Mushroom Butter
by Luke Smithson
Compound butter is a method of whipping flavors into butter, then using that butter to flavor other dishes. It is also a way of preserving foods, such as ramps, garden herbs or small amounts of mushrooms (maybe you only found a handful of black trumpets today, not enough for a meal).
Compound butters will hold up in the freezer, if well wrapped, for up to a year. When you are packaging compound butters, wrap them in multiple small logs so that you can take out a little at a time without having to thaw out the whole batch.
These butters are typically added at the end of the cooking process so that their flavors are not destroyed by heat. Suggestions include adding butters to your favorite starch dishes (polenta, rice, mashed and baked potatoes), finishing sauces, and basting meats and fish. In complete contradiction to the above advice, I will use compound butters to cook eggs in. I believe this works because of the low temperature and short cooking time that eggs require.
Remember, since the compound butter is typically added at the end of the cooking, ingredients need to cooked before adding to the butter. This is especially important with mushrooms, as some kinds, such as morels, will make you sick when eaten raw.
Yield: One pound
Ingredients:
1/4 cup White Wine
3/4 cup Water
1/3 cup ( 1/8 ounce or 4 grams) Dried Mushrooms, broken into small pieces
1 lb. Butter, at room temperature
Method:
by Luke Smithson
Compound butter is a method of whipping flavors into butter, then using that butter to flavor other dishes. It is also a way of preserving foods, such as ramps, garden herbs or small amounts of mushrooms (maybe you only found a handful of black trumpets today, not enough for a meal).
Compound butters will hold up in the freezer, if well wrapped, for up to a year. When you are packaging compound butters, wrap them in multiple small logs so that you can take out a little at a time without having to thaw out the whole batch.
These butters are typically added at the end of the cooking process so that their flavors are not destroyed by heat. Suggestions include adding butters to your favorite starch dishes (polenta, rice, mashed and baked potatoes), finishing sauces, and basting meats and fish. In complete contradiction to the above advice, I will use compound butters to cook eggs in. I believe this works because of the low temperature and short cooking time that eggs require.
Remember, since the compound butter is typically added at the end of the cooking, ingredients need to cooked before adding to the butter. This is especially important with mushrooms, as some kinds, such as morels, will make you sick when eaten raw.
Yield: One pound
Ingredients:
1/4 cup White Wine
3/4 cup Water
1/3 cup ( 1/8 ounce or 4 grams) Dried Mushrooms, broken into small pieces
1 lb. Butter, at room temperature
Method:
- Bring wine and water to a near boil; cover mushrooms and let sit for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove mushrooms and squeeze out excess liquid. Reserve liquid.
- In a sauté pan over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter (reserving the remaining butter).
- Sauté the mushrooms until cooked, approximately 5 minutes.
- Add about ¼ of the reserved soaking liquid to the mushrooms. Bring to a boil and cook off the liquid. This will take several minutes.
- Continue to add the soaking liquid in small quantities, allowing it to cook off each time. This is imparting the flavor back into the mushrooms.
- Once all the liquid has evaporated, remove mushrooms from the heat and cool to room temperature. Rough chop the mushrooms into small bits and pieces.
- Cut the remaining butter into 1" cubes. Place in a stand mixer with whisk (such as a Kitchen Aid) and whip for 5 minutes, until the butter becomes creamy white.
- Add the cooled mushroom mixture and continue to whip for another minute, until fully incorporated. You will have to scrape the sides of the bowl (with the power off) with a spatula to fully incorporate the mixture.
- Place desired quantity of butter on sheets of parchment or plastic wrap and roll into logs. Wrap tightly, place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to a year.
