I have always been curious about oyster mushrooms, but I have never made them before myself because the ones we get usually here in Puerto Rico always look old and wet… not fresh and beautiful like the ones you see on TV or when you visit markets in the US when traveling. So staying a few weeks with my sister in Southern Florida gave me the chance to use a few ingredients I have very limited access to in my homeland.
Anne Burrell made these oyster mushroom chips in one of her shows and I was completely inspired by the simplicity but also because she mentioned these mushrooms, after roasting in the oven, tasted like bacon. SAY WHAT?!?!??! That immediately caught my attention…
These are so easy to make… my 10-year old “nephew” David helped me out making these. He and his twin sister Marietta were wary because they both claimed they were not mushroom eaters. Boy, were they in for a surprise…
OYSTER MUSHROOM CHIPS
½ pound of fresh oyster mushrooms
Drizzle of Olive Oil
Sea Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- Pre-heat oven to 425F
- Peel off each piece of mushroom from the stalk and separate them into individual “petals”. Place them in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Arrange gill-side up in 2 baking sheets side by side to allow the mushrooms to cook well and for the edges to crisp up.
- Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes. They will shrink up considerably.
- Take them out of the oven and allow them to cool of a bit for about 2 minutes and scrape them off the baking sheet using a spatula.
If you’re not eating the right away… you can certainly place them again on a baking sheet and reheat them at 400F for about 5-8 minutes more.
We had to make this recipe TWICE because the first time we did them everyone was so excited that I did not get a chance to take any photographs. David liked them raw and cooked alike. Marietta was afraid of tasting them because “she doesn’t eat mushrooms” but was shocked and told me these did not taste like mushrooms at all. Her parents were in awe…
Even the skeptics were impressed and mentioned unaided these mushrooms tasted like bacon. I thought the crispy edges tasted more like “chicharrón” than bacon… so I can see more applications of these mushrooms in my future besides sprinkling them over a lettuce, sprout and cucumber salad.
Tags: food, oyster mushrooms, vegetarian
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