Mushroom Confit

By andreajayros

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds mushrooms (see headnote)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 to 1 cup neutral olive oil or grapeseed oil, or more as needed
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from washingtonpost.com

Preparation

Step 1

Use the velvety, meaty mushrooms in pizza, tacos and bread pudding; added to a stir-fry; tucked into an omelet. A mix of mushrooms works as well as a single batch of cremini or button mushrooms.

Make Ahead:

When you scale a recipe, keep in mind that cooking times and temperatures, pan sizes and seasonings may be affected, so adjust accordingly. Also, amounts listed in the directions will not reflect the changes made to ingredient amounts.

Directions

Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a damp paper towel. If the stem is edible, simply trim the ends; otherwise, separate the caps from the stems. Reserve the stems to make a mushroom broth (see NOTE, below) or discard.

Place the mushrooms gill sides up on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the salt. Set aside to dry-brine for 30 minutes. (If diced, sprinkle with the salt and skip the 30-minute rest.)

Heat 1/2 inch of the oil in a straight-sided, heavy skillet large enough to hold the mushrooms in a single layer, over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the shallot; cook for several minutes, until translucent. Add the thyme and the mushrooms, gill sides up. Reduce the heat to medium-low; cook for 15 minutes, turning the mushrooms over halfway through.

Add enough oil so the mushrooms are fully submerged; cook gently until the oil registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Cool the mushrooms in the oil. Pack the mushrooms in the clean glass jar, gently layering each one in the jar, then covering with oil; continue layering and adding oil until all the mushrooms have been packed in the jar. Run a chopstick or a plastic knife along the inside of the jar to release any air bubbles. Make sure the mushrooms are completely submerged in the oil, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use (for up to 2 weeks).

NOTE: To make a mushroom broth, coarsely chop the mushroom stems, then steep them in hot water to cover for 2 hours. Strain through cheesecloth or a coffee filter, and use the resulting intense mushroom broth in soups or sauces. Or simply sip it, garnished with fresh chives.