Oyster mushrooms have a delicious meaty texture which lends itself perfectly to a buttery garlic cooking sauce. If you can get your hands on some oyster mushrooms, I would thoroughly recommend you try cooking them in this way.
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Buttery garlic oyster mushrooms
I bought hubby an oyster mushroom growing kit a few weeks ago and this is the result! The tastiest, meatiest mushrooms you have ever eaten.
I have to admit it, but they took longer to grow than I had anticipated! We received a package in the post containing a cardboard box filled with a mixture of some sort of growing compound which had been mixed with mushroom spores. The instructions said to soak in water and then store in a cool, dark place for seven days, spraying with water every day.
Well, after three weeks in the cellar (can’t get cooler or darker than that!) nothing had happened and we just assumed that we’d bought yet another useless internet buy!
However, another three weeks later, hubby went down to the cellar to fetch something and called me to take a look. The mushrooms had sprouted and were hanging out of the side of the box ready to be harvested. And this is the result.
Well, what could I do other than turn them into buttery garlic mushrooms? And they were SO delicious. They had a meaty texture, quite unlike the normal white or button mushrooms I usually buy. But with a strong mushroom flavour and crispy bits on the edges caused by frying them in butter. They were utterly delicious.
Now, I’m obviously not advocating you grow your own mushrooms, but if you do manage to get your hands on some fresh oyster mushrooms from the supermarket or your local farmers market, then this is how you cook them.
What you will need
Equipment
Not much equipment is needed, just a sharp knife and a chopping board for cutting up the mushrooms, and a large frying pan.
Ingredients
This recipe as given will make enough for 4 people as a side or starter, however, you can scale up or down depending on the amount of mushrooms you have.
**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making garlic oyster mushrooms on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Oyster mushrooms – If you do want to grow your own oyster mushrooms, this is the kit I used. It does say that the mushrooms are ready to cook in 14 days – mine took about 6 weeks. However, once you’ve harvested the first crop, apparently you can get at least another 2 crops from it. I’m still waiting for my second crop. Plus mine came out FAR bigger than the picture on Amazon!
Oyster mushrooms grow from a central stem, so you will have to trim away the base of the stem to separate your mushrooms. If you buy them from the supermarket you may find that they have already been trimmed. Both the stalks and the caps are edible.
Butter – for frying the mushrooms. You may optionally like to add a tablespoon of olive oil to the butter to prevent it from burning.
Garlic – three or four cloves should be sufficient, depending on the size of your garlic cloves. The garlic should be finely minced.
Salt – for seasoning, and to your own taste.
Thyme – I love the flavour that thyme adds to mushrooms. You can leave this out if you don’t like it. I used approximately one tablespoon of fresh thyme (with the leaves picked from the stems). If you only have dried thyme you can use this too, but you will need much less – I would say approximately one teaspoon of dried thyme.
Parsley – for garnish (optional)
What to do
Start off by separating your mushrooms and then cutting them into largish pieces. How you cut them depends on the size of the mushroom caps. If the caps are very large you can slice them. Smaller mushroom caps can be left whole.
Melt the butter (and olive oil if you are using it) in a large frying pan and then add a single layer of mushrooms to the pan. Season with salt to taste and add the thyme. Add some crushed garlic (keep some aside for subsequent batches of mushrooms)
Fry the mushrooms on a moderate heat, turning occasionally to brown on both sides, for 5 to 7 minutes (depending on the size and thickness) until nicely browned. The edges of the mushrooms should develop a nice crispiness.
Transfer the mushrooms to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain while you fry any remaining mushrooms.
Don’t overcrowd the pan or the mushrooms will release moisture and stew rather than fry.
Serve hot, either as a starter with fresh crusty bread or as a side dish with steak or chicken. You can optionally garnish the mushrooms with freshly chopped parsley.
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Garlic oyster mushrooms FAQ
Apart from a strong mushroom flavour, oyster mushrooms have been likened in taste to many things. To be perfectly honest, I could pick out the earthy and woody tastes but I certainly didn’t pick up on the seafood or sweet flavours.
Here are some of the things that people have said about the taste of oyster mushrooms:
Seafood: Some people say that oyster mushrooms taste like scallops, shrimp, or even oysters. This is because they have a mild, briny flavour that is similar to seafood.
Woody: Others say that oyster mushrooms have a slightly woody flavour. This is because they grow on trees, and they absorb some of the flavours of the wood.
Earthy: Oyster mushrooms also have an earthy flavour. This is a common flavour in mushrooms, and it is often described as being slightly mushroomy or mushroomy.
Sweet: Some people say that oyster mushrooms have a slightly sweet flavour. This is especially true when they are cooked at high heat. (Perhaps I didn’t cook mine at a hot enough temperature 🙂 )
Oyster mushrooms have a slightly chewy texture that becomes crispy when cooked. The stems especially are much more chewy than
Oyster mushrooms are a good source of protein and fibre, and they are also low in calories.
Save for later
If you would like to try these garlic oyster mushrooms yourself, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Other mushroom recipes
If you enjoyed this oyster mushroom recipe, you may also like to take a look at some of my other recipes using mushrooms:
- Quick and easy garlic mushrooms – tasty button mushrooms sauteed in butter and garlic.
- Garlic stuffed mushrooms with ham and cheese – meaty portobello mushrooms stuffed with onions and ham and smothered in cheese before being grilled in the oven.
- Mushroom galette with cheese – a tasty blend of onions, mushrooms and cheese baked in the soft flaky pastry shell.
- Mushroom pate – slow-cooked mushrooms with onions and thyme, flavoured with cream and sherry and blended to form a smooth pate.
The recipe
Garlic oyster mushrooms
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces / 225 grams oyster mushrooms
- 1 ounce / 30 grams butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil optional
- 3 large cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves picked off stems
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Separate the mushrooms and cut them into largeish pieces. How large you cut them will depend on the size of the caps. If the caps are very large, you can sllice them. Smaller mushroom caps can be left whole.8 ounces / 225 grams oyster mushrooms
- Melt the butter (and olive oil if you are using it) in a large frying pan and then add a single layer of sliced mushrooms to the pan. Season with salt to taste and add some of the garlic and thyme. Keep the remainder of garlic and thyme aside for subsequent batches of mushrooms if they don't all fit into one pan.1 ounce / 30 grams butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 3 large cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, Salt to taste
- Fry the mushrooms on a moderate heat, turning occasionally to brown on both sides, for 5 to 7 minutes (depending on the size and thickness) until nicely browned. The edges of the mushrooms should develop a nice crispiness.
- Transfer the mushrooms to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain while you fry any remaining mushrooms.
- Serve hot, either as a starter with fresh crusty bread or as a side dish with steak or chicken. You can optionally garnish the mushrooms with freshly chopped parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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