Technique: Dry Sautéeing

Some foods such as mushrooms have a lot of water in them, so sometimes the best method of cooking them is to dry sautée them. This keeps them from turning, well, mushy, and brings out their flavors and textures much more beautifully.

It's very simple. To dry sautée, simply add your cleaned mushrooms or other watery food to a hot pan that has nothing in it; no oil, no butter, no water, no spices. Nothing. The heat will release the liquids from the foods and they will brown and get a really nice texture. Stir often to prevent burning and cook until the natural juices have evaporated. You should do this over medium high heat.

Dry sautéeeing wild mushrooms is also a good way to remove excess liquid so that they will freeze better.

(Image: Kathryn Hill)

Comments (9)

I've done this with mushrooms, and I've found you really have to keep them moving in the pan to prevent burning before they start to seep. You think they will never get mushy, then the water is released and suddenly the mushrooms are sauteeing in their own juices!

I do this often as well. I use a non-stick pan on high heat and flip the mushrooms every minute or so. I also have done it using a very light light spray of non-stick high heat oil with success.

That's a great idea - can't believe I never thought of this.

Did this the other day for a mushroom lasagna - well - three of them so i spent two hours sauteing mushroom slices (Don't crowd the pan! as Julia would say). I did use the slightest bit of oil brushed onto the pan but that's it.

Totally worth it. It will take a whiel to do a large batch but absolutely worth it trust me.

Hmmm. I don't think of this as sauteeing at all. Rather, as Tom Colicchio teaches in "Think Like a Chef" it's pan roasting.

I do use a bit of olive oil. Contrary to the first comment above, the mushrooms will not burn if the heat is medium high. I leave mushrooms in without touching each other for about 4 minutes. Then I flip them and reduce heat. After two more minutes I add garlic, then butter. Then for the last minute I stir them. Perfect every time.

This is the only way to do mushrooms, IMHO.

A friend does a similar thing with tofu. I tried once, not knowing that you need the water in the tofu (or mushrooms) for it to cook properly in an unoiled pan. I drained and patted dry my tofu slices, and nearly ruined my pan. I'll try again, now that I know not to dry the tofu!

Fun trick:

Get button mushrooms and snap out the stems. Arrange the tops in the pan so that the top of the mushroom is face-down. As the mushrooms heat up, the water will pool in the holes left by the stems.

If you have any little helpers in the kitchen, they will enjoy watching the "magic trick" of the water appearing from seemingly nowhere.

I do this before adding them into soups adds a much better flavor and I often make oil free soups. I also dry saute red cabbage with a bunch or curry and spices add to salads.