Friday, May 16, 2008

Grilled Portabella Madness

I'm not a huge fan of eating red meat, in fact I don't. Maybe that's because it makes me violently ill. So, I mostly just stick to chicken, fish and seafood. Although, once a year during my father's Octoberfest party I have been known to eat my weight in bratwurst but that's another story. Thank goodness for the makers of Tagamet-B!

Well, I often miss that rich flavor and texture of a thick grilled steak, so the closest thing I have found is that of a grilled portabella mushroom. I'm sure to get tons of hate mail for this, but hey these are my taste buds we're talking about and not just some schlep off the street that hits up every AYCE (all you can eat) or even worse, dines at Applebee's. To me this is steak! So I treat portabellas with as much respect as someone might treat, let's say....a cut of Kobe beef. 

I start with the best looking caps I can find at the store. They must be firm to the touch, almost springy. If they are too dry or there's any mushiness, forget it, I'll wait. Also, if they are pungent like dirty wet hiker socks (basically more than the usual funk) or hairy and moldy, I leave them be. 

Once home I marinade them in a Ziplock bag with soy sauce, olive oil and fresh minced garlic. I make sure that all of the caps are covered in the marinade. I'll let them sit like that for several hours in the fridge. I fire up the grill and cook them gill-side up first. After 5-10min I flip them and close the lid since the olive oil will catch fire. I let the caps cook another 5mins or so before removing them. They should look juicy and not dried out. Serve immediately. Yummers! 



3 comments:

Christine said...

I've always wanted to try this. I've grilled portobello slices, but never whole. I absolutely love the way it tastes, as portoboellos have an actual taste over regular button mushrooms, and marinated would be even better.

Jan said...

I LOVE portobello mushrooms - And marinated sounds good to me!

Thistlemoon said...

Your first picture is great! I love portabellas too! Way more than steak in fact...I eat red meat, but steak to me is just blah. But what does my opinion matter? As I have a soft spot for applebees. ;)

I don't eat there often, but my husband and I had our first date there (not much choice in rural New England sometimes!) so it is sentimental for us, even though the food is really not the best!