How to cook porcini mushrooms and whether it is necessary: ​​how long, until done, fresh, frozen

Porcini mushrooms are recognized as one of the most valuable gifts of the forest. Dishes made from them are considered a delicacy in many countries, thanks to their pleasant taste, delicate aroma, and rich nutritional content.

Are porcini mushrooms eaten raw?

Porcini mushrooms don't contain any toxic substances, so they can be eaten raw. However, it's best to use only the caps for this purpose, as the stems are too dense. People with gastrointestinal conditions should also limit their consumption of fresh porcini mushrooms.

Pre-treatment of porcini mushrooms

Before cooking, porcini mushrooms must go through several stages:

• Cleaning away forest debris and sand using a knife or soft brush.
• Soaking, which removes sand residue from hard-to-reach places.
• Cutting off damaged and darkened areas.
• Cleaning the stem until it turns white.
• Each mushroom should first be inspected for worms, and after cleaning, it is recommended to cut the boletus mushrooms into pieces to once again ensure there are no living creatures inside.

Do porcini mushrooms need to be boiled?

Boiling porcini mushrooms is not a necessary step before preparing them. However, it's important to remember that the fruiting bodies may contain toxins leached from the soil. This is especially true for mushrooms harvested along highways or near operating factories. To remove these harmful contaminants, many chefs strongly recommend boiling the mushrooms.

Nutritional value of boiled porcini mushrooms

Porcini mushrooms are considered not only a delicious but also a low-calorie dish. 100 grams of fresh mushrooms contain:

• 29.12 kcal;
• 2.9 proteins;
• 1.07 fats;
• 3.56 carbohydrates.

Read about porcini mushrooms in the following articles:

Porcini mushrooms: 18 species + 2 inedible lookalikes, description, 97 photos, where and when they grow, preparation;

Where porcini mushrooms grow, where to look for them, when to pick them + distribution map;

How to grow porcini mushrooms at home, in the garden, on a windowsill + business;

Differences between boletus and porcini mushrooms: are they the same or not, what's the difference + 23 types with photos;

False porcini mushroom (gall, bitter): 20+ photos and description, similar varieties, how to distinguish from the real thing.

How and how long to cook fresh porcini mushrooms until done

Methods for cooking porcini mushrooms will vary depending on the type of mushroom:

• Fresh mushrooms are boiled for about 40 minutes, placed in cold water, if the mushrooms are then stewed or fried, the cooking time can be reduced to 20 minutes;
• dried ones are soaked for about 2 hours before cooking;
• Frozen ones are immediately placed in boiling water and cooked for about 40 minutes.

Porcini mushrooms are cooked very simply:

1. After the preparatory procedure, the mushrooms are cut into pieces.
2. Place in a large saucepan to allow room for the foam that forms during boiling.
3. Fill with water and place on medium heat.
4. During the cooking process, the foam is removed and the mushrooms are salted.
5. Old mushrooms may color the water brownish, it can be changed.
6. Cooking time is 20-40 minutes depending on the dish.
7. At the end, the mushrooms are thrown into a colander and cooled.
8. If desired, you can add your favorite seasonings and spices. Don't use the cooking water for the next batch of mushrooms, otherwise they will turn black and look unappetizing.

Cooking porcini mushrooms in different containers

Porcini mushrooms can be cooked in any suitable container in several ways:

How to cook porcini mushrooms in a saucepan

Take a saucepan large enough to hold no more than two-thirds of the mushrooms. Place the porcini mushrooms in it, cover with cold water, and set the pan over low heat. As soon as the water begins to heat, add salt to taste. As it boils, foam will begin to form, which should be skimmed off promptly. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer the mushrooms for about 50 minutes, then drain in a colander.

How to cook porcini mushrooms in a slow cooker

Place the mushrooms halfway into the multicooker bowl and add enough water to cover all the pieces. You can select "boil" or "stewing" mode; the results will be the same. If using dried porcini mushrooms, you'll need to increase the cooking time by an additional 20 minutes.

How to steam porcini mushrooms

A steamer is only used for fresh mushrooms; dried ones will still be a bit tough. Porcini mushrooms are cut into pieces, placed in the steamer, and seasoned with salt. The steamer is set for 40-50 minutes.

How and how long to boil porcini mushrooms before frying

For frying, mushrooms should be boiled for 20 minutes after the water boils. In a slow cooker, you can set the boiling time to 25 minutes. Then, cool them in a colander before placing them in a preheated frying pan.

How and how long to cook porcini mushrooms for freezing

Boiling the mushrooms before freezing helps save freezer space. Cut the mushrooms into pieces, place them in a saucepan, and cover with cold water. Salt them if desired. Cook for 15 minutes after boiling. Drain the mushrooms, cool, portion them, and refrigerate.

How and how long to cook porcini mushrooms for pickling

To marinate, boil the mushrooms in water for 20 minutes, then remove them with a slotted spoon rather than draining them in a colander. Add a few black peppercorns, cloves, a bay leaf, and a splash of vinegar to the water, cook for another 5 minutes, then arrange the mushrooms in sterilized jars and pour the brine over them.

Some cooks prefer to cook the mushrooms directly in the brine, as this gives them a richer and more vibrant flavor. You can tell they're ready when the mushroom pieces sink to the bottom.

How and how long to cook porcini mushrooms for pickling

Typically, most mushrooms are pickled fresh, but experienced home cooks recommend lightly boiling boletus mushrooms to bring out their unique flavor. Remove the stems from porcini mushrooms, leaving only the caps. Cut the mushrooms into pieces and place them in a saucepan. Then, add water and simmer for no more than three minutes after boiling. Next, let the mushrooms cool, then place them in a container lined with horseradish leaves, season with salt, and alternate layers. Cover the container with cheesecloth and place a weight on top.

How and how long to cook dried porcini mushrooms

Before cooking with dried mushrooms, they must be soaked for 2-3 hours. If the porcini mushrooms haven't been thoroughly rinsed beforehand, place them in a colander and scrub under running water with a soft brush. Next, place the mushrooms in a saucepan, add the spices, and cook for 30 minutes after boiling.

How and how long to cook frozen porcini mushrooms

It's best to remove the mushrooms from the freezer and let them defrost at room temperature overnight. This will give them a cooking time of 25 minutes after boiling. If you can't defrost them ahead of time, you can add them straight from the freezer to the boiling water, but the cooking time will increase to 40 minutes.

What to do if porcini mushrooms turn sour or green when cooked

Sometimes porcini mushrooms may develop a greenish tint. Don't try to remove it or disguise the defect; these mushrooms are no longer edible. This often happens if they've been stored for a long time before processing.

During cooking, the caps often turn green; this is considered normal. To prevent this, cooks recommend adding 5 grams of citric acid per 10 liters of water to the pot. This will prevent the porcini mushrooms from changing color or losing their flavor. To maintain the pleasing color of the cooked mushrooms, do not increase the cooking time.

As a rule, porcini mushrooms collected in mixed or birch forests are subject to color change. Boletus mushrooms from pine forests rarely turn green.

You should also be careful when choosing cookware: cast iron, copper or tin can give an unwanted taste.

Recipes with porcini mushrooms

Porcini mushrooms can be used to make not only the world-famous cream soup, but also cabbage soup, noodles, borscht, and yushka.

Well-fried or stewed boletus mushrooms go well with buckwheat, potatoes, and rice. They make an excellent complement to beef, turkey, rabbit, and chicken.

Porcini mushroom sauce is especially popular and is served with meat.

Cream of porcini mushroom soup

To prepare creamy porcini mushroom soup you will need:

• porcini mushrooms – 500 g;
• onions – 2 pcs.;
• potatoes – 2-3 pcs.;
• cream 20% – 250 ml;
• vegetable oil – 2 tbsp;
• dill, salt, pepper – to taste.

Method of preparation:

1. Place chopped potatoes in a pot of water, add a little salt and cook until done.
2. Finely chop the onion and fry in heated oil together with the mushrooms for 5-7 minutes.
3. Add cream to the pan in a thin stream and simmer for another 10 minutes over low heat.
4. Add the potatoes to the mushrooms, simmer for another 3 minutes, then blend the mixture.
5. When serving, sprinkle with dill.

Sorrel with porcini mushrooms

In season, porcini mushrooms make a delicious sorrel. To prepare it, you'll need:

• porcini mushrooms – 400 g;
• sorrel – 1 bunch;
• potatoes – 2-3 pcs.;
• onion – 1 pc.;
• carrots – 1 pc.;
• vegetable oil – 1 tbsp;
• salt, pepper – to taste;
• dill.

The soup is very easy to prepare:

1. Pour 2.5 liters of water into a saucepan, add chopped mushrooms and cook for 15 minutes, skimming off the foam.
2. Cut the potatoes into cubes and add to the mushrooms, cook for another 15 minutes.
3. Grate the onion and carrot and fry in heated oil for 5 minutes.
4. Chop the sorrel, place it in a saucepan, add the fried vegetables and cook for another 2 minutes after boiling.
5. Add salt and spices to taste.
6. When serving, sprinkle with dill.

Soup with porcini mushrooms and potato dumplings

Dumpling soup is usually made from a mixture of dried and fresh mushrooms.

Ingredients:

• fresh porcini mushrooms – 500 g;
• dried mushrooms – 1 handful;
• onion – 1 pc.;
• carrots – 1 pc.;
• boiled potatoes – 250 g;
• egg – 1 pc.;
• flour – 100 g;
• butter – 2 tbsp for frying + 2 tbsp for dumplings;
• salt, spices – to taste.

Recipe:

1. Soak dried mushrooms for 2 hours, then cover with water and cook for 30 minutes. You can remove the dried boletus mushrooms from the soup later; in this case, soaking is not necessary and they can be cooked straight away.
2. Add chopped porcini mushrooms to the pan and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Grate the onion and carrot and fry in oil for 5 minutes.
4. Grate the potatoes, add salt, pepper, egg and flour, knead the dough.
5. Roll the potato dough into thin sausages, cut them into pieces, and place them in the pan. Cook for another 7 minutes.
6. Add dill when serving.

Mushroom caviar

Porcini mushrooms make amazingly delicious mushroom caviar.

Ingredients:

• porcini mushrooms – 2 kg;
• onion – 300 g;
• carrots – 300 g;
• salt – 1 tbsp;
• tomato paste – 1 tbsp.;
• Garlic – 4 cloves;
• vinegar 9% - 2 tbsp.

Method of preparation:

1. Cut the mushrooms and boil for 30 minutes.
2. Grate the onion and carrot and fry.
3. Pass the mushrooms through a meat grinder, add the sautéed mixture, salt and spices.
4. Simmer the mixture for 1 hour, 10 minutes before it’s ready, add 9% vinegar and garlic pressed through a garlic press.
5. Place into sterilized jars and roll up.

Reviews and tips for cooking porcini mushrooms

3. Fresh porcini mushrooms, like any other mushrooms, don't store well for long. It's best to process them immediately. Rinse the mushrooms in cool water, trim off the stems, and cut larger mushrooms into pieces. Then soak the mushrooms in cool, salted water for 30 minutes. During this time, any worms should have been released. Rinse the soaked mushrooms thoroughly again and proceed to preparing your chosen dish. If for some reason you can't process your mushrooms immediately, carefully brush off any remaining soil, grass, pine needles, and leaves, place them in a wide wicker bowl or paper bag, and store them in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator. However, remember that even after this preparation, fresh mushrooms can be stored for no more than a day and a half.

4. The most common mushroom appetizer, julienne, is especially delicious when made with porcini mushrooms and sour cream sauce. Thoroughly wash, peel, and chop 500 grams of porcini mushrooms into large pieces. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a deep frying pan, add the mushrooms, and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the mushroom juices release. Drain the mushroom juice into a separate bowl, and add one large onion, sliced ​​into half rings, and another two tablespoons of butter. Cook the onion and mushrooms for 15 minutes over medium heat. In a separate bowl, place 200 grams of sour cream, add 1 tablespoon of flour, and whisk thoroughly. Then add the mushroom juice, salt, and black pepper to taste, and mix thoroughly again. Pour the sour cream sauce into the pan with the mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Rub the inside of the cocotte tins with garlic, fill them with the mushrooms in the sour cream sauce, sprinkle the julienne with a little grated Parmesan, and bake in a preheated oven at 200⁰ for 15 minutes.

5. A very simple salad with porcini mushrooms and pumpkin seeds will delight you with its fresh taste and undeniable health benefits. Peel and thoroughly wash 100 g of porcini mushrooms, blanch them in boiling water for two minutes, drain and slice thinly. Heat 1 tablespoon of pumpkin oil in a frying pan, add one crushed clove of garlic and the mushroom slices, stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Fry two tablespoons of peeled pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan until lightly browned. Tear 50 g of each arugula and lettuce leaves by hand. Place the lettuce leaves in a salad bowl, add the mushrooms, and mix. Dress the salad with a mixture of 3 tablespoons of pumpkin oil, 1 tbsp. tablespoons dry white wine, 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, ½ teaspoon paprika, salt to taste. Sprinkle the salad with pumpkin seeds and serve immediately.

No need to peel, just rinse well. Chop.
Be sure to boil the fish before frying. Add black peppercorns and bay leaf to salted water at the end of cooking (optional, but I like it better this way). Cook for 20 minutes, skimming off any foam. Then drain and fry with onions.
I make the soup like this: rinse the mushrooms, chop them, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, and skim off any foam. Cook for about 20 minutes, add salt and spices, add the potatoes, and cook for another 10 minutes. Five minutes before the soup is ready, add the sautéed onions and carrots. Sometimes I also throw in a handful of spider web vermicelli.

No need to boil them. Clean and fry them. Noble mushrooms do not require boiling.

"At the same time, if all preparatory steps are followed (thorough cleaning, washing, and quick cooking), edible mushrooms should never be pre-boiled before sautéing. This rule applies to porcini mushrooms, chanterelles, saffron milk caps, button mushrooms, morels, parasol mushrooms, ringed caps, russulas, and rowan mushrooms. Of course, prolonged heat treatment of mushrooms will not cause harm to the human body. However, the nutritional value of "our forest beef" is reduced, its flavor is impaired, and its aroma is weakened. Furthermore, some edible mushrooms become slimy after boiling.

There's also no need to boil greenhouse champignons, oyster mushrooms, or any frozen mushrooms you can buy in stores before frying. Furthermore, champignons grown on sterile substrate can even be eaten raw, for example, added to a salad.

By popular demand! :jumping:
WHITES IN THEIR OWN JUICE!

But I don't think I'll reveal anything new. :tomato:
The recipe is based on the book “Mushrooms” by F.V. Fedorov, 1983.
We sort and wash young, attractive mushrooms and place them in a saucepan (cut large ones into chunks). Add 1/3 of the water to the mushrooms' volume (this is determined experimentally. Too little water and they'll be dry; too much water and they'll be too soupy).
Place the mushrooms on the stove. As they heat, they release liquid, increasing the level in the pan. When they boil, skim off any foam. Once the mushrooms have boiled, add spices (pepper, bay leaf, cloves, etc., to taste, depending on your preference). A pinch of lemon juice is essential (to prevent the mushrooms from losing their color—they'll be a beautiful yellow, while the brown caps will take on an orange-reddish hue. Without the lemon juice, the mushrooms will be gray). Cook for 7-10 minutes, then add garlic and vinegar (usually, almost twice as much vinegar as, say, honey mushrooms. You also need a little more salt than you would for regular mushrooms. The amount needed will be adjusted the second or third time!).
As soon as it boils after adding the vinegar, pour and seal the jar immediately. This way, from the moment it boils until the end of cooking, it takes a maximum of 15-20 minutes.
The juice released by the mushrooms is boiled and used to make a marinade—the mushrooms turn out incredibly delicious!
It can be difficult to find the right amount of ingredients the first time. But through trial and error, you'll find a recipe you like! :blush:
Good luck! I'm ready to answer all your questions. Photos of the mushrooms in jars? I can post them, actually!

Pickled porcini mushrooms (traditional method)

We will need:
1 kg of porcini mushrooms
100 g of salt
1 head of garlic
5 allspice peas
5 black peppercorns
black currant leaves
umbrella of dill
vegetable oil

Preparation:
Sort and wash the porcini mushrooms, cut into medium pieces, cover with water and cook for 30 minutes.
Peel and chop the garlic, wash the dill and currant leaves.
We throw the boiled mushrooms into a colander, let the water drain and transfer them to a salting dish,
Add salt, garlic, dill, pepper and currant leaves.
Mix everything, cover with a plate, put a weight on top and put in a cool place.
After 2 days, foam will begin to rise; remove it with a spoon without lifting the weight.
When the mushrooms stop foaming, they are ready.
Place the porcini mushrooms in sterilized jars and pour in oil so that the mushrooms are completely covered.
Store in the refrigerator.