Mushroom stock is a wonderful, rich stock that easily substitutes for meat based brown stocks. It has a hearty, rich, strong flavor and a clear, deep brown color to it.
Au jus made from Mushroom stock.
I use it in a vegetarian French Onion Soup as well as vegetable soups and au jus for vegetarian sandwiches. Keep in mind this is a strong stock and thought should be given to the pairing.
For months in the freezer, I save the mushroom stems of caps used in dishes here and there and the sad, dried, forgotten mushrooms left in the refrigerator’s vegetable drawer.
However, fresh mushrooms work just as well. I use a variety of mushrooms including chanterelle, shiitake, portabello, crimini, and morel. There’s no need to be exclusive unless you want a particular flavor. Anything that was clean and still edible was worth saving.
Ingredients
3-4 cups frozen mushroom stems and parts or fresh mushrooms quartered
1 leek, cleaned with darkest parts removed, cut in half lengthwise
2 medium carrots, scrubbed and quartered
4 stalks of celery, cleaned and quartered
2 med onions cleaned and halved
1-2 tsp salt
The Herbs
1 sprig thyme
4-6 sprigs parsley
2-3 bay leaves
2-3 cloves garlic
2-3 cloves
Prepare the vegetables and tie the herbs into a piece of cheese cloth. Throw it all in a pot and cover with two to three inches water. Bring to a medium simmer and reduce to a barely visible simmer. Partially cover and let barely visibly simmer for 3-4 hours. Taste the stock and, if it tastes good, remove from heat and let cool until tepid. If it needs more flavor, continue to simmer and check every half an hour or so. After cooling, place a sieve over a bowl and begin to ladle in the stock and the vegetables. Gently press the vegetables against the side of the sieve without pressing any vegetable matter through. When all the juice has been removed, remove the vegetables and ladle in more stock and vegetables. Continue until all the stock and vegetables have been removed from the pot. Freeze in 8 or 16 ounce increments. This makes it easier to thaw just what you need rather than what you need and a gallon more. (I *heart* tequila.) Also, it can be kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. If it stays in longer than that, return to the stove and bring it to a boil, cool, and store in the refrigerator again. This yields approximately eight cups of stock.
You can make a vegetarian French Onion Soup with it or use it to make au jus as used in the Philly Mushroom Sandwich Au Jus recipe.