Learn how to make a creamy mushroom sauce at home.
I am a complete sucker for sauce. Forget the healthy vegetables on the side or even the protein on the plate. Give me a bowlful of just about any sauce with a generous portion of chips and I’m in seventh heaven.
If you happened to be vegetarian and/or are avoiding gluten, this is a splendid recipe.
What type of mushrooms do you use in mushroom sauce?
In the photos I used the chestnut variety but white mushrooms, Chanterelles, Portobellos and Cremini will also do.
Substitutes for Sherry
Port, Madeira and Marsala can be used instead of sherry in this recipe. Some people don’t like alcohol in their food and have been known to use apple cider, vanilla extract, orange or pineapple juice. My two cents? If you’re not going to be using sherry or the equivalent, don’t try to add those aforementioned dodgy items to your sauce. Take the safe route and use stock/broth instead. See below.
Mushroom Sauce Recipe Variations
The mushroom sauce you’ll find below is simply one variation of this easy and highly adaptable recipe. I took the simple route but you can make the flavours more complex by frying finely chopped shallots to the garlic, use more than one mushroom variety mentioned above and use stock/broth.
Bigger quantities
You can make bigger quantities of the sauce; all you have to remember is the ratio – 50% sherry and 50% cream.
Just mushroom sauce
Substitute the sherry with stock/broth if you don’t want alcohol in your food, e.g. 50% stock/broth and 50% double cream.
Healthier sauce
10% sherry, 80% stock and 10% single cream or crème fraiche.
Low-Fat Mushroom Gravy
Use low-fat spray along with 10% sherry, 90% vegetable/chicken or beef stock.
All you need is one clove of garlic to give this sauce a punchy flavour.
Peel and finely chop the garlic then set aside.
Let me tell you a secret. Never ever wash mushrooms in water or any other liquid for that matter.
Mushrooms are quite porous and if you wash them with water they tend to soak up a lot of liquid and that in turns affect their texture. We don't want soggy mushrooms, do we?
The solution to this problem is simply using a paper towel and gently rubbing off any noticeable dirt. Afterwards, chop off the stalk or remove them completely.
Halve the mushrooms. Quarter them. Slice them. Chop them. Do whatever your heart desires.
Heat up a pan on the stove and get the butter melting. Gently fry the garlic.
Add the mushrooms and brown them a bit.
Increase the heat until everything starts sizzling and then add the sherry and watch it bubble for about 3 minutes.
Next add the cream and stir it into the sauce. Let it bubble for a few minutes.
While you're waiting, quickly add a teaspoon of corn flour to a cup and stir in the same amount of water in it to make a slurry.
Use more, use less. It all depends on how thick you would like your sauce to be.
When you add the slurry to the sauce make sure the temperature is set at the lowest possible setting because once the corn flour hits the pan, it starts thickening. Secondly, you have to be prepared to start stirring vigorously. If you don't, be prepared to eat a clotty sauce.
If you take heed, there is nothing to worry about. Just add the corn flour slurry slowly, stir vigorously and watch the sauce thicken. If you ran out and would like your sauce even thicker, make a new slurry and simply add it to the pan.
Oh, and one last tip. You can use the pan liquids instead of tap water to make the slurry. Less flavour would be diluted.
And there you have it! Pour the sauce on top of your steak, pork chop or fish. This time round I had it with a chicken breast I cooked with a sous-vide on a bed of rice. Bliss!
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Mushroom and Sherry sauce
★★★★★5 from 1 review
Author:Michelle Minnaar
Total Time:15 minutes
Yield:4 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Description
A versatile sauce that can be served with chicken, beef, pork, fish and even pasta.
Ingredients
UnitsScale
15ml (1 tbsp) butter
1 garlic clove
300g (10 oz) mushrooms
120ml (4fl oz) sherry
120ml (4fl oz) double cream
5ml (1 tsp) corn flour
Instructions
Melt the butter in hot pan and gently fry the garlic for one minute.
Add the mushrooms to the garlic and fry them for a few minutes until lightly browned.
Pour the sherry in and cook until reduced to a glaze which will take about 3 minutes.
Stir in the cream and let the sauce cook for 1 minute.
Meanwhile, mix the corn flour with 5ml (1 tsp) of cold water in a cup.
Reduce the heat and slowly add the slurry to the sauce and stir vigorously to avoid any clotting.
Add 1 heavy whipping cream and sherry; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes to reduce the sauce by about 1/4 to 1/3. Taste and add salt and pepper, along with other seasonings you might like. For extra color and flavor, add a dash of paprika, Cajun seasoning, or nutmeg to the sauce.
How do you thicken the cream of mushroom soup? If you feel the soup is too thin, then just before adding the cream, take 1 tbsp of corn starch and 1 tbsp of cold water and mix together, then pour into the soup. Stir until thickened. This will take a couple minutes to thicken.
Swap the wine for light-colored vinegars, like white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. Avoid harsher vinegars, like distilled white vinegar, which could add too much acidity. While most vinegars can play as a tasty substitute, be careful with the color of the vinegar.
Cream Sherry is a blend of Oloroso Sherry, which is a dry, oxidative style with PX Sherry. PX is a lusciously rich, sweet style of sherry. If you need a sherry primer, here is an introduction and another one featuring sherry wine pairings.
Yet it's expensive to make and the wine cannot be sold straight after vintage. Producing good sherry relies on holding large stocks of maturing wine, as in most cases sherry is a blend of different vintages.
Stir, scraping the bottom of the skillet, for 1 minute or until mostly evaporated. Add broth, cream and parmesan. Stir, then lower heat to medium so the sauce is simmering - do not boil rapidly, cream may split. Stir occasionally and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes until it thickens.
Here are some ways to thicken cream of mushroom soup without using flour: Cornstarch: Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water until it forms a smooth paste. Add the mixture to the soup and stir well. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for a few minutes until it thickens.
Make a roux with a bit of flour to help thicken the sauce. Add milk, stir to work out any lumps of flour, and cook until thickened. Stir in some parmesan, pour your mushroom sauce over pasta/chicken/etc., and enjoy!
Red wine gives the sauce added richness and robustness, while white wine imparts a fruity flavor. Incorporate the wine early in the cooking process, just after the vegetables have softened. Then, let the wine cook down and reduce almost all the way.
Bordelaise sauce is a classic French sauce prepared with red wine, meat glaze or demi-glace, butter, shallots and bone marrow. Sauce lyonnaise is a French sauce prepared with white wine, vinegar and onions, which may be served with meat.
The primary difference here is color. While white wine vinegar would blend seamlessly into a creamy salad dressing, while red wine vinegar would give it a pinkish hue. Feel free to swap equal parts of red wine vinegar in any recipe that calls for white wine vinegar — as long as you don't mind altering the color.
Olive oil: I cook my mushrooms in the skillet with olive oil (I like how it adds a golden brown crust and flavor). Butter, garlic, lemon, and thyme: After cooking my mushrooms, I stir in butter, garlic, fresh lemon zest, fresh thyme leaves, and a bit of lemon juice.
Should I salt the mushrooms before cooking them? Never salt the mushrooms before cooking. Salt draws out moisture and will therefore make them extremely mushy.
What are some herbs and spices that can be used to enhance canned cream of mushroom soup? There are several herbs and spices that can enhance the flavor of canned cream of mushroom soup. Popular options include thyme, rosemary, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and paprika.
Cream Sherry: Cream Sherry, the famed sweet Sherry, is a full-bodied dessert wine with a bouquet of roasted nuts with a velvety smooth texture on the palate. Its variant, pale cream Sherry is a light and fresh wine with a pale gold color. It displays hazelnut and dough aromas and a delicate sweetness on the palate.
Sherry is a fortified wine with a long history from Southern Spain. It's a high-alcohol wine made using the historic solera system (a barrel aging and blending system) and is produced in a variety of styles, from dry to sweet and light to intense. Most sherry exhibits nutty, dried fruit, and saline flavors.
Sherry is wine made from white grapes. The grape variety Palomino features prominently in dry versions, while sweet versions like cream sherry might include Pedro Ximénez (PX) and Moscatel. Sherries are aged in a unique system called the solera, where barrels of fortified wines sit for years at ambient temperatures.
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