How to Cook Lion’s Mane Mushrooms

Lion’s mane mushrooms are one of the most popular types of mushrooms out there. In a world that is slowly moving towards healthy food choices, the popularity of mushrooms has skyrocketed beyond into the stratosphere. Concurrent with the rise of a more organic orientation towards food, the popularization of farmers’ markets across the US has translated into easier access for consumers for mushrooms. Leading the ‘mushroom’ revolution are a group of mushrooms such as blue oyster mushrooms, pink oyster mushrooms, and lion’s mane mushrooms.

This rise can be attributed not only to the aforementioned improving attitudes toward conscious food choices but also to the convenience that comes with mushroom grow kits. You will lucky to find a Lion’s mane grow kit or a blue oyster grow kit since they have been flying off the shelf in farmers’ markets. These days you’d be lucky if there are any mushroom grow kits left a half-hour after the opening time of these farmers’ markets. Coming back to lion’s mane mushrooms, their popularity is understandable. The savory taste that they possess has made them a favorite amongst people who are looking to replace meat and seafood in their diets. Today, we’ll be discussing a lion’s mane recipe that is not only exceedingly easy to replicate but also proves to have great results. If you follow these simple steps, then this recipe is sure to become a household favorite whenever guests come over. Growing mushrooms at home are no longer such a hassle with the introduction of mushroom grow kits. These are essentially pre-made fruiting blocks that skip the process of you setting up the fruiting blocks yourself.

How Do Lion’s Mane Mushrooms Grow?

Before we get into the recipe itself, let’s explore the depths of the process that has resulted in you being able to fry lion’s mane mushrooms. Mushrooms are a type of fungi that is grown generally in damp and dark conditions. This makes them ideal for people who want to grow mushrooms in their garages as the lack of sunshine actually works to nurture these mushrooms even more. What is even more important is the fact that these pre-ordained conditions must be replicated almost perfectly as even a little variation in these conditions will cause less-than-ideal results. Mushrooms also require a lot less space than their plant cousins and will spring in tightly packed clusters.

The most popular method of growing mushrooms is to take plastic bags and fill them with sawdust and wood chips. The non-porous nature of the plastic bags makes them perfect for retaining the water inside these tightly packed bags. However, with growing environmental concerns, the use of these plastic bags has become a rather controversial technique to employ. The reuse of these bags can deliver less than optimal results and thus new bags have to be bought every time a new batch is being nurtured. This can drive up the cost of production and the headache of disposing of the plastic bags in an environmentally friendly way becomes an issue of its own. This is why more and more urban farmers are moving toward the more traditional ways of growing mushrooms, ones that might certainly be less convenient and require more space but maintain the delicate balance that nature has struck for millennia.

Lion’s Mane Mushrooms Storage

The best way of storing your lion’s mane mushrooms is to first put them in a paper bag which allows them to breathe and in a central part of the refrigerator which promises them ample airflow.

Lion’s Mane Mushrooms Cleaning

Now that the fateful day has arrived and you have begun to cook your mushrooms, it would be best first to clean them. The most ideal way of doing that is use a damp cloth and wipe it to make sure that there is no dirt before you cook them. The issue with washing them or soaking them in water is that the water will penetrate the mushroom itself and make it soggy.

How to Cook Lion’s Mane Mushrooms

First, you have to cut the stem of the mushrooms, this part is often dirty and needs to be removed before you proceed. Moving on from this, cut the mushrooms into smaller and equally sized parts. This is done so that the heat can better penetrate the mushrooms and give you a more evenly cooked product.

How to Fry Lion’s Mane Mushrooms

Now, in order to make this process smooth and even improve the taste overall, there must be some sort of oil that needs to be cooked with. I personally recommend using ghee with a touch of olive oil as it gives a more powerful taste in the end. This is where a lot of experimentation can take place and you can use just olive oil as well and even a combination of butter and olive oil. Now, heat the mushrooms over a non-stick frying pan on medium heat for a few minutes before you start to see a slight change in the color. Flip the mushrooms to make sure the other side is also evenly cooked and add seasoning to your heart’s content. Be careful as adding more seasoning can drown out the savory taste of lion’s mane mushrooms themselves. These can be garlic powder, soy sauce, and a bit of salt to really give out a balanced flavor. Most chefs would advise you to look at the color of the mushrooms in order to see when to take them off the heat, but I am of the opinion that the smell of a well-cooked dish to a trained nose is a much better way of seeing whether the mushrooms have been cooked or not.

So, this was an extremely simple and easy way of frying lion’s mane mushrooms that is sure to yield results that are going to impress all the people who try this dish. The fact that this dish looks much more complex than it is might also earn you some brownie points with the people who get to taste this fantastic item.