The best tips for crispy, truly delicious mushrooms and champignons

Mushrooms and champignons can be so delicious! But one plate of those soggy, spongy chunks—or those unappetizing wet, thin, floppy slices—and it can ruin them for some people for years. So if you don’t cook them yourself because you’re afraid of the aforementioned nastiness, or if you simply didn’t know that you too can make wonderfully fragrant mushrooms with deliciously crisp edges, read on for the best tips and tricks we have for you…

Has anyone tried that chef’s trick where you boil the mushrooms first in some water before frying them in oil? It caused quite a stir on the man’s Insta… Our method is a little more traditional, but we can certainly set you on your way to crispy mushroom heaven!

You can learn to sauté

Sautéing is a technique similar to stir-frying, in which you continuously ‘toss’ or turn the food over high heat (but in a frying or sauté pan rather than a wok). The term comes from the French verb sauter, meaning to jump or toss. Jamie Oliver? Sauteur suprême…

Tear them into pieces

The best thing we’ve learned so far, mushroom-wise: don’t slice them, tear them. Yes, really—just pull the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces with your fingers, champignons included. Because this creates a ragged texture instead of only smooth surfaces from cutting, there’s a better chance that the fat will seep into all those grooves and tears, allowing everything to fry extra (or truly) crisp.

Go for a bigger pan

Use a really large frying or sauté pan, cast iron if you like, and make sure it can get screaming hot. You definitely won’t fill it completely, even if you have lots of mushrooms—sauté them in several batches instead. What you don’t want is for them to be packed closely together and to ‘cook’ in their own inevitably escaping moisture and steam because the liquid can’t evaporate quickly enough. Give them room.

Hands off

Once the oil in the pan (say 2 tbsp for 250 g mushrooms) is really hot, add them and leave them completely alone for about 3 minutes. This will give them that first crisp, brown crust, so don’t give in to the urge to toss or move them around just yet.

Go ahead

After those first minutes, which are really important for searing, you can toss them or flip them in the pan with that famous chef’s wrist movement. Make sure all sides come into contact with the hot bottom of the pan and continue sautéing for a few minutes—about 5 minutes more. If you’re using more than 250 g of mushrooms, remove the first batch from the pan with a slotted spoon, sprinkle it with salt on a large plate, and repeat the first step with the rest. Then return all the mushrooms to the pan, season generously with salt and pepper, add another splash of oil and lower the heat.

Flavor boosters

Now you can fry your flavor boosters along with them for another 2 minutes or so. A chopped shallot, for example, or spring onion cut into rings, a clove of grated garlic, and plenty of fresh herbs such as parsley or thyme.

And voilà: no more nasty mushroom sludge for you. Instead, you’ll have something fragrant, crispy, beautifully sizzling and with a real bite, ready to pile onto your toast, stir into your pasta (add a splash of cream and a cup of pasta water and you’re done), or serve alongside your steak. Yum!

Also read:

• Add mushroom powder to everything
• Mushroom risotto with an Asian twist
• Veggie burger with shiitakes and champignons