I would saute and then freeze, portioning into several baggies. Since they have so much water in them, they seem to do much better cooked, then frozen. Just slice or halve them if you prefer larger pieces for later. I'd probably saute in butter or olive oil, but you could steam or even throw them in the microwave whole or halved. Four pounds of mushrooms...yum.

Dry them.

Very good that way also.

dcarch

qujicker and easier to sautee....
Or make things like duxelles and freeze that and then some sliced, sauteed in butter and freeze.....and soon thay are all frozen.
And you might also stuff some and freeze, ready for almost instant hors d'ouvres.

Thanks for the tips! Sounds like the quickest and easiest is to slice, saute and freeze. If I had more time, I'd like to try drying them...maybe next time.

How do you dry them?

Sally

Ovenbird, I may be too late, but I just slice and freeze and saute as I need them. For portobello's, I just clean them up and freeze whole. They make a great stuffed shroom appitizer when filled with stuffing and baked.

Posted by sally2 "How do you dry them?
Sally"

You can dry them with a dehydrator or in the oven.

Dried mushrooms are a gourmet treat. They taste not the same as fresh mushrooms.

Mushroom powder is a very nice seasoning.

dcarch

pkramer...slice and freeze...much easier yet! I'd like to freeze whole, but I'm sure I'll want to ultimately slice them anyway. Might as well do it now. We leave Monday morning, so I had better get a wiggle on!

dcarch...re: drying, when I get back from our trip I'll have to google how to dry them in the oven...I don't own a dehydrator.

Slice and saute and then use in sauces and soups.

Ovenbird, when you defrost them ther ewill be mushroom "juice". Put that in your soup/stew because it is full of flavor. If you want to saute them, say for a steak entree, remove moisture between two towels and be sure the pan is smoking hot to get a good sear on them.

There are always sliced mushrooms in the freezer. Dad goes to the produce market for me and they mark them down early in the morning. Yup, he brings home 5 pounds for two people! He gets to do the slicing now. I gave up! And if the freezers are full, he drys them. Mushroom pwder is wonderful. Just grind some up and add as a booster to a pot roast. Yum!

Thanks for all the great tips. Sounds like this might be something to do whether we're home or not, just to have mushrooms handy all the time. That powder also sounds intriguing! Marsha

These are great tips. I'm glad you asked, Ovenbird.

Sally

I buy dried mushrooms at the Asian grocery. I've never paid attention to what kind of mushrooms they are, maybe black mushrooms. Anyway, they are cheap - probably cheaper than fresh mushrooms, keep forever, and add a lot of earthy mushroomy flavor to a dish - don't discard the soaking water! A good staple to keep on hand.

The only problem is, after reconstitution, the mushrooms are too wet to be browned in a saut� pan. So you (at least, I) cannot get that extra flavor that browning provides.

Drying my own mushrooms - which never occurred to me before dcarch suggested it - could solve that problem. We have a dehydrator. I think I will try browning the mushrooms in butter, and then drying them.

johnliu, those might be shiitake mushrooms. Lately, I've found fresh shiitake in my local grocery store. They are very good in a wild rice pilaf/stuffing I've made...much more flavor than button or baby bella. Let us know how the browning then drying goes.

There used to be a good Asian grocery store kinda near me, and they had the least expensive dried mushrooms to be found. Alas, they closed. I haven't found another store like it, yet. At least, not close to me. I'm sure there's somewhere in the Dallas as good or better, but I haven't looked that hard. At Christmas when I decided to make that mushroom risotto, DH went to the regular store for me after dried porcinis, and they were way expensive. I don't know if drying my own mushrooms would be cheaper or not. I've never seen fresh porcinis available, but lots of other kinds of mushrooms at all kinds of prices.

Dcarch, just how much do they shrink when you dry them? I realize they have a lot of moisture.

Sally

"----Dcarch, just how much do they shrink when you dry them? I realize they have a lot of moisture. Sally"

Actually they don't have more moisture than most veggies by weight. They have a tendency to give up water, especially in salty food.

When they are dried, they don't shrink that much. They shrink more in volume if you slice them.

Dried mushrooms are great for adding that special taste to recipes, not only that, if used them dry, they absorb a lot of water, so your dish will come out less watery.

I have noticed that, in NY area, I assume it the same everywhere, white button mushrooms nowadays have less flavor, but much firmer. They are almost kind of crunchy when used in salad fresh. I suppose it�s a new variety designed best for transportation.

dcarch

John, I would not brown in butter and then dry them. I would think some moisture would still be retained and storage could become a health risk. Plus the butter will turn rancid on you.

"Ovenbird"...I e-mailed you a very good article,"Chop Away for Lovely Duxelles" by James Beard.

This is what I do with mushrooms, and is something you can keep in your fridge and also freeze.

lisbet, I replied to your email. My reply might be sitting in your spam folder! Thanks for the article...something to try later. Waiting for our ride to the airport...having cooking forum withdrawal!

Dcarch, I guess that's what made me think they had a lot of moisture, since recipes talk about them giving up moisture when cooking.

Lisbet, can you share a link to that article with the rest of us? Thanks!

Sally

I agree with Peppi about not browning in butter before drying. You want to remove the water and the fat may prevent that. If you want to brown, try a hot oven or dry pan. I'd just dry them though....easier.
You can brown after rehydrating. Pat very dry and add to hot pan. It's not exactly the same as when fresh, but it certainly adds flavor.

Mmmmm............mushrooms!!

Deanna