Back in 2014 on our More Grand Vaca (which will be featured in a future blog post) our dear friends Michael and Bonita Hutchison invited us to spend the 4th of July with them in Park City, Utah. As the picture below might indicate, it was quite a week!
Bonita is quite the cook and in additional serving us the most amazing elk tenderloin we have ever eaten, she made delicious drunken mushrooms. We’ve tried to replicate them several times and after much trial and error, I think we have finally come up with a version that is a little more calorie conscious but still rich and decadent. These are best served with steak and friends, like our first follower, Bonita.
In a large, heavy bottomed pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the butter stops foaming, add one thinly sliced sweet onion and 4 cloves of minced garlic.
Saute over medium heat until just soft, about 8 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic. If you do, throw the whole thing out and start over!
While the onions are cooking, clean one pound of mushrooms and cut them into halves or quarters if they are big. Do not rinse mushrooms in water to get the dirt off, they will absorb the water and leave you with a soggy mess once you start to cook them. When the onions are ready, remove half of the mixture to a bowl. Add the first pound of mushrooms to the pan and cook about 6 minutes.
They will almost immediately suck up every bit of oil and butter in the pan, but will release it again slowly as they begin to cook. Keep stirring them occasionally while you prep the second pound of mushrooms.
Once they become a beautiful brown color and have released most of their liquid (which will evaporate), remove them to a bowl.
Put the reserved onion mixture back in the pan along with the second pound of mushrooms and cook again for another 6-8 minutes. Here you can see how much volume you lose as the mushrooms cook. Both pounds are plain old white button mushrooms, but you could mix them up with baby bellas or another variety. A note about doing this in two batches: you may have a Dutch oven, stock pot, or something else that will hold all of the mushrooms at once and be tempted to do it all in one batch. STEP AWAY FROM THE STOVE!! Just because you can do them in one batch doesn’t mean you should. Crowding the pan will create more liquid than can evaporate and the mushrooms will not create the brown crust that adds so much flavor. Like Julia Child said, never crowd the pan.
Here is a shocking statement: I love cheap wine. We have a go to party wine that is inexpensive, tastes great, and doesn’t give either one of us a headache: Dark Horse Merlot. It is also perfect for cooking with. Someone said that you should never cook with wine that you wouldn’t drink and that is definitely true, but likewise, I’m not going to pour a $50 bottle of wine into a pot of mushrooms! At $7.99, this wine is affordable and adds great flavor. In other words, it gets me where I need to be! Also, we use Kitchen Accomplice‘s broth concentrates for cooking. They are lower sodium than most broths and in the RV they save valuable space and weight.
Add the first batch of mushrooms back into the pan. If you are in a hurry, add salt and pepper to taste at this point and serve them now. They will be delicious, but the next step is what makes them worthy of company.
Pour an entire bottle of dry red wine and 2 cups of beef broth into the pan and bring to a boil. Do not add salt at this time.
Once they come to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for two hours.
After two hours, remove the lid and turn up the heat a little. Notice that about 1/3 of the liquid has evaporated at this point. Continue to simmer for another 45 minutes to an hour until all of the liquid has absorbed. The mushrooms will begin to brown again a little, which is ok, but don’t dry them out. Add salt and pepper to taste.
We serve they atop a medium rare rib eye steak, over a baked potato, or just as a side dish. If there are any leftovers, they are wonderful in an omlette with some raclette or fontina cheese.
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We are always looking for new red wines, leave us a comment letting us know what your favorite bargain wine or splurge wine is.
CC’s Drunken Mushrooms
INGREDIENTS
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 large onion sliced thinly
- 2 pound button mushrooms cut in half or quarters if they are large
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 bottle red drinking wine
- Salt and pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat olive oil and butter over medium-high heat until butter is melted.
- Add in garlic and onions. Sauté until just soft, about 6-8 minutes.
- Remove ½ of the onion mixture to a bowl.
- Add 1 lb. of mushrooms and sauté until lightly browned, about 6 minutes.
- Remove mushrooms and onions to a plate (try to leave the liquid behind)
- Add reserved onion mixture and remaining mushrooms to pan and sauté again until browned.
- At this point the mushrooms could be done, salt and pepper to taste and serve or…
- Put first batch on mushrooms back in pot and add broth and wine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer covered for two hours.
- Uncover, turn the heat up a little and cook until all the liquid has been absorbed. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.
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