Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
Everyone who loves mushrooms loves stuffed mushrooms. They can be filled with any of the foods and flavors that tickle your fancy: seafood, veggies, meat, cheese, um… more mushrooms! Whichever way you choose to stuff your shrooms here are a few tips and tricks to avoid a couple of common stuffed mushroom problems.
Bring forth the tips!
The first potential issue with stuffing shrooms is that mushrooms always release liquid as they cook. If you stuff raw mushrooms:
- You’ll probably end up with soggy results no matter what filling you use.
- There’s a chance that the mushrooms won’t be cooked through and tender at the point where the filling is cooked and ready.
To avoid this always roast your caps on a baking rack before filling them, and always use a filling that is completely cooked and just needs to be warmed and browned. This step cooks the mushrooms through so they’re already nice and tender by the time they get filled. It also allows the mushrooms to release their juices, and by baking them on a rack over a pan the liquid drips down and they don’t sit there in their sad little juices.
The second problem I’ve run into with stuffed mushrooms is getting that perfectly golden brown crunch on top without scorching it under the broiler. If the mushroom caps are topped with cheese instead of breadcrumbs then broil away (just don’t WALK away). But if you’re going for a crunchy topping I have two tips:
- Use more oil in your breadcrumb mixture than you would think necessary. That oil is the key to getting those bready bits golden and not blackened.
- Don’t have your oven rack too close to the broiler. To get any filling bubbly, cheese melty, or breadcrumbs goldeny you’re gonna need those mushrooms to broil at least 2-3 minutes under a really hot broiler. If they’re too close to the broiler then that’s gonna be tricky, especially with breading.
Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
Shrooms
- 12-15 baby portobello mushrooms (2-3 inches wide)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (divided)
Filling
- 1 small onion (diced)
- 4-6 cloves fresh garlic (grated or minced)
- 3/4lb bulk Italian sausage
- 4oz soft goat cheese
- 1/4 cup green onion (thinly sliced)
- 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
Topping
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley (minced)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2/3 cups panko bread crumbs