Sautéed Mushrooms

For savory, meaty-textured, deeply browned sautéed mushrooms, start with steam.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons (50g) unsalted butter, divided
• 1 small shallot (2 ounces; 57g), minced
• 2 pounds (905g) mixed mushrooms, such as cremini, white button, portobello, oyster, shiitake, and/or maitake, cleaned and trimmed (see notes)
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; if using table salt use half as much by volume
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) white wine vinegar (see notes)
• 2 tablespoons water

Instructions

1. Cut the mushrooms based on the variety used: Stem and halve portobello mushrooms and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Trim white button or cremini mushrooms; quarter them if large or medium (about 1 1/2 to 3-inches in diameter) or halve them if small (about 1 to 1 1/2-inches in diameter). Tear trimmed oyster mushrooms into about 1-inch pieces. Stem shiitake mushrooms; quarter large caps (about 1 1/2- to 3-inches in diameter) and halve small caps (about 1 to 1 1/2-inches in diameter). Cut trimmed maitake (hen-of-the-woods) mushrooms into about 1-pieces.
2. In a 12-inch skillet, melt 2 tablespoons (25g) butter over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cut mushrooms and salt and increase heat to medium-high. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have released their liquid, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Remove lid, add remaining 2 tablespoons (25g) butter, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are deep golden brown and tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in thyme and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add vinegar and water and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until liquid is nearly evaporated, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.