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Photo by Holly A. Heyser
It is chanterelle mushroom season in much of the country, and that often means an abundance of the pretty golden treasures. Our California season is just thinking about starting, out on the Pacific coast where the fog coats everything; our real flush won’t begin until November.
Dealing with abundance is usually a matter of drying. Most mushrooms are perfectly good dehydrated and stored in the pantry. Not chanties. Chanterelles lose almost everything that makes them special once they’ve been dried out. The only thing I’ve ever successfully done with dried chanterelles was infuse them with vodka. Weird, but good.
Pickling is the answer. When I first delved into pickling mushrooms, I wasn’t too optimistic about the results. I grew up in an era of canned mushrooms, which are slimy and so unpleasant I am certain it is a reason that most Americans won’t eat any mushrooms to this day.
Little did I know that pickled mushrooms are a classic appetizer in Eastern Europe, and they make their way to the antipasti plates of Italy as well (Here is my Italian method of preserving mushrooms). Far from being limp and slimy. pickled mushrooms are firm and zingy — a great addition to a pickle plate.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
Pickled Chanterelles
The key to these pickles is to dry saute your chanterelles first. You clean your shrooms, cut them into large pieces (leave small mushrooms whole) and put them into a hot frying pan dry. Shake them around as they heat and soon the mushrooms will give up their water. Doing that helps both the flavor of the mushroom and their ability to absorb the vinegar.
If you don’t want to can these mushrooms, they will be perfectly fine in the fridge for up to 6 months.
Can you do this with other mushrooms? You bet. I’ve done it with blewits, hedgehogs, Amanita velosa, porcini and honey mushrooms. Even button mushrooms are good this way — just be sure to dry saute. It makes all the difference.
Makes 2 pints
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes, including canning time
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds chanterelles or other mushrooms
- 2 cups white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
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- Get your canning gear ready and a large pot of water hot. Clean your mushrooms of any dirt, mold or wet spots. Cut large ones in half and keep small chanterelles whole.
- Dry saute the mushrooms in a large frying pan. When they give up their water, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt on them, along with the thyme. Once the chanterelles have given up most of their water, pour over the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn the temperature down to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Fish out the mushrooms and pack firmly into jars, leaving at least 1/2 inch headspace. Make sure each jar gets a bay leaf and some peppercorns.
- Ladle in the cooking liquid. Make sure it covers the mushrooms. Add more white wine vinegar or distilled vinegar to top off if necessary. Wipe the rims of the jars and seal. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
More Recipes for Pickles and Preserved Foods
More Mushroom Recipes
You don’t use a pressure canner?
Sam: No, why would you? This is a pickle. Plenty of acid involved. You only need a pressure canner when you are canning mushrooms without vinegar.
Outside of risotto with fresh chanterelles this is my favorite thing to do with them. They go great on spring salads.
Gorgeous Swedish summer chanterelles are just entering the markets (if only I could find my own field of gold in the forest!). Many thanks for the inspiration of what to do with them. I will definitely give this a try.
Chanterelles are about to dip out of season here and this is my first year getting stuck into pickling and preserving so I am ever grateful for the apt timing of this post!
Hank, I disagree with you on the dried chanterelles: I find their flavor intensifies greatly. My favorite thing to do with them is grind them in a spice grinder to a fine powder then sprinkle on lots of stuff for a dose of chanterelle umami! A liberal coating on fish, (especially black cod) before sauteing, frying, grilling or roasting is a really wonderful experience… BTW, I love pickled chanties too and will be trying your recipe!
Just broke open a jar of pickled chanterelles that have been in the fridge since last March. Still taste delicious and I haven’t died of botulism yet, so I guess they didn’t go bad. I can’t wait for our local chanties to fruit again!
Thank you for the recipe. I am going to try it with some MI Black Trumpets and Cinnabar Chantrelles that I just picked yesterday!
[...] look ridiculously good. Mushrooms are tricky with kids — at least with ours — but these pickled chanterelles by Hank Shaw might just get them to give fungi another try. We’re pickling blueberries now, [...]
Why do you have to keep them refrigerated? Why can’t you store them in the pantry and refrigerate when ready to eat?
Sue: You only need to keep them refrigerated if you have not canned them in a hot water bath. If you’ve canned them properly, they are shelf stable.
Thank you! I tried your recipe and it’s delicious! Thank you so much for sharing! Now, I will never have to dehydrate them again. We had a great score of 17lbs!! I can’t wait to get busy!