Mushroom Confit

Recipe 5 minutes plus 30 minutes salting timePreparation Time 1 1/2 to 2 hoursCooking Time

Mushroom Confit

5 minutes plus 30 minutes salting timePreparation Time 1 1/2 to 2 hours Cooking Time

About this Recipe

Delicious and versatile in its uses, this method is an excellent means of preserving mushrooms — whether foraged in the wild, homegrown, or plucked from the shelves of your local H-Mart. A confit is anything cooked gently in fat, usually with the purpose of preservation. Duck confit, where duck legs and thighs cook in the duck’s own copious fat, is the most well-known example of this technique. Since mushrooms are essentially fat-free, this confit is instead made using olive oil. Cooking mushrooms like this transforms them in two ways. First, the long, slow cooking gently draws out and drives off a substantial amount of moisture. Fresh mushrooms contain around 90% water, so their intrinsic flavor and meaty texture are intensified. Second, the addition of fat lends them a welcome unctuousness that, being lean, they would otherwise lack.

The Benefits

Mushrooms are a source of vitamin B complexes (B2, B3, and B5), vitamin D2, and minerals like selenium, potassium, and copper. Additionally, mushrooms contain beneficial compounds like triterpenoids, natural antibiotics, glycoproteins, and enzymes that can optimize gut and cardiovascular health and may have protective effects against fatigue, cancerous growth, and metabolic disorders.

Note: To clean foraged mushrooms, trim off any woody or dirty stems and clean them of debris with a brush or damp cloth. (You can even rinse especially dirty ones in a bowl of water, since this cooking method will eventually drive off any water that clings to them.) For a "neutral" version, use vegetable oil in place of olive oil, and eliminate all other ingredients other than mushrooms and salt.

READ | PRACTICE: Mushroom Magic

Ingredients

Makes about 4 cups

2¼ lb (1 kg) fresh mushrooms of any kind, cleaned and woody stems removed
1½ tsp (7g) sea salt
2 cups (480 ml) olive oil, plus more as needed
5 medium garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
4 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Step 1

Slice or tear larger mushrooms into bite-sized pieces (smaller ones may be left whole) and put them in a Dutch oven. Add the salt and toss well to combine. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until wilted and reduced in volume by about 1/3, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 275°F/135°C.
Step 2

Pour off any water that has accumulated at the bottom of the pot of mushrooms. Add the oil, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, red pepper flakes, and pepper to the Dutch oven, and stir to combine. Heat the mixture over high heat until boiling, about 1 minute.
Step 3

Transfer to the oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is reduced by about 1/3 and the mushrooms are tender, 1½ to 2 hours. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Step 4

Discard the herb stems and bay leaves. Transfer the mixture to sealable containers, along with enough oil to cover. Seal and refrigerate for up to 10 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

Substitutions: You can also use dried, rehydrated mushrooms here

Try It With: Use as pizza topping or pasta add-in, stir it into garlicky sautéed greens, or fold it into an omelet or scrambled eggs. Pulsed in a food processor to a coarse purée, it is excellent spooned over crusty bread or crackers, alongside cheese. Puréed until fully smooth, it can serve as a sauce — with or without the addition of a little cream or crème fraîche — for pasta or pizza.

Zero Waste: Mushroom trimmings can be used for stocks. Any oil in the jar remaining after consuming the mushrooms can be reused for the next batch.