Soufflé, sous vide, confit… there are just some cooking terms that fill this average home cook with unease. I’ve never felt the need to make a chocolate soufflé or confit a duck leg. But then I read that you can confit mushrooms! Who knew? And as it turns out, it’s dead simple https://wapo.st/1BKuS8v – and delicious on both pizza and toast!
Mushroom Confit
680g button mushrooms (small Portobellos or a mix of mushrooms also works)
1tsp salt
½-1 cup olive or grapeseed oil, or more as needed
2tbsp minced shallot
1tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a damp paper towel. Trim the stems.
2 Place the mushrooms gill-sides up on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the salt. Set aside to dry-brine for 30 minutes.
3 Heat 1½cm of the oil in a straight-sided, heavy skillet large enough to hold the mushrooms in a single layer, over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the shallot; cook for several minutes, until translucent. Add the thyme and the mushrooms, gill-sides up. Reduce the heat to medium-low; cook for 15 minutes, turning the mushrooms over halfway through.
4 Add enough oil so the mushrooms are fully submerged; cook gently until the oil registers 77°C on a thermometer, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.
5 Cool the mushrooms in the oil. Pack the mushrooms into a clean glass jar, gently layering each one in the jar, then covering with oil; continue layering and adding oil until all the mushrooms have been packed in the jar. Run a chopstick or a plastic knife along the inside of the jar to release any air bubbles. Make sure the mushrooms are completely submerged in the oil, then cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.