Dry Sautéed Chanterelle Mushroom Recipe

Dry sautéing chanterelle mushrooms is a delicious and easy way to prepare this flavorful wild mushroom. Finished with butter, garlic, and thyme they make a great addition to a variety of meals.

I can still remember that time I enjoyed my first wild chanterelle.

I had stumbled upon a nice flush on a backcountry hike and decided to take a few home with me in the old rucksack.

Not have much experience cooking chanterelles, I decided to treat them with a recipe that I knew would not fail: butter + garlic + thyme.

My taste buds were dancing with an intense and surprisingly fruity flavor. I couldn’t get enough.

Chanterelles have since become one of my favorite wild edible mushrooms.

And what’s not to love about them: they are common, relatively easy to identify, and have a long season that lasts from late spring to early fall.

It turns out the best way to cook chanterelles was the first way that I prepared them, using a dry sauté.

Why Dry Sauté Chanterelles?

Dry sautéing is exactly what it sounds like–cooking mushrooms in a hot, dry pan without any additional oil or liquid.

It removes excess moisture from mushrooms, resulting in a firm and chewy texture.

The mushrooms first release then cook in their own liquid, resulting in a concentrated and complex flavor.

Also, chanterelles are notoriously dirty mushrooms and often need to be thoroughly cleaned with water. With the dry sauté method you can liberally rinse chanterelles without fear of ruining their texture when cooked.

​Dry sautéing can work on a variety of mushrooms besides chanterelles. Any wild or store bought mushroom with high water content can benefit from a dry sauté.

Ingredients and Equipment

For this recipe you’ll need:

• fresh chanterelles: you want young, firm chanterelles with beautiful golden color. Pale and dry mushrooms will not work well with this method.
• butter: it’s tough to beat the combination of mushrooms and butter, but any cooking fat like olive oil, duck fat, or ghee will work great too. 
• garlic: minced shallot or onion are also good substitutions or additions.
• fresh thyme: I find that nothing pairs better with mushrooms than the earthy flavor of thyme, but you can also substitute with most herbs like fresh parsley or oregano
• kosher salt: or fine sea salt
• black pepper

As far as equipment you’ll just need a heavy, large frying pan or skillet. My 12-inch cast iron skillet always gets the job done.

How to Clean Chanterelle Mushrooms

As previously mentioned, chanterelles are dirty little fungi. It’s best to start cleaning them as soon as they are harvested in the woods.

Slice the stems just above ground level and brush off as much dirt as possible with before placing them in your harvest tote.

Once you have them home, rinse the mushrooms under a stream of cool water or briefly dunk them in a large bowl of water.

If you are immediately dry sautéing, there’s no need to completely dry the mushrooms, just let them briefly drain on a paper towel.

However if you won’t be cooking the mushrooms for a while, place them by a fan and circulate cool air over them for an hour or two.

Once the mushrooms are no longer tacky to the touch, store them in a paper bag in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.

How to Dry Sauté Chanterelle Mushrooms

1. Cut the mushrooms into equal sizes

Start by ripping or cutting cleaned chanterelles into equally sized pieces.

Keep in mind the mushrooms will significantly reduce in size as they cook. I generally like to cut smaller ones in half and any larger mushrooms into quarters.

2. Add to a heated, dry pan with some salt

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then spread the mushrooms out in an even layer in the pan.

Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the mushrooms. Adding salt early helps draw out even more moisture.

3. Cook until liquid has released, then evaporated

Cook for a few minutes, stirring often so the mushrooms don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Soon the mushrooms will start releasing their liquid.

Continue cooking the mushrooms for 5-10 minutes until the liquid has completely evaporated from the pan.

4. Add butter and aromatics

Once the pan is dry again, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the butter, garlic, and thyme.

Continue cooking for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden brown and slightly crispy.

5. Remove from heat and season

Remove the skillet from heat, season the mushrooms with addition salt and black pepper to taste, and enjoy!

Cooking Tips

• Moisture content can vary greatly depending on the age of the mushrooms and the conditions when they were harvested. If not enough liquid releases within the first few minutes of cooking, add some additional water to the pan.
• Don’t overheat the skillet before adding the mushrooms. If the skillet is too hot, it will burn the mushrooms before they’ve had a chance to release liquid.

Storage

Store cooked chanterelle mushrooms in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

Gently reheat over low heat with a small additional amount of butter or oil before reserving.

Serving Suggestions

While they are delicious on their own, dry sautéed chanterelles work great in a variety of dishes:

• chanterelle pasta: toss in your favorite cooked pasta with some olive oil and parmesan cheese for easy pasta dish
• chanterelle omelette
• Serve on top of grilled steaks or wild game
• chanterelle toast: spread a little goat cheese on toasted crusty bread and top with chanterelles

More Mushroom Recipes

• Sautéed Chicken of the Woods
• Morel Mushroom and Quinoa Salad
• Miso Pumpkin Soup with Oyster Mushrooms
• Skillet Pork Chops with Chanterelles and Figs
• Shaggy Mane Mushroom Soup
• Pan Fried Oyster Mushrooms

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