Pressed Hen-of-the-Woods Steaks
Dinner · Mushrooms · Side Dish · Vegan · Vegetarian · Wild and Foraged Foods
Maitake, or hen of the woods, cut into thick slabs and seared under a weight, so that every frond presses flat against the hot pan and turns crisp and brown. The weight can be a bacon press, a foil-wrapped brick or a second heavy pan. It turns a frilly, uneven mushroom into something with a real crust.
Hen of the woods grows at the base of oaks in Michigan from late August into October. MAMI says it has “no poisonous look-alikes”.
Untested: I have not cooked this one yet. It is here because the Mushrooms dive needed it, and it is adapted from the source named in the Notes.
Ingredients
- 1 large hen of the woods (maitake) cluster
- High-smoke-point oil
Fine salt
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, for the pan
Directions
- Cut steaks. Clean the cluster and cut it into slabs about 1 inch thick, keeping each slab joined at the base.
- Season. Coat the slabs lightly with oil and fine salt.
- Press and sear. Heat the canola oil in a heavy skillet until very hot. Lay in the steaks and immediately set a weight on top: a bacon press, a brick wrapped in foil, or a heavy cast-iron pan. Cook until deeply browned underneath, then turn, weight again, and brown the second side until cooked through.
- Serve. As a main course with a purée and pan juices, or sliced as a side.
Notes
Where this recipe came from Adapted from Hank Shaw’s “Seared Maitake ‘Steak’” at honest-food.net. He credits the method to his friend Alan Bergo: “I can’t take credit for the method, however. I learned it from my friend Alan Bergo.” Shaw serves it with squash purée and a mushroom jus. Specific cooking times were not given, so none are printed here. Cook to deep colour on both sides.
About the photo The photo shows raw hen of the woods (maitake) clusters. No open-licensed photograph of a seared maitake steak was found.