Oyster Mushroom Recipe
Oyster mushrooms are one of the first mushrooms we pick. Steve can spot them 15 feet up a birch tree when he’s driving 50 mph down Route 6. I’m not that good. I’m usually too busy bobble-heading for wildlife and anything else I can find. I forget about the mushrooms. Such is life. I’m better at finding them when I’m on foot, and then I bring home enough to make this oyster mushroom recipe. Fresh mushrooms, butter, olive oil, sage, a little minced garlic – spectacular!
This oyster mushroom recipe is done in three steps. They’re all simple and none of them take much time. Mushrooms cook up quickly.
Look up for oyster mushrooms. They’re growing on dead or dying hardwoods. Look down for fallen trees, but don’t bother looking on the forest floor. They don’t grow in the duff. Our general rule of thumb for picking oysters is to leave one-third of the mushrooms to reproduce. It’s convenient to leave the top third when the tree is standing, and pick the lower mushrooms.
Clean the mushrooms well. They won’t be dirty because of where they grow but they will have bugs. Dead and dying wood is home to a lot of beetles. Clean them well and then look again. These little beetles are good at hiding in the gills. Use water only if absolutely necessary, and then dry well to avoid a lot of splattering oil when you add the mushrooms to the hot pan.
You don’t need to chop these mushrooms. They tear easily. Tear the gills into larger pieces and the denser part nearest the stem into smaller pieces to help even out the cooking time.
Oyster mushrooms dehydrate well. I powder some of them to use as a thickener in mushroom soup. They’re great on pizza, in ravioli and many other dishes.
Oyster Mushroom Recipe - Pan Fried
Ingredients
Getting Started
- 4 cups oyster mushrooms torn into pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Adding Flavor
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon sage, fresh finely chopped (OR 2 tablespoons dried sage)
- 1-2 cloves garlic minced
Sage & Garlic Mushroom Gravy
- 1-2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Instructions
Getting Started
- Tear the cleaned mushrooms into pieces using the instructions above. Heat the olive oil in a 10" fry pan. When a small drop of water in the oil sizzles, add the mushrooms and stir. It might seem at first that the mushrooms are going to stick. Give them another stir, turn down the heat to medium-high, and wait. The mushrooms will release a lot of moisture. When you notice the liquid in the pan is decreasing, drain the liquid into a dish and set aside. You can use this liquid later for mushroom gravy.
Adding Flavor
- After the liquid is drained from the mushrooms, return the pan to the heat and add 2 tablespoons each olive oil and butter. When the butter has melted, add the sage and minced garlic. Saute until the sage is soft and the garlic becomes shiny, about five minutes. If you removed the mushrooms from the pan, add them back. Remove the pan from the heat and let the flavors combine.
Sage & Garlic Mushroom Gravy
- Push the mushrooms aside in the pan (or remove if you won't have enough room) and add 1-2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour to the pan. Stir to make a roux with the butter, olive oil and flour. Cook on low heat about five minutes, then add the liquid you drained earlier. Stir until the gravy is the right consistency.
Dawn Rae
Thank you for this recipe! I love morels. I only learned about oyster mushrooms last year. I thought I spotted some at a local wooded area, came home to research to try to make sure I wasn’t picking something poisonous and went back the next day. They were gone! I was sad. I do want to learn to find and identify oyster mushrooms.
Bonnie
Wow! They look delicious. I will have to see if they are around here. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Christina
I don’t think I have ever eaten oyster mushrooms. I’ll be sure to pay more attention to mushrooms growing on trees, maybe oyster mushrooms grow here, too.
Meech
What are some ways to cook oyster mushrooms that come in a jar with liquid . Tried to bake them but just come out chewy
Robin
I think it’s hard to cook with mushrooms that have been jarred or canned. The texture changes with the high heat. I cut them into small pieces and add them to pasta sauces.
You could try frying them but that makes for expensive fried mushrooms. I usually drain and pat them dry. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the mushrooms out, then put them in the refrigerator until they dry. They accept coating better that way.