mushrooms not rubbery? ›

Whether you brush off the dirt with a damp towel or run them under cool water is up to you—the real issue is whether they've been sufficiently dried before they're prepared. Cooking damp mushrooms causes them to steam as the water evaporates. Steaming is what imparts a rubbery, chewy-in-the-bad-way texture.

If you're using bread-and-butter pickle brine, the sugar content will be higher which lends itself nicely to caramelization, so a marinade for something like chicken is perfect. To do this, Melvin suggested tossing chicken thighs with toasted chile flakes, brine and fresh dill.

Of course, some folks even drink pickle and sauerkraut juice straight as a tonic! We've even heard of athletes who drink pickle juice as a way to replenish the salt after their workouts.

How many times can I reuse pickle juice? To be on the safe side, we wouldn't recommend reusing it more than once, although some say you can safely reuse it 2 or 3 times. Again, watch for changes in the clarity of the brine. BONUS!

The secret to mushroom storage is that they stay fresh longer if you take them out of their container. Wrap them in paper towels placed in open plastic bags (paper bags are even better) and keep them in the fridge. Watch our how-to video for more.

Does baking soda kill mushrooms? No, it does not kill mushrooms but halts their growth. Sprinkling baking soda over the mushrooms in your mulch can help reduce their spread, as well as provide a pH buffer that may discourage further growth.

The most common method calls for soaking the mushrooms in warm water. Just place the mushrooms in a bowl or pot, cover with warm water, and let sit for 20-30 minutes. You may want to put a saucer or other small object on top of the mushrooms to keep them submerged.

There was a significant negative correlation (r = −0.807, P < 0.01) between the firmness and weight loss of the preserved mushroom. Potassium sorbate (0.1%) and citric acid (4%) extended the shelf life of mushroom for 24 days.