Marinated Mushrooms - Polish Style

Well it's been a while since the last posting. I've got some time here - how about we make us a snack? Marinated mushrooms are always a tasty treat.

I’ll be using a somewhat new knife for activity – a Rococo Cleaver. I received this for my birthday this past April, and I have been trying to make friends with it since. To my surprise, it is actually quite versatile and easy to use – almost a hybrid knife and cleaver combined. It takes a little getting used to after using a traditional chef knife for so long, but I’m coming around.

Here's what we need:

• Your favorite knife - preferably one that can slice. You could pull out the old Buckmaster 184 I suppose, but that might be just a tad rugged for this snack.
• Take your favorite knife and wash it thoroughly in warm soapy water. Remember - this will be used in preparing food, so we do not want any gun oil, grease, or cleaning compound on the blade.
• A large mouth jar. A 1 qt. Mason canning jar works fine. I use an old olive jar.
• A cutting board.
• A large liquid measuring cup, preferably a 4 cup size. A small mixing bowl will work too.
• A wooden (preferred) spoon for stirring.
  
  

The ingredients:

• 1 pound of your favorite mushrooms – whole, not sliced. I use white button mushrooms with an average head of 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Smaller ones work just fine too.
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic
• 1 Cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 Cup white distilled vinegar.
• 1 tsp dry mustard powder.
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dried marjoram (optional)

Here's what we do:

1. Remove all the stems from the mushrooms and set aside for use later. You can add them to the marinade if you wish. I typically don’t for presentation sake. Next, wash the mushroom heads to remove any remaining dirt.
   
   
2. Depending on the size of your jar and the size of your mushrooms, slice any mushrooms either in half or in quarters that are too big to manage in a single bite. The goal is to have as large of mushroom pieces as possible. Leave the smaller mushrooms whole.
   
   
3. Place your mushrooms in the jar and set aside.
4. Using the large liquid measuring cup, measure out 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Do not pour it out yet, as we will be adding the other ingredients to it first.
5. Measure out 1/3 cup white vinegar, pour that into the olive oil.
6. Next, prepare the garlic. Working one clove at a time, place the flat side of your knife over the clove and give it a good punch, squishing the garlic open. Gently remove the garlic skin and coarsely chop the garlic. Repeat with the second clove. 
   
   
   
   
7. Add the garlic to the olive oil.
   
   
8. Finally, measure out the salt, dry mustard powder, and black pepper and add them to the olive oil. Same if you add any herbs.
9. With your wooden spoon, gently stir the olive oil until all the ingredients ate blended thoroughly. The marinade will look somewhat cloudy, and that’s normal.
   
   
10. Pour the marinade over the mushrooms.  It’s OK if not all the mushrooms are covered. 
11. If your jar will allow it, gently stir the mushrooms so that all get a coating of the marinade.
    
    
12. Apply the lid and make sure it is secure. Gently tip the jar on its side tumble the mushrooms until all get coated with the marinade, then sit the jar upright. Be careful not to shake the jar, as this can break up the mushrooms into little pieces.
    
    
13. Let stand for at least an hour before serving.

And there you have it, mushrooms just like Matka used to make. These are best enjoyed within 3-5 days. They will shrink over time and become really soft the longer they marinate. These are fine to leave on the counter. You can refrigerate, but I do not recommend it as it changes the consistency of the olive oil.

Enjoy these as a little taster by themselves, on salted crackers, or sliced in a salad. When the mushrooms are gone, either add more mushrooms or use the marinade for salads, brushed over grilled veggies, or on grilled chicken.

Using this cleaver was fun for this simple project. I hope you enjoyed this - I sure did. Thanks for reading.

I read the latest addition to this post when it came out, but I didn't have the time to sit back and thoroughly peruse the entire thread.  Well, that happened this morning, and I was a bit surprised when I learned that I was not a member of the group!  Time to fix that!

Thank you for all of the shared recipes, Lars! 

Most of it I have either done done a kind of close approximation of, or could easily picture myself performing the food prep.  One of the most blatant things (that should show how my imagination was not all that different from what was posted) was the use of the Muela Mirage 20.  As I was reading that one, I already had my Varusteleka Jääkäripuukko 140 in my hands (in my head).  I do know that type of squash can be a bit of a bigger to split open nicely.

I will have to take a couple of pictures during my next 'nice' meal prep and cook.  Somehow I get the impression that cooking things in my cast iron pans would fit right in here...   :)

Oh man...yea! Particularly with your Varusteleka Jääkäripuukko 140. Combine that with your cast iron cookware, and you have a rugged killer story! It's a bit of an effort, but it's fun. Cutting up a chicken or ribs doesn't sound like a big deal...until you try it with one of your favorite hunting knives! 

I also follow these guys....they're sort of fun to watch. It's the outdoor cooking version of watching fish swim on your screen. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEjdmd-hXJs

Enjoy!