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We've been chowing down on mushroom Swiss burgers in the past few weeks. Not that you need a recipe for mushroom Swiss burgers, but I have a basic recipe that I follow for the mushroom topping, and it's easy to prepare one of three ways; sauteed, saucy, or creamy.
I add chopped bacon to my mushroom topping to add a smoky, salty element. |
Fun Fungi Facts
Here are some fun facts about mushrooms from Harold McGee's epic On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. [Affiliate Link]
- Mushrooms are natural flavor enhancers. They naturally contain monosodium glutamate, and many also contain guanosine monophosphate.
- Mushrooms don't have cellulose like plants. Instead, their cell walls are made of chitin which is the same thing as the exoskeletons of crustaceans.
- Mushrooms produce octenol (an 8-carbon alcohol) and there is more in the gills. Therefore, mature mushrooms that have opened have more gills and more flavor while unopened mushrooms like button mushrooms have less flavor.
Whole Mushrooms vs Pre-Sliced
I prefer to buy whole mushrooms and slice them myself.
- Mushrooms continue to be quite active for days after being picked. Enzymes continue to develop and store flavor compounds in the gills.
- If you slice them up before packaging, it disrupts that process and also lets the mushrooms start to dry out.
- For me, the loss of flavor isn't worth the 30 seconds you save from buying pre-sliced mushrooms.
- Prep tip: If you don't have knife skills, you can use an egg slicer to slice your mushrooms instead.
Here's the topping recipe that I use. When you do the sauteed version of this, it's basically mushroom ragout and we've tossed it with pasta or used it as a base for mushroom soup.
Mushroom Topping for Mushroom Swiss Burgers
Published 10/01/2022
This topping can be served in one of three ways; sauteed, saucy, or creamy. You can substitute butter for the bacon fat if needed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons bacon fat
- 12 ounces baby bella mushrooms, freshly sliced thin
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, peeled and sliced
- 5 slices smoked bacon, raw, chopped
- 1 ounce bourbon
- 1 ounce stone ground mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Preheat a medium cast-iron skillet over a 350°f grill.
- Saute the mushrooms. Add bacon fat or butter to the skillet and saute the sliced mushrooms for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the bacon and cook for 3 more minutes.
- Stir in the onions and cook until the onions are softened and the bacon has started to brown, about 4-5 more minutes.
- Flambe the bourbon.
- Keep your face, extremities, important documents, and anything else you don't want to be burned from above the skillet.
- Wear heat-resistant gloves.
- Don't do this unless you've been trained or at least watched 3 YouTube videos on how to flambe.
- What I'm trying to say is don't do this if you don't know what you're doing and don't sue me if you burn off your eyebrows.
- Remove the skillet from the heat, add the bourbon and quickly use a long-necked lighter to ignite the bourbon flames which will create a brief fireball. It will burn down and the flames will self-extinguish in about 15-20 seconds.
- Sauteed Version: Stir in the stone-ground mustard and Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 1 minute until thickened. Taste and add salt or Worcestershire sauce as needed.
- Saucy Version: After step 6, add 1/2 cup or so of beef stock and let simmer until the liquid reduces by half. Stir in a slurry of 1 tablespoon each of corn starch and cold water to thicken.
- Creamy Version: After step 6, add 1/2 cup or so of heavy cream and let simmer until the liquid reduces by half. Stir in a slurry of 1 tablespoon each of corn starch and cold water to thicken.
Yield: enough for 4 burgers
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.Cook time: 00 hrs. 15 mins.
Total time: 25 mins.
Tags: sauceHere are two of my recent burgers.
For the first burger, I used my CharBroil Cruise grill with infrared cooking and automatic controls to cook at the specific temperature of my choosing. That's pretty unique for gas grills which usually just have a dial with settings of low, medium, and high.
I started with fresh ground chuck from Food City and made 6-ounce burger patties. I heavily seasoned those with Jalapeno Steak Butter Seasoning from Pepper Palace. I've been using it on burgers a good bit lately - I enjoy the jalapeno flavor and mild sting. There was no specific reasoning for the 535°f, I meant to do 525°f and didn't notice that I rolled past it on the dial. |
I like to use two pieces of Sargento Baby Swiss per burger. Perfectly cheesy! |
The mushrooms amplify the cheesy, beefy burger. |
I cooked this next batch of Mushroom Swiss Burgers on a flat-top griddle.
Sometimes I opt for convenience and use Schweid & Son's premade burgers. They are fresh, Certified Angus Beef® Brand beef. The All American is USDA Choice while the One Percenter is USDA Prime. Also, when making Mushroom Swiss Burgers, it makes sense to season them with a mushroom-based seasoning like Fire and Smoke's Shiitake Steak Rub or my Umami Steak Seasoning recipe. |
Cooking burgers on a flat-top grill are probably my favorite way to go, even if I'm not doing smashburgers. |
Look at that pile of deliciousness! I would have eaten it just like this except I like to avoid 3rd-degree burns on my lips and tongue. |
Umami for the win! I love a toasted brioche bun as well. |