Chicken-fried oyster mushrooms

with gravy

Chicken Fried Steak is a popular Southern dish that takes an inexpensive cut of beef, pounds it until it's thin and tender, coats it in a batter that one would use for fried chicken, and fries it up crispy. The best versions have a coating that is light and fluffy with craggy bits, just like you'd find on perfect southern fried chicken. 

Chicken Fried Mushroom Steaks have become a popular vegetarian version of this homey favorite. To me, this is not a substitute for a meat dish—it's something entirely different, and in my opinion, better in flavor and texture. It's been done with giant portabella mushrooms, fluffy lion's mane mushrooms, and oyster mushrooms, and they all work beautifully. Here, I'm going with oyster mushrooms because they're readily available and reasonably priced at my local market.

Normally, when I use oyster mushrooms I take the clump in hand, carefully separate off the individual mushrooms, and discard the base that they grow out from. In this recipe I do exactly the opposite.

Using a sharp, thin knife, such as a boning knife, I trim off any soil from the bottom of the base, then slice through the clump horizontally, to make thin mushroom steaks.

After experimenting with a variety of breading techniques I've settled on the one I use here, as it produced exactly the crust I was going for. Light, fluffy, and magnificently crispy, it's neither heavy nor dense. 

I begin by dipping each one in cornstarch—using cornstarch instead of flour helps to keep the coating light. Don't use potato starch—I tried it and it was an epic fail. Rather than light, the crust turned gummy!

Next, they're dipped in a mixture of egg and buttermilk. Then, a bit of the egg batter is worked into seasoned flour until you achieve the texture of coarse sand. The batter-dipped mushroom steaks are coated with this clumpy flour and allowed to rest on a rack for a bit, to allow the coating to set.

Buttermilk is the best choice for the batter. Not only does it add another level of flavor, but the acid helps to kick-start the leavening and break down the gluten strands in the flour for a lighter, more tender crust for your mushroom steaks. Going dairy free? No worries! Just add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to every cup of non-dairy milk. You can also use this trick with whole milk if you're fresh out of buttermilk.

Finally, the mushroom steaks are deep fried until golden. This takes less than five minutes. (You can also pan fry them, but be sure to use plenty of oil.) Keep them on a rack in a warm oven until you're ready to serve them with the gravy.

Chicken Fried Steak is generally served with a peppery milk-based gravy. This is a total no-no if you keep kosher, as Jewish dietary laws forbid using milk and meat together in the same meal. Of course, it becomes a non-issue with mushroom steaks. But, if you're serving both meat and vegetarian dishes at the table, you'll still want to avoid using dairy. You can easily substitute your favorite plant-based milk for the whole milk in the gravy.

Chicken Fried Mushrooms with Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:

     For the mushrooms—

• 12 ounces oyster mushrooms (the number of clumps you'll need will depend upon their size. Go for the biggest ones you can find)

• ½ cup cornstarch

• 1 egg

• 1 cup buttermilk (you can use whole milk or plant milk, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• ½ teaspoon turmeric

• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• ¼ -½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

• Neutral oil, such as avocado or sunflower, for frying

For the gravy—

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan butter, such as Country Crock

• 2 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, chopped small

• 2 tablespoons finely minced onion

• 1 large clove garlic, finely minced

• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons sherry

• 1 ½ cups whole milk or plant milk

• Chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish

Method:

     For the mushrooms—

• Slice the clumps of oyster mushrooms into 1/2 inch thick planks. Any mushrooms that fall off can just be battered and fried along with the "steaks."

• Set up your batter station: Spread the cornstarch out on a flat plate. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the egg and buttermilk (or substitute). On another flat plate, combine the flour with the baking powder, the paprika, the garlic powder, the onion powder, the turmeric, the salt, and a few grinds of the pepper mill.

• Remove 1/4 cup of the egg/buttermilk mixture and add it to the plate with the flour mixture. Work the wet into the dry with your fingers, creating a somewhat damp, clumpy mixture with the texture of damp sand.

• Take one mushroom steak and place it in the cornstarch. Handle it gently and make sure that it's well-coated, then dust off the excess.

• Dip the cornstarch-coated steak into the egg mixture, coating it well and letting the excess run off.

• Set the batter-coated mushroom steak down in the flour mixture and use your fingers to gently press the flour onto the steak, being sure that it's completely covered. Then set the battered steak onto a rack to set.

• Repeat with the rest of the steaks, and do the same with any stray mushrooms that have separated from the bunches.

     Fry the mushroom steaks—

• Heat a deep fryer, or pour a generous amount of oil into a large, heavy skillet (such as cast-iron). You want your oil to be between 350° and 375°. If you don't have a thermometer, heat the oil over medium heat until it shimmers, but don't let it smoke.

• Fry mushrooms in as many batches as necessary—don't crowd the fryer or the pan— turning them once until they're golden on both sides. Drain them on paper towels and keep them warm on a rack in the oven.

     For the gravy—

• In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and the chopped mushrooms and sauté until they begin to turn golden. Add the garlic and stir for another 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until no longer raw—about 2-3 minutes.

• Stir in the sherry and cook, stirring, until the sherry is mostly reduced and you have a smooth paste.

• Slowly pour in the milk, stirring constantly until well combined. Continue to cook the gravy, stirring often, until thickened and smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and keep warm.

     To serve—

Serve the chicken fried mushroom steaks with a generous drizzle of gravy and finish with some more fresh pepper and chopped parsley.