
Marinating
Portabella mushrooms are easy to grill and have a surprisingly meaty, juicy flavor. There are many ways to do these, but my favorite method starts with a simple marinade in Italian dressing. But before marinating, I pull off the stem, and wipe the shroom clean with a dry paper towel. Don't "wash" them with water, as they will quickly soak up the water, thus diluting the natural flavor of the shroom.
The key is to keep the marinating time to 10 minutes or less. The gills in a portabella really soak up the marinade quickly, so you want to limit the marinating time so that you don't supersaturate the shrooms. You want to compliment the natural flavor of the mushroom, not mask it.

Ready to come off the grill
After the marinade, I put the mushrooms gill side down on a hot grill (500 - 600 F) for about two minutes. Then, I flip the shrooms and let them dwell for another five minutes or so, or until they are tender and full of juice on top.
During this time, you can also add a topping of your choice. I like goat cheese or, in this picture, I put cream cheese on one of the shrooms.

Plated
The end result is a tender, extremely juicy shroom with a nice grilled flavor. The cheese adds a nice richness to the naturally full flavor of the portabella.
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